Weekly assignment

   This week's "weekly assignment" was chosen for us by Athena Scalzi, goddess of wisdom, weaving, and crafts, minion of Cthulu, protector of Pluto, and all around cute kid.  Athena wanted to know if we liked baseball.

Weekend Assignment #130: Tell us if you like or don't like baseball (which is Athena's favorite sport), and (as extra credit) if you played it as a kid (or would play it, if you were a kid now). Write it up in your blog or journal and then come back here and leave a link. Athena thanks you for your cooperation.

   Well, Athena, yes, I do like baseball. It is one of the most interesting sports out there, but, unfortunately, in this day and age of the need for instant gratification, baseball, formerly America's Game, has somewhat fallen by the wayside. Sports fans seem more attracted to NFL football, where they get to watch sweaty, three hundred pound men brutalize each other, and then, when they are finished, pat each other on the backside; or NASCAR, where they get to watch people with funny accents drive noisy cars in circles for hours, and if they are really lucky, smash 'em up real good.
   Baseball is a game of subtleties, and people, in general, just aren't that subtle any more.

   I played baseball as a child...a bit. My parents enrolled me in T-ball when I was very young. You know, the one where there are no pitchers, and the kids hit the ball off of tees set up at home plate? I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the final inning of the final game of the season. Bases were loaded, two out. Well, I don't remember that part, but it sounds more dramatic, doesn't it?
   I was standing at the tee, trying to balance the batting helmet, so it didn't fall into my eyes, and hoist the bat high enough to get it on my shoulder at the same time, when the coach came out. He bent down and whispered in my ear, "hit it down the third base line, and run to first."
   I swung as hard as I could, hit a blistering shot down the first base line, and ran to third. Game over. Season over. Baseball experiment in the Little household over. All of my friends went on to play regular softball the next year except me. I flat out refused to join.
   Fast forward about eight years, and our local ball association has decided to start a baseball team. I say baseball as opposed to the softball they had been playing up to that point. All of my friends were very excited. We all called it "hardball," and considered it to be real baseball. My buddies convinced me to come out with them and try out.
   In all fairness, I shouldn't have made the team. All the other kids had eight years of softball experience, and I had eight years of playing soft toss in the back yard with my Dad experience, with the occasional game of positions in the school yard thrown in.

   You know what positions is, don't you? That's the game we used to play at recess and lunch in elementary school. There are four batters, and all the other players take up positions in the field. When a batter gets out, he dons his glove, and moves to the right field position. Every other player rotates around, with the catcher joining the batting squad. I'm pretty sure we called it something else back then, but I sure can't remember.

   Anyway, I was the least talented kid on the field, but the coaching staff made a decision - with the permission of the league -  to not cut any players, and run with a roster of twenty one or so guys. It was considered a developmental move, as it was our first year in the league.
   Sure worked for me, because in subsequent years I did make the team, even though there were cuts made, and eventually went from part time right fielder to starting second baseman.
   After a few years playing, I had to quit the team when I got a part time job. My new boss asked me if there were any nights I didn't want to work, and I named two nights a week, practice night, and game night. So he scheduled me those nights. I'm sure he got a kick out of it. Jerkwad.

   So, Athena, to answer your questions, yes, I like baseball. Yes, I played it as a kid, and if I were a kid again, I'd like to think I'd play it again. Heck, I've been thinking of joining a local slow pitch league. I might just be playing it again next spring.

tags: Memes, Weekend Assignment, Weekly Assignment