The Game of a Lifetime

Yesterday, during the Dodgers' 9-2 win over our longtime rival, the Dirtbags, I was reminded of why I love coaching baseball so much.

11 - 12 year old fall baseball is different from spring baseball.  It's more laid back with a focus on development.  It's a time to let players play different positions and bat at different places in the lineup.

The makeup of our team - the Dodgers - has changed, well, dramatically, for the first time this fall.  That's a story for another day but when the dust settled, we had a roster of 10 players with only five or our original Dodgers.  At this age - 11 - it seems that some boys begin to settle into other sports and some give up baseball.  Some don't play fall baseball.

So, the Dodgers have a bit of a different look this fall and that's taken a little getting used to for me.  We're also not as talented as we were when we fielded two rosters in the spring but it turns out that's okay, probably preferable, to me.  That's all part of the other story I'll tell at some point.

Back to yesterday and the Dodgers' 9 a.m. game vs. the Dirtbags.

We have a player - Elijah - who joined us last spring from Bellevue.  He's a big kid.  Quite, respectful, very coachable.  Sweet kid, like a teddy bear.  He listens and is genuinely appreciative of all of the coaching he gets.  He's a first basemen, for sure, but has the versatility to play other positions, especially in the outfield.  He was a bit of a diamond in the rough last spring when he joined us but it was clear to me he had talent and was a baseball player, which is what I told him, often.

This summer, he worked really hard and attended a few baseball camps.  Baseball is his thing which, of course, I absolutely love.  And, again, I think he's got real talent.

At practice this fall, he's been ripping the ball in the batting cage.  Hitting it harder and more consistently than maybe any player I've ever coached, in large part because he's so big and strong, and because he's worked hard to get better.  I started telling him he was dangerous with the bat in his hand and that someone might call the authorities if he hit the ball in games as hard as he's been hitting it in the batting cage.  I started calling him "Danger," and some of the other boys picked up on it, and he seems to like it.

Unfortunately, in our first game, Elijah's hitting in the cage didn't translate and he struck out twice and didn't make good contact with the ball.  Yesterday, before our game as we were working in the batting cage, I suggested he stand a little closer to the plate.  I'dl like to thing that what happened next, in the game, was due to the adjustment I suggested but it may have been coincidence.  Who knows?  Baseball is a funny game.

His first time up, in the second inning, there was one man on base.  Elijah, a right-hander, absolutely crushed the first pitch he saw to dead center field.  When it bounced, I initially thought he had hit a ground rule double but when he kept running, I realized he had hit the ball about 220 feet, over the fence in center field, for his first career home run.  As he trotted around the bases, the other players poured out of the dugout to congratulate him.  The smile on his face was mile wide as he rounded this and the players mobbed him at home plate.

What a moment.  Watching a player hit his first home run - Wes did it last year - is a privilege.  I still remember my first one - off Kevin Johnson - during a Sunday makeup game at Brentwood Civilian Park in my childhood neighborhood.  A grand slam.  My feet never touched the ground as I ran the bases.

The next time up, Elijah roped a single up the middle and knocked in another run.  Then, even though he's the biggest and probably, the slowest boys on our team, got an amazing jump and stole second standing up.  Why?  Because he listened at practice Thursday night when we talked to the boys about getting secondary leads and practiced it on the base paths with a live ball.  He listened and it paid off, which is so rewarding to see.  Then, for good measure, he stole third base, sliding in under the tag.

Later, after getting on base yet again, he stole home on a passed ball.  When I saw him take off as the ball got away from the catcher, I thought he was going to be out by a mile.  But he hustled down the third base line and slid head first (!) into home.  The umpire called him safe and the players in out dugout went wild.  To see our biggest kid play that hard was inspirational to all of the boys and, frankly, to me.

Elijah caught a fly ball in left field and in the bottom of the sixth inning, he dove for and almost caught a sinking liner.  A couple of batters later, the win was in the books.

I was - and am - so proud of Elijah.  I identify with him a bit, I think, because he lost his father at a young age, like I did.  He's a kid I keep an eye on and try to connect with and give a little extra attention to at practice.  He listens, responds and is grateful for all of the coaching he gets.  That's like I was when I was his age, as I soaked up all the instruction I got from Warren Gilley, my next door neighbor's dad and my baseball coach on at least two teams of my youth.

So, here's to Elijah and the day he had that I'll always remember - long after I'm done coaching baseball.  I bet he remembers it, too.