Joe in One Play

Joe has struggled a bit in baseball this spring.  He's the youngest on his team, at 11, and as I've mentioned, we've changed a few things, pitching and hitting, in an effort find more power.  He needs to throw the ball harder when he pitches and he needs to hit the ball harder, too.  It's a process to be sure.

His last two outings, Joe hasn't been able to find his control.  Earlier in this week, he walked five batters in one inning, allowed two hits, and gave up six runs.  We talked afterwards on the ride home - at Joe's request - and agreed his biggest problem on the mound is mental, not physical.  He's pressing and when he walks one batter, he immediately thinks he's headed for another bad outing.  In other words, his mental and emotional approach is lacking.  It's different, but good, for Joe to go through this because, normally, he has supreme confidence in almost anything he does athletically.

I told him his mantra when pitching, going forward, should be "this batter, this pitch."  Stay focused on each pitch, in other words.  Don't worry about what happened last game or with the last batter.  Don't worry about what might happen with the next two batters or next inning.  This batter, this pitch.  I often tell my pitchers to "win this pitch," which is kind of the same thing.

Yesterday morning, we played the Braves.  Good boys, good coaches, good parents.  Joe played all-stars with them last summer and may do so again this summer.  It's a good rivalry for Joe's team - the Nationals - and the teams are pretty evenly matched, as evidenced by yesterday's 6 - 6 final score.

One play, though, encapsulated everything about who Joe is as an athlete.  

Late in the game with one out, a baserunner for the Braves took off from second to steal third base.  Joe, playing third base, caught a good throw from Jack, at catcher, and got the tag down on the runner.  It was close but I felt like the runner was there.  The umpire called him safe.  Joe disagreed and I could tell he was pissed.  Really pissed.  I even made eye contact with him from my seat to the left of the backstop - our team was in the third base dugout - and mouthed he was safe.  Joe shook his head at me in disbelief, though, and I smiled to myself.  

The next batter for the Braves, Henry, absolutely smoked a line drive down the third base line on the first pitch he saw from Eli, our best pitcher.  Instinctively, Joe reacted, lunching to his right and backhanding the line drive at shoulder height before it could get past him into left field and drive in the runner on third base.  The runner, leading off, was caught flat footed because the ball was scorched so hard by Henry.

Joe immediately turned back to third base and emphatically stomped on the bag to complete a double play and end the inning.  For good measure, he spiked the baseball, then ran into the dugout a few steps away.  A bang-bang play.  First silence, then the crowd erupted in cheers, as most of us nodded out heads in acknowledgement of not just Joe's play but his priceless reaction afterwards.  Lindsay - Ram's mom - laughed and said she wished she had videoed the play.  I did, too.  

Joe's teammates clapped him on the back as they followed him into the dugout.  I loved that, of course.  I loved it more when the boys rallied to tie the game during their next at bat.  

Sunday morning, over coffee at Dose, I'm still marveling at the play.  Great reaction to the ball at third base, although that's not Joe's normal position.  Smart, heads up play to double the runner off third.  Last but certainly not least, an intense, fired up reaction from Joe, which was the best.  

After the game, he said he was trying to give the team a spark.  Of course he was.

Because he's Joe.

My sister, Tracy, Joe, and my goddaughter, Kaitlyn, after yesterday morning's baseball game.