Baseball - Sam

Sam was asked to play on a kid pitch baseball team midway through their season. The team had been practicing for about six weeks when Sam and two other boys joined. (There had been some injuries to players that had to drop out). I think these boys joining at the last moment were able to practice with the team 2-3 times before the games started. Sam mainly played left outfield, but did do third and second base to fill in as players were gone during the season.

Being the first year of kid pitch, it was an entirely different game and much slower. Instead of seeing several power hits a game, there became many more walks as pitchers tried to fine tune their pitching. The team made much progress through the season! On the last night (and the one night I brought my camera), Sam played catcher every other inning. We had no idea ahead of time, so we were very proud of him stepping right in there and learning as the game played. He had played some catcher last year, but again, very different for kid pitch.

Here are several pictures from that last game. One shows Sam being hit by a pitch and another walking to first. This happened a lot this season. Our players had been taught to steal bases, so they would be on third in next to no time. Sam is also seen sliding into home.

The teams were tied at 6-6 at the end of regular play, and went into extra innings. In the end, our team won 15-7! What a perfect way to end the season. Throughout which, our coach had been giving a game ball to a player at the end of each game we won. And so on this night, we enjoyed some icing on the cake of a really fun evening already, as our Sam and another boy were each able to receive a game ball. The coach applauded them for the perseverance in joining the team late and working hard to catch up and become part of the team and finishing well. Needless to say, Sam was ecstatic! We are proud of you!