Junior Dodgers Forever

Originally, they were the Junior Dodgers.  In later years, the Diamondbacks.  For one, lost spring season, the Nationals.  And, most recently, the Braves.  

To me, though, they will always be the Junior Dodgers, forever five years old playing coach pitch baseball on fields 4 and 5 at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ.  Me, down on one knee with five baseballs in front of me 10 or 15 feet away from home plate, while one of them stands at the plate, wide eyed and innocent, gazing at me expectantly, bat determinedly held high and batting helmet askew.  And smiling, always smiling. 

That's how I'll remember Trey, Ram, George, Nico, Walker, Elias, Bennett, and Joe.  Junior Dodgers Forever.

Although I never say never, today might be the end of the line for this group of boys, playing baseball together.  Some boys will drift off to other sports.  Some boys will play for other teams, particularly in travel baseball.  Either way, it's the last day of WNSL's end of season house tournament.  

Joe missed yesterday's Braves' game because he had a double header for his HBC baseball team at Drakes Creek Park in Hendersonville.  One 11 - 1 win and a tough 5 - 3 loss, in which Joe pitched well, 2 1/3 innings with one run allowed on a leadoff solo home run to dead center field in the bottom of the third inning.  Joe also picked off a kid on second base with a nifty inside move to end an inning.  He's crafty on the mound, just like his older brother.

Shortly before Joe's first game, I got a text from Audrey, Huck's mom, announcing that Huck had hit his first career home run, a grand slam to centerfield on field 4 at Warner Park.  I am sick that I missed it, because it would have meant everything to me to be a part of that moment.  It's special, to be sure, to see a boy hit his first home run.  I saw Wes, Benton, and Elias hit their first home runs at the same age.  Those are unforgettable moments, as a player and as a coach.  

Huck's a special boy.  He wears his emotions on his sleeve but I am so proud of how hard he has worked to not let negative emotions get the best of him when he strikes out or makes an error in the field.  Last fall and this spring, he's improved so much in that regard by staying more even keeled throughout the game.  He's growing up and maturing and I would like to think that maybe I have been a small part of that process as his baseball coach.  

I coached Huck for the first time with the Diamondbacks and instantly connected with him, in part because he's just so genuine, innocent, and openly affectionate.  Without fail, before every game I have ever coached him in, he ran up to greet me as soon as I arrived.  And, without fail, after every game, win or lose, Huck has hugged and thanked me for coaching him.  That's just Huck.  He's in my Dodgers Hall of Fame, to be sure, and one of my favorites.  I am not sure any boy has loved being a part of this group of baseball players more than Huck.  

Having the opportunity to coach Huck, and boys like Huck, on the baseball field over the past 10 + years has been one of the highlights of my life.  I never, ever take for granted that so many parents have shared their boys with me on so many baseball fields for practices and games all across middle Tennessee.  These boys have filled my heart time and again over the years and enriched my life beyond description.

Huck throws right and bats left, which will be an advantage for him as he grows older.  He hit his growth spurt before the other boys and his voice dropped an octave or two, which delights me to no end.  He's also very proud of his relatively newfound ability to bang out pushups on demand.  His bat speed has always been there and because of his strength, he can do real damage when he barrels the baseball.  It can be unnerving to pitch to him in the cage.  

Huck's throwing and catching has improved over the past year because he's worked hard at it.  He can play catcher which, if that continues, could be a game changer, because he has a strong - though not always accurate - throwing arm.  He saved a game for us earlier in the spring when he threw a kid out at home plate from left field.  Absolutely hosed the runner, as the coaches - Scott, Mike, and me - looked at each other, smiling, in stunned silence.  It was quite a moment.  

With Huck as with all of the boys, the key is consistency and work.  Getting more and more reps.  Can he become more consistent in all aspects of the game, hitting, throwing, and catching?  How badly does he want to be great?   I ask Joe that question almost every day.  If Huck puts the work in and continues to love the game of baseball, I'll be watching him play middle school and high school baseball.

Although Huck was not an original Junior Dodger, it sure feels like he was, because I've enjoyed coaching him so much over the years.  I was so glad he joined me when our group left Oliver Davis and the Diamondbacks.  Huck's my guy in much the same way Aidan Poff on the Dodgers was my guy.  Similar personalities - also, both throw right and bat left - and whatever I put into coaching him Huck always gave back twice as much in effort, intensity, and attitude.  What more can a coach ask?  Huck is one of the special ones to me.  

As I sit here at Portland Brew on Sunday morning, preparing for another day of baseball with Joe and his HBC squad in Hendersonville and, hopefully, with the Braves at Warner Park this afternoon, I'm struck by how quickly it seems like all of this is coming to an end.  The innocence of youth.  A baseball game on a Saturday morning.  Baseball practice on a Tuesday night.  JP's already through it, playing high school sports now, and all of these boys are on their way there, too.  Lord, how I will miss these days.  

The boys get to a point where I've offered all that I have to offer and maybe, just maybe, what they need is instruction at a higher level than I (or the other fathers) can provide.  That being said, I coached JP's Dodgers in WNSL through age 13, though, and that worked out fine, because the ones that loved baseball and put the work in are playing high school baseball.  Maybe there's more baseball to be played by this group, together, after all.  Time will tell.  

Hindsight is 20/20 and all that, of course, but sometimes I regret that after the spring baseball season when the pandemic arrived in March 2020 and Joe played with the Diamondbacks, I didn't take my boys back to the Junior Dodgers.  Instead, because our experience was good with Oliver Davis that spring and he and I struck up a friendship, I brought the reset of my Junior Dodgers to the Diamondbacks.  Rather than bring them to Oliver, I think I should coached the Junior Dodgers, with my guys, and competed against the Diamondbacks.   

Selfishly, I was coaching JP's Dodgers and from a time and effort standpoint, it was nice to not be running two baseball teams.  The boys learned from Oliver, too, much like they're learning from Scott McRae this season, as well.  Still, it would have been nice to have them together as a group, with me, all of these years.  The bottom line, though, is that all of my boys - my Junior Dodgers - had positive experiences playting baseball all of these years.  Most importantly, too, I've kept them together over the years.  All of them love the game of baseball and that's what matters most to me.  

These days.  These boys.  It's a great life, isn't it?

Junior Dodgers forever.