Saturday, June 12, 2010

Most Valuable Player

We just came home from our last little league event. It was closing ceremonies, where all the teams get on the fields and the trophies get handed out. Four of the teammates showed up for the closing ceremonies. All of us were in the outfield listening to the speakers and coaches make their announcements. It was easy to find us, we were the team that had 3 of the 4 players fighting each other, while all the other "teams" sat quietly and listened. I'm proud to say, that my son was the only member of his team who was sitting their in a respectful manner.

Then came the announcements of the "all-stars" and best sportsmanship awards for each age group. I leaned over to ask our coach how they determined who was an all-star or not and he shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know. Meanwhile, his son and another boy from our team were recognized as all-stars. Now, I don't want to be one of "those parents", so I'll word this in a way as to not offend anyone. I can totally understand why the coach's son was an allstar, but the other kid, I'm not too sure about. He didn't get a hit all year and he gave up the most runs of any of our pitchers. Trust me, I know, those were l-o-n-g innings when he pitched. Then I spoke to a coach from another team who said the coaches nominate the players for allstar. This just gives another example of how difficult it was for my son to learn and play baseball this year. He tried hard and improved all year, was the team's best hitter, played tight defense and yet didn't get allstar recognition. Oh well, that's just the way of the world I guess. Better he learn the lesson now than when he's 25 and gets passed over for a promotion.

After the ceremonies they had a last exhibition game where players from all the different teams get mixed up and play for fun. It's one giant game used to show sportsmanship. So my boy played in that game alongside some Yankees and Mudcats. He had a great time and his team actually won by the score of 2-0. Again, it was an exhibition game, but the kids played like it was the World Series, especially my son. Afterall, this was his playoff game. He was finally on a team of players who knew how to play baseball and whose coaches knew what was going on.

So how did my son do during the game you may ask? Let me tell you as the proud parent that I am. He drove in 2 runs on a sharp single. Yes, for those keeping track, those would be the 2 winning runs! I have to hand it to the little slugger, he came into a clutch situation and delivered. But what I'm most proud of, is how he behaves in the duggout and how he shows everyone respect. He's my MVP.

No comments: