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My son who is now a 07 grad-6,2-225lbs RHP has always loved the GAME. Since T-ball,coach pitch,little league and school ball, he,s never waivered from baseball.
I remember when he was 9 yrs old. We lived in the country and there was no one around to throw with. He would take the ball and throw against the house, bouncing it off the drive for hours. My wife would say the constant Thump,Thump,Thump became soothing {like a ceiling fan}.
Almosy everyday,he would, at least let me get in the door and get my shoes off,before he would he come with catchers mitt,ball, and glove in hand asking "Dad, To tired to catch?" "No son, give me a minute and I,ll be there." I replied.
In the backyard we would go- Laughing, throwing and talking about the upcoming season. My son was the chubby kid. The kid no one thought much of when it came to baseball. This never stopped him.Even when the coaches put him in left field{we all know what that means}, he still loved to play and pitch.
Through the years we threw ih the backyard and dreamed of the SHOW. I myself, being a highschool pitcher,knew a little about the game but knew I couldn,t show him what he needed to get to the next level. SO- we went to college camps. The coaches would look at the tall, skinny kids and say "This is what we look for in pitchers." My son would just stand there-never hang his head and kept on pitching.
At 13 my son started to get a good sense of pitching and the strike zone. When he was 14, highschool coaches would come to me and say"What was that last pitch?" "Slider" I would reply and walk away.
At 15, we moved.Luckily it was one block from the baseball field. Again-Almost everyday when I came home from work- "Dad, To tired to throw?' No son "Give me a minute and we,ll go to the field."
Since those days my son has gained All state every year,led his team to the playoffs every year and was MVP this past season. His fastball is 88-90MPH, a unhitable curve,and a change up that,s decent.
Today I was watching the college regionals. My sons summer team had practice at 6.00.It was 2.00. With gloves in hand, he walks in the den and asks "Dad, To tired to throw?'"No son, give me a minute."
I,m 50yrs old with bad eyes-kinda afraid to catch him now-but I do it anyway. While throwing today he asks me;"Dad, when I,m 22 and in the SHOW, when I come home, will you still throw with me?' "Son, I,ll never be to tired to catch!' I relied.
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Great memories man, my son is 17 , a high school junior , a pitcher 6'1 215 lbs. used to ask me when I got out of my work truck before I got in the house to catch. He also loves the game . He has had a very rough year , never got to pitch or play in the field in varsity ball( got to pitch 3 times in JV) this year, and is now sitting on the legion team also ( same coach) . The opinion here is left handed or 90 mph. and he doesn't fit either thing. I don't know if it hurts he or I more that he never gets a chance , all I know is he never asks me to play catch anymore, I think cause he knows it hurts meto catch him now. I don't know , alls I know is that if I had to do it over again , there would never be a time when I was too tired to catch.
I think I was about 16 when playing catch with dad was over. Hit him dead hard in the chest with a mid-80's heater. I had a cannon for an arm, and when I threw to him I just had to prove it.

But he never caught me again after that day.

Pop is 84 now. I still miss playing catch with him.
Last edited by Bum
Haha. That's why i rarely play catch with him now. My arm dveloped into abit of a rocket around the age of 18, and now when i play catch with him, my warm-up tosses from 40 feet away hurt his hand, as he keeps yelling 'yeow' about every 5th ball i throw to him, lol. Your old man can only throw with you for so long, so be thankful that he's done that until you started mashing up his catching hand.
Last edited by Mr3000
Beautiful post!

Mine have gotten to where my 52 year old eyes and reactions fall short of being able to catch my sons' hard stuff, but we still throw often, and I delight in the fun of it.

Your story brought a memory to mind:

When my oldest was around 8, we're at the beach, where we seemed to throw, and throw, and throw. One one occasion, I begged off with "Daddy's tired bud". He says "Okay" and proceeds to get up throw a ball, run toward it trying to catch it, pick it up, throw it back, trying to catch it, etc., in effect, trying to play catch with himself. It took me about 10 seconds to melt, get up and get the glove on....

Isn't it amazing how many wonderful memories evolve out of the game of baseball?
Son will turn 17 this summer, so we rarely hear "thump thump thump" against the front steps anymore, but I sure miss that sound. Today, after working several hours on a construction site, attending a 2-hour baseball practice, and mowing a neighbor's lawn, son asked Dad to do some drills with him in the backyard. Probably over 150 balls thrown. Then my son got out a catcher's mitt (he is NOT a catcher) and professed shock that his dad could throw so hard. He wryly reminded Dad that he was only little league distance away :-) My husband and I wouldn't trade these experiences and memories for anything in the world....

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