Catching Up

Last night, J.P.'s Dodgers played their longtime rival, the Dirtbags, in one of the final games as the fall baseball season winds down.  It's fun to play them because they're our friends and our rivals.  We know the coaches and the parents, not to mention most of the boys.  It's been Dodgers vs. Dirtbags for more than five years, since the boys were seven years old and playing machine pitch baseball in the Rookie League.

We had a bit of makeshift team because a couple of our stronger players were out.  One I knew about but the other's father called me roughly two hours before game time, as I was leaving the office to pick up J.P. and Joe at school.  That's another story entirely but I was frustrated, to say the least, because I work hard to communicate with our parents and make sure I have enough players to play each game.  When I get a last minute cancellation, it's difficult and it affects the entire team.  But, what am I gonna do?

I started J.P. at pitcher and he did well.  Our right fielder, Henry, missed a line drive that would have been a tough catch, and a couple of unearned runs scored in the first inning.  At first base, Wes missed a ground ball down the line in the second inning to allow a third unearned run to score.  J.P. was a little down but he pitched well against a good hitting team.  I don't think he walked anyone.

I brought in Porter to pitch next, the Dodgers' horse.  He allowed a hit but no runs in the third and we scratched out a run in the top of the fourth inning, trailing at that point 3-1.  

Here's where, for me, it got interesting.  I put J.P. in at catcher in the bottom of the fourth inning.  He's a middle infielder - shortstop mostly - who also pitches and plays well in the outfield.  Very versatile.  However, he hadn't played catcher in a game for four or five years, in the machine pitch league - and then it was only once or twice.  He had never caught live pitching.  Until last night.

I was worried.  I shouldn't have been.

I guess by now I shouldn't be surprised but he played catcher like he'd been doing it for years.  It helped, I think, that Porter was pitching.  He throws hard but his control is generally good.  Other than one low ball that got under his glove - and hit the umpire in the shin - J.P. didn't drop a ball.  Porter struck out two or three boys, swinging, and J.P. held the ball every time.  Porter pitched two perfect innings so I didn't get to see how J.P. would do holding runners on or throwing them out stealing.  Still, he was confident, poised, and in command.

I was really, really proud of J.P.  His versatility on the baseball field continues to astound me.  

The icing on the cake is that the Dodgers rallied for 4 runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5 - 3 lead.  In the bottom of the fifth inning, Aidan - a Dodgers' regular from years past who isn't playing baseball this fall but was filling in last night - made a great play on a ground ball down the line at third base, throwing the runner out at first by a step.  Wes got the last out of the game when he made a nifty play on a ground ball at first, then hustled back to the bag for the final out.

Final Score:  Dodgers 5, Dirtbags 3.