My 14u son had his second scrimmage of the spring. Also cold. This one started at 7:30 under the lights, and like the last one I was forced to trudge back to my car and get the colorful Peruvian blanket because I was freezing.
I set up my chair on the foul line way out in right field. I’m an introvert and talking to people is work. It’s also our fourth club team and I’m not looking to make a bunch of friends. If my wife was with me, she would have set up her chair by the away dugout and talked up the other parents from our team. I popped an earbud in one of my ears and started listening to “my liked” songs on Amazon Music. Since my son was having a good game, I was afraid of switching to a podcast or changing music for fear of jinxing him. So it was Amazon Music for the entire two hours.
Before the game, I gave my son a few bits of advice. I didn’t want to overload him with stuff, because he’d likely ignore or forget it. So I boiled it down to three things: don’t take your head out when batting and fielding, don’t do long toss when warming up and throw out your arm before you pitch, and when you throw your slider, direct it at the right handed batter’s shoulder, like his pitching coach instructed, so that it would break over the plate for a strike.
“Got it,” he said.
“Don’t pull your head out,” I said. “I don’t care if you strikeout, just keep your head in.”
This was obviously a lie – I cared if he struck out. But with his head in, my son did much better at the plate. Considering he hadn’t made contact in his previous three at bats, he could only improve. This time he hit a line drive to center in the top of the first inning. The centerfielder tried to make a diving catch on it and the ball got past him and two runs scored. He walked in his next at bat. And in his lat at bat, the pitcher was able to get his curveball over the plate and my son stuck out. But he battled, and I liked that he tried to hit the curve. He’s eventually going to have to hit it!
The one thing he did do wrong was that he watched that one line drive in the first inning after he it and he wound up at first, when he should have been at second. So “don’t watch the ball and run” are going to be me in my “three things” next time around.
They brought him in to pitch in the third. He was able to throw his slider for a strike and he got some strikeouts. I videoed an at bat when he was pitching, and I was right by the mother for the hitter who was also videoing the at bat, obviously hoping her kid was going to get a hit off my kid. The thought of other parents watching video clips of their kids besting my son kind of bugs me. In those clips, my son is like the gored animal in a Spanish bullfight. But I’m obviously being a hypocrite here, because I watch clips on my son “goring” other kids all the time.
In my son’s second inning pitching, he lost command of the slider, plunked a kid in the back, and they got a couple runs. But he regrouped in his next (and last inning) inning and struck out the side. The fielding on our team is not so great. Which means that my guy can potentially be starting at short soon (he played second in this game when he wasn’t pitching). But it also means that he might need to get four and five outs an inning when he’s pitching.
Since my son’s on a new club team, I liked that his teammates were rooting him on and seem to like him.
So in short, I was overacting to his previous scrimmage, as to be expected. Bring on the season!
For information about the emotional side of baseball, see:
- I Spent 30K on Youth Baseball Last Year; Here’s How
- Youth Baseball: Why Do I Care So Much?
- Anger Management and Youth Baseball: How to Calm Down
- How to Manage Your Kid’s Baseball Tantrums and Meltdowns
- 4 Ways to Respond to a Coach Playing Favorites
- How to Stop Being a Crazy Baseball Dad
- How to Be a Good Baseball Dad in the Backyard
- Is It Now Fashionable to Hate On Baseball Dads?
- Are Local Little Leagues Bad for Baseball?
For information on hitting, see:
- How to Get Out of a Hitting Slump
- 4 Best Baseball Batting Aids (No. 3 is Free)
- 4 Hitting Drills You Need to Do Before Every Game
- 4 Old School Baseball Drills You Need to Be Using
- 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Baseball Bat
For information on pitching, see:
- What You Need to Know About Little League Elbow
- 4 Ways To Increase Your Kid’s Pitching Velocity
- Is the Circle Change Dangerous for Youth Pitchers?
- Why I Don’t Let My Son Pitch in Little League
- How to Make Sure Your Kid Isn’t Overpitched in Basebal
For ways to get faster, see: