Extra Innings

And just like that, it was over.

JP started in centerfield and batted eighth last night in MBA's junior varsity semifinal game against a loaded Christ Presbyterian Academy team.  Will Brock pitched valiantly for MBA and the game was tied, 1-1, after four innings.  He tired, though, and CPA scored two runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to win the game, 7-1.  

CPA is an older, bigger, more experienced team, especially since they started at least one varsity baseball player, Josh VanOrman, in the game.  The boys fought the entire game and, in the end, got beat by a better team.  There is no shame in that, to be sure.  All in all, it was a good season and MBA's young team, dominated by freshman, gained valuable experience that will pay off down the line.  I fully expect the core of this group to contend for state championships in 2027 and 2028.

JP couldn't quite catch a deep fly ball hit over his head, close to the wall, in dead center field, in the second inning.  The official scorer ruled it a hit but I think JP would like to have caught it.  He got turned around a bit as he tried to go back on the baseball, which happened once earlier in the season.  He's had to learn to play outfield on the fly this season as, for the most part, he's been an infielder his entire baseball career.  He's versatile, though, so he's made it work.  He's made some nice plays, too.

In his only at bat, JP struck out against a very good CPA pitcher who only allowed a couple of hits in six innings.  What I liked - no, what I loved - about the at bat was that JP went down swinging.  All three strikes were balls he swung at and, on top of that, he fouled a pitch off, too.  If memory serves, the count was 1-2 when he struck out.

JP went down swinging.

As a father, that's all I can ask for.  Step into the box against a very good pitcher, throwing hard, and get your hacks in.  Let the rest take care of itself.  In baseball and in life, that's a pretty good philosophy.  Get your hacks in and go down swinging.  

After he batted, Coach Anderson pulled JP, and Whitt went in to play centerfield.  Honestly, I was okay with that.  I very much appreciated that Coach Anderson started JP and got him an at bat.  Whitt is a good ballplayer, had family there, too, and deserved to play.

JP had quite a contingent of fans there to support him.  Jude, Joe, Jane, Jim, Tracy, Alice, Jerry, and me, all  sitting in camping chairs along the fence between the bleachers and MBA's third base dugout.  Gavin O'Heir sat with us, as well, entertaining everyone with his banter.  Of all of the friends I've made watching JP play baseball, he's probably my favorite.  Boston born and bred, I feel like I've known him all of my life.

It was a good, suspenseful high school baseball game.  

For me, it wasn't about that game.  It was about the hundreds of games that came before it.  Fields 4 and 5 at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ in WNSL's Wookie league with me on one knee, pitching to four and five year old boys, including JP.  Machine pitch games in Warner Park on fields 2, 3, and 4 in the Rookie League.  Kid pitch baseball, also on fields 2, 3, and 4 in the Minor League.  Big boy baseball on regulation fields - 1 and 5 and Warner Park - in the Major League and the Prep League.

And, of course, All-Star games and travel baseball games in ballparks all over Middle and East Tennessee.  

Brutally hot summer days in June and July and cold nights in October.  Coaching in so many different dugouts, followed the last few years by camping chairs and quiet conversation as I watched JP play for other coaches.  All of it.  

And just like that, it was over.

Surprisingly, this morning I feel relieved more than sad.  I realize that will probably change.  Perhaps it's because JP tweaked his knee coming out of the box on a ground ball Friday night, so much so that he cut his running workout short on Saturday morning.  I think he's okay.  Still, it was a reminder of where he feels like his focus should be now, and that's running. Cross country and track.

What makes me happy is he left baseball on his terms.  His choice, not someone else's.  And, as I said, he went down swinging.  

I'm so proud of JP.  Great teammate.  Hard worker.  Quiet leader.  Competitive.  Courageous.  All of those things and so much more.

After the game, I thanked Coach Anderson as I shook his hand.  "JP's a great boy," he said.  "A pleasure to coach."  Yes, he is.  

And just like that, it was over.

It's time to move on, it's time to get going, what lies ahead I have no way of knowing.

- Tom Petty

No. 1 Seed

MBA's Junior Varsity team is young.  9 freshman, 4 sophomores, and 1 junior.  The freshman can really play, which has caused me to think all season long that when they in a couple of years, MBA is going to have an outstanding baseball team.  I could be wrong but I suspect they will compete state championships in 2027 and 2028.  

As I've discovered, the end of a season in high school sports is bittersweet.  I recall feeling this way at the end of baseball season last year and at the end of cross country season this year.  Just when you really start to get to know the parents, and the boys, the season suddenly ends.  To an extent, that's probably what the entire 4-year experience of high school with each of our boys will be like for us.  

After being rained out Friday evening, the boys played another archival, Father Ryan, yesterday afternoon at CPA.  JP started and played center field, as Whitt pitched.  If it were a hockey game, I would describe it as a chippy contest.  Both dugouts chirped at each other throughout the game.  Father Ryan's pitcher set the tone in the second inning when he caught a comebacker and rather than throw the ball to first base for an easy out, he raced the batter up the baseline and stepped on first base himself, turning back an sneering in the process.

An inning or so later, Whitt, pitching by far his best game of the season, did almost exactly the same thing.  He added a twist, however, giving the baserunner the peace sign as he beat him to the bag on a ball hit right back to him.  Unbeknownst to me, that's Tyreke Hill's (Dolphins' receiver) signature move when he streaks past a defender for a touchdown.  That got Father Ryan's dugout going.  After one of their players yelled "Billy Badass," MBA's dugout responded in kind.  Archrivals.

A couple of innings later, Whitt "sworded" a Father Ryan batter after he struck him out to end the inning, so Coach Anderson pulled him.  I love Whitt's competitiveness but he probably needs to channel it more effectively.  He's a funny kid, though, and a real competitor.  I enjoy watching him play baseball.  

It was a real pitcher's duel to be sure, as the 1-1 score held up through all seven innings.  JP was at the plate in the bottom of the seventh with two outs when Bennett was picked off first base for the second time in the game.  JP walked in a good at bat early, then later grounded out.  He made a nice play in the top of the seventh inning in center field, ranging far to his left to catch a fly ball.  I thought it might carry but he judged it perfectly.

The game ended in a tie.  MBA won a coin flip and got the overall #1 seed.  The boys play CPA on Monday night.  Here we go.

The Last Out

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the end of things.  

As Joe finishes 6th grade in less than 30 days, our family's time at University School of Nashville will end.  11 years in total between JP and Joe.  Really good years, too, at a place where our boys have been nurtured and seen.  It's been quite a run.

Although it's been in the works for a while, Harris Baseball Club and Harris Training are coming to an end.  The boys have played travel baseball for HBC the last few years.  Brian's lease ended and the building was sold, as a result of which the facility on Wilhagen Road, off Murfreesboro Road, where the boys have trained and practiced so many times, is closing.  

JP's baseball season ends this weekend with the junior varsity tournament.  Although you never know, it's quite possible JP's won't play competitive baseball again after this weekend.  As I've written, that's a bitter pill for me to swallow in so many ways.  It's almost unfathomable for me to imagine a spring or summer when JP is not playing baseball.  

Yesterday was the last game of the regular season for JP's team.  A home game vs. Brentwood Academy.  He started and played centered field.  In his only at bat, he struck out.  What was really cool, though, was that JP got to pitch in a key spot.  

I was so happy for him because he hasn't pitched much at all the last couple of years, playing on the junior varsity team.  It's been an adjustment for him, and for me, since he's always been a pitcher.  A good one, too.  Great control although not a ton of velocity.  The 75 pitch complete game he threw in a 1-0 loss to David Lipscomb in the last tournament game as an 8th grader was a game I will never forget.  

Yesterday, Coach Anderson brought him in from center field to pitch in the top of the 4th inning, with runners on second and third and one out.  On a 2-1count, Brentwood Academy called a suicide squeeze.  The hitter go the bunt down, which JP fielded as the run scored.  He whirled and threw to first for the out.  Brentwood Academy got greedy, however, and the runner who had been on second base was thrown out  by MBA's first baseman as he tried to score, too.

In the top of the 5th inning, JP gave up a single to right field on a sinking fly ball down the line.  The next batter punched a line drive just past Bennett at third base, who dove to his left but couldn't come up with the ball.  Pitching against the smallest ballplayer on either team, JP quickly got top 0-2, then left a fastball out over the plate.  The hitter lined it into right center field, tying the game up at 7-7.  JP got out of the inning with no more damage and, in the end, MBA won 9-7.  Solid win.

If it's the last regular season baseball game plays, it was a pretty good way to go out.  He played center field.  He batted.  He pitched.  JP always has been the ultimate utility player, Jose Oquendo style.  There is not position he cannot play.  He made the MBA middle school "A" team as a 7th grader solely because he could play catcher.  He wasn't a catcher but he could play catcher.

At Brentwood Academy on Tuesday, JP started in center field and in his first at bat, stayed back on a 1-2 curve ball and stroked it into right field for a hit.  Unfortunately, he was doubled off when he attempted to steal second on the first pitch and the batter popped up to the second baseman.  

The batter, of course, should have been taking the first pitch since JP was stealing but so it goes.  The baseball intellect on his team isn't the highest.  Perhaps that will change as the freshman get older and mature.  Perhaps it won't.  In baseball, it's the little things that matter.

What I loved the most and what almost made me cry, though, was watching JP hustle out with a catcher's mitt to warm up the pitcher in between innings after Coach Anderson removed him from the game earlier than I would have preferred after his base hit in the second inning.  JP loves baseball and above all else, he loves being part of a team.  He's a leader and the ultimate team player. 

Lately, I've been flooded - literally flooded - with memories of JP and baseball.  Throwing with him on the strip of grass at Mt. Gilead Baptist Church (gone now) across from our old house after dinner, before dark.  

Throwing batting practice to him in the cages at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ and Warner Park.

Running practices and coaching games for his team with Chris Taylor, Randy Kleinstick, Will Wright, and Tony Weeks.  I miss those days terribly and will cherish the memories forever.

Celebrating the 11U state championship with JP and the rest of the Dodgers in Lawrenceburg and smiling as JP was handed his all-tournament trophy.  

Hitting JP fungoes at Rose Park so many times.  Doing the same on the baseball field at Sewanee whenever we visited.  

Those memories are front and center this week along with so many more.  Too numerous to write about, really. 

Last Sunday, JP and Joe asked me to go with them to the facility (Harris Baseball Training) to throw some batting practice.  Of course, I went.  I did so, though, with a heavy heart, knowing that it might be my last time to throw batting practice to JP.  Brian has begun to dismantle and remove some of the gear there, which made me even more nostalgic for baseball days gone by.  

Spending an hour or so with JP and Joe, throwing batting practice and talking baseball, with no one else around.  Listening to reggae on the Brian's Turtle Box.  Just putting in some work.  It was, maybe, a perfect way to bookend so many years of baseball with JP.  I think the end of all of that is here, this week.

Last night in the first tournament game, JP didn't play against Ensworth.  I was disappointed, for him but not for me.  I want to go out playing, not sitting.  

Still, it was a fabulous game, a 4 - 2 MBA win that Aidan punctuated after the game ending strikeout by looking into the Ensworth dugout and furtively putting his index finger to his lips.  Just for an instant.  Shhhh.  No one saw it but me and I loved it because, as usual, the Ensworth dugout had been obnoxious. 

Incidentally, I sat beside and talked the entire game with the grandfather of Ensworth's center fielder (Cooper).  He's 78, a retired dentist and Detroit native.  He was in a wheelchair, as he's fighting pancreatic cancer.  It was such a blessing to sit with in and talk baseball.  The 1969 Tigers.  The 1984 Tigers.  World champions, both.  Life is beautiful at the most unexpected times.  His name is John and his daughter (Cooper's mother) is Stacy.  

When Chris Taylor texted me to see if JP was running in the Great Eight at David Lipscomb, I felt a little guilty for briefly wishing I was there, with JP, instead of watching a baseball game in which he wasn't playing.   

All good things must come to an end, I know.  Never say never, of course, but it's probably time.  

My life has been enriched beyond measure over the years by sharing the game of baseball with my sons.  God has blessed me with two boys who love baseball - and all sports, really - like I do.  What an incredible gift I've been given.  I wouldn't change a second of the time I've spent with JP, baseball gloves on our left hands.  Throwing.  Fielding.  Hitting.  Talking.  All of it, a gift.  

WNSL Dodgers forever.

 

 

Slumping

Baseball can be a cruel game.  Maybe the cruelest, when you're slumping at the plate.  Unfortunately, that's where both of my boys find themselves as their school baseball seasons wind down.

For Joe, it's been a lost year.  Completely.  Coaching has been, for the most part, non-existent.  The talent level on the team is marginal, which is not a surprise.  It's USN, after all.  They're so thin at pitcher that as a 6th grader, Joe has been pitching regularly against 8th graders.  The boys have not improved from the beginning of the season to now which, to me, is the clearest indicator that the coaching is subpar.

Yesterday, USN lost 21 - 0 to MBA's A team.  Joe played catcher, a position he hasn't played in over two years.  How did Joe do?  Not well but I was as proud of him as I've ever been because he fought and battled under adverse conditions.  He was tough and he was a leader.  

Nico - whom I coached for years - pitched a disastrous couple of innings.  Nico is not a pitcher.  He hasn't pitched and he doesn't pitch.  Still, I was proud of Nico, too, because he didn't give up.  He fought and battled, just like Joe.  

At the plate, Joe was completely overmatched, as were most of his teammates.  He struck out against a heavyset left hander throwing BB's for MBA.  Legitimate pitcher.  Probably the toughest U'SN has faced all season.  Honestly, I think the kid could pitch for JP's junior varsity MBA team.  

JP's team beat Ensworth - finally - 15 - 4, after losing the first two games for the series.  Tuesday, the boys lost a heartbreaker, 8 - 9.  After falling behind 0 - 9, they rallied in the last couple of innings and had bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th with two out.  Their last batter flew out to the left fielder, Tom Courtney (Children's House), to end the game.  

Yesterday, JP was hitless.  The first at bat, he struck out after looking at three called strikes, which is unusual for him.  The next at bat, he grounded out to second base with runners in scoring position.  In his third at bat, he struck out again.  He's slumping late, which is difficult fo him.  I know he wants to finish this season on a high note.  I want that for him desperately, too.  Not for me but for him.  

JP made a couple of plays in center field, though, and threw out a runner at third base.  I'm hoping his defense, base running, and leadership keep him in the lineup as the regular season winds down next week and through the tournament.  

After his game, I took Joe to Blue Moon Waterfront Grill at Rock Harbor Marina.  It's been many years, literally, since I've been there.  I was shocked at how different the restaurant and bar looked when Joe and I walked in until the hostess pointed out that the old restaurant and bar flooded, then washed away in the flood in 2010.  15 years + since I've been to Blue Moon?  Wow.

Joe and I had a nice early dinner on the water, eating out and talking.  As always, Joe was a good hang.  

When we got home, JP was packing for a lock-in at Cathedral on West End Avenue, the Catholic church in which Jude and I were married.  

These boys and this life.

The Return of Bongo Boy

Perhaps you can go home again, after all.

My original coffee shop, Bongo Java Belmont, is back in my regular morning rotation.  For the past few years, I drifted away from Bongo Java for a variety of reasons, none of which I am going to write about today.  This morning, I want to be present and content with what Bongo Javi is in this moment.  

As of late, the vibe in Bongo Java has been tremendous.  Happy, friendly baristas who care about making a decent cup of coffee.  Baristas and other employees that seem to like enjoy each other's company.  Early mornings, before it gets busy, from my normal table I can hear them talking and laughing by the La Marzocco expresso machine.  It hasn't been that way for a while.The music, too, has been awesome, at least for me.  All 70's.  Eagles, ELO, Billy Joel, etc.  

A few of the regulars, like me, are returning or stopping by more regularly.  I am beginning to recognize new regulars, too.  They stop by every morning for a coffee to go or to have a quick bite to eat.  Finally, there is a grill cook - which should always have been the case - so I can order scrambled eggs with avocado, liken the old days.  

The old days.  I have so many memories of this place, all of them happy.  With JP and Joe, this was our home away from home for so many years when they were little.  From where I sit right now, watching the sun stream in the window of the exit door, I can almost glimpse Joe toddling around after waking up from a nap in his stroller on a Saturday afternoon, sippy cup in hand.  Or, at age four or five, JP sitting on the window seat in the back room with me across from him, as we eat breakfast before I take him to Children's House.  

On many mornings, I texted Carley when she was on the way to house and told her we would meet her at Bongo Java.  I ordered her a bagel, so it would be ready when she arrived.  She sat with Joe and me before I left for work.  It was perfect.  I miss those days.

Now, JP drives himself to MBA.  Jude drives Joe to USN, as he finishes up his last two months there before starting at MBA next year.  I sit here, in Bongo, for a few minutes before I hustle down to the office in Franklin for another in a long line of hectic days. 

Bongo Boy?  A character created by one of the baristas almost 20 years ago - probably George Dorrance - that was featured, cartoon like, in a brochure-like coloring book and on children's t-shirts.  I have one of the t-shirts that Joe wore.  It's a prized possession and I've saved it.

Maybe it's Indian summer at Bongo Java.  The vibe will change next month when Belmont U.'s school year ends and the students go home for the summer.  Some of the baristas will leave.  Bob B. (the owner) will reduce hours and I won't be here nearly as often, maybe not at all.  

Still, for now, I am going to enjoy Bongo Java, and the feeling that for a few weeks, it's been like it used to be.   

Weekend Sport Center

These are the weekends that I will miss when the boys grow up.  

Saturday about noon, I drove over to MBA to watch JP compete in the Doug Hall Relays.  Jude and her parents were there, too.  JP ran the 800 in the DMR (distance medley relay) and the third leg of the 4 x 800.  Alice arrived in time to watch the 4 x 800 and took a great video of JP taking the lead and pulling away from a Nolensville runner on the second lap.  It was an impressive run for JP and team, who won the 4 x 800.

Earlier, JP ran the 800 in the DMR at 1:58:20 a PR for him.  MBA already had a big lead, as Jack Wallace blew the field away in the first leg, the 1200.  As a result, it was hard to tell how fast JP was running because he was running alone.  The answer, of course, was pretty darn fast.  Gabe ran a strong 1600 to finish the race and clinch another MBA win.

MBA won the Doug Hall Relays, again, so it was a good day all around for the Big Red on their home track.  

From there, Jude and I drove to Murfreesboro to watch Joe play his second basketball game of the day.  His Stars team lost their first game while Jude and I were at the Doug Hall Relays watching JP run.  Joe's team lost the second game, too, to a better team.  However, they played tough against a bigger and more experienced squad and only lost by 10 points. 

I was particularly proud of how Joe played.  In the second half, he took it upon himself to box out the other team's big man, who scored 23 points for the game, all but two of them on put backs after rebounds, and try to keep him off the boards.  Joe succeeded to a point, as the big man scored in single digits in the second half.  The big man was at least a foot and a half taller than Joe and still, Joe played him physically and boxed him out when shot went up.  Joe played with real courage and resolve.

Joe scored seven points, a high for him in a Stars' game this spring.  After having a layup swatted by the big man on a breakaway after a steal, Joe crossed him up after another steal in the second half with a jump stop - courtesy of Russ Allen (!) - and hit the bucket.  

When Joe was in the game and the other team was pressing, he typically caught the inbounds pass, looked up court, and passed the ball to an open teammate to break the press.  No panic.  Steady play.  When Joe wasn't in the game, the press speeded his team up and his players turned the ball over several times for easy buckets by the other team.  Quintessential Joe.  Heady play.  Smart.  Tough.  As I so often say about him on the basketball court, a glue guy.

Sunday, Jude and I drove to Murfreesboro and I watched the first of two Armada soccer games in which Joe played goalie (a half in each game, sharing time with Liam).  The first game was incredibly exciting, as Baker scored the game winning goal with less than 30 seconds left.  Joe and his Armada teammates were over the moon with the late win.  I came home to do some work and missed the second game, a 0-0 tie.

Late afternoon, we all watched Rory McElroy win the Master's from Augusta, in what can only be described as an excruciatingly painful viewing experience.  It was a roller coaster.  I taped the end, though, and Jude and the boys watched it after Sunday evening church at Christ the King for Palm Sunday.  I got a run in while they were at church, semi-recovered from the back pain I'd strangely experienced in my mid-back earlier in the week.

A weekend full of sports.  Just the way I like it.

Clarksville

I left work early yesterday and drove to Clarksville to watch JP and MBA's junior varsity baseball team play Clarksville High School.  I hadn't been to Clarksville High School in more than three decades, as best as I can remember.  In the deep, dark recesses of my memory, I recall driving there to watch Alice play basketball once upon a time.  

I arrived early, way early, as I typically do when traveling to an unfamiliar place.  I found a coffee shop - Lucille's Cafe - around the corner from the high school and I stopped in before the game.  It was nice to take a breath and read the latest issue The Sun and sip coffee for a few minutes.  

I love traveling to out the way high schools and middle schools to watch one of the boys play sports.  It's nice to get away and, just for a couple of hours, lose myself in a baseball or soccer game, or a cross country meet.  It's a mental and emotional oasis of sorts.  Yesterday, like I do most of the time, I chatted with a couple of fathers before the game, then settled into my deluxe camping chair (a rocker) in a spot by myself.  All week long, I talk and talk and talk, and made decisions for others, so it's nice to not talk to anyone while I watch the game alone.

As I settled in and MBA batted first, I didn't recognize the peatier hitting in the two hole.  It looked like JP but I decided it wasn't him.  Too muscular.  Too big.  Plus, he usually hits lower in the lineup.  To my surprise, I heard a couple of players in the dugout saying "come on, JP!"  I looked harder and sure enough, it was him.  Number 6.  For a moment, I thought, my son looks like a college player.  Grown up.

When JP was batting the second time, MBA's varsity team walked up and several players stood behind me.  I overheard them talking, trying to figure out who was batting.  Finally, one of them pointed out that it was JP.  "He looks big," a voice from behind me said.  I laughed.  It wasn't just me.  Strange.

It was windy and cool in Clarksville, sweatshirt or coat weather to be sure.  Not cold but cool.  In a game that was stopped early - after shortly more than an hour - because the varsity teams were playing next, MBA rallied from a 4 - 1 deficit to win 5 - 4.  Will Brock pitched like a boss.  Battled and gave the boys four strong innings for the win.

JP's first time up, he hit his hardest ball of the season, a fly ball to deep left center.  The wind was blowing out and for a second, I thought it was going to get over the left fielder's head.  It didn't and he made a good catch.  In the third inning, JP laid a nifty sacrifice bunt down the third base line on a hight fast ball, not an easy ball to bunt.  That started a four run rally, which in the end, gave MBA the win.

After the tame, JP and I drove back together.  It was nice to spend a hour or so with him in the car.  I don't get that as much anymore since he is driving.  It was a pleasant afternoon all around.  

Today, JP runs in the Doug Hall Relays at MBA.  4 x 800 and the DMR (distance medley relay).  Joe plays soccer and basketball in Murfreesboro this afternoon and evening.  Jude and I will be on the go, which is the way we like it.