OK, so I think I've made it clear that I love baseball.  And by "baseball", I mean a bunch of amateurs hitting balls/striking out, catching/missing pop flies, and the occasional hot shot stealing base/getting flattened by the tagging player.  I like the kind of baseball that gets played in local parks by less-than-perfect teams who make as many mistakes as they do successful plays.

I think I got this gene from my Grandma Darrington.  I remember one summer when I was 10 years old, my brother and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa in Utah for a few weeks.  Occasionally, Grandma would announce that we were going to a "Ballgame", and the four of us would head to the Brigham City Park, where some random league was inevitably playing baseball or softball.  We'd sit on the bleachers filled with parents and family members of the players and Grandma would cheer for whomever was batting, whomever made a good play, whomever made a scoring run.  She didn't know the players, but by the end of the game, she knew the fans (anyone who knew my Grandma will back me up on this).  We'd stay until past dark, when the field lights were on and we were wrapped up in the blankets we'd brought to sit on.  It was Summertime at its most magical.

Plus, Grandpa would buy us all hamburgers at the concession stand.  As I was one of six children (eventually 8) of a poor graduate student, then poor professor, this was a major event.

So, you can imagine how thrilled I was today at the season openers of Adam and Luke's baseball league.

This morning, Luke played his first tee-ball game.  They've never practiced, so this "game" was all about a bunch of little boys whacking the ball off the tee, then having no idea what to do next.  The coaches got quite a workout running around the field trying to show the players where to go and what to do, and those of us watching got a good laugh.  

At one point, after Luke had hit the ball, he ran to first base, started running to second, changed his mind half-way there, and just walked back to the dug out.  Since every player on the opposing team was chasing the ball, which was somewhere in right field, no one noticed that Luke had left the field.  No worries - the next batter approached the plate and the game continued.   I don't need to tell you that the final score was 0-0.

Adam's game this afternoon was very different.  He has moved up a level since last year, and it is a whole new ballgame.  At this level, the players can steal bases, so every single second chasing a missed catch or wild pitch is fraught with tension.  Adam got one hit, but was out at first, and then he struck out.  It was a close game throughout, but luckily we won 4-3.  Adam has the same coach as last year, who is quite competitive while still being very encouraging and patient, so we anticipate a very exciting season.

And, I had a concession stand hamburger.  Still a major event.