summer ball highlights

"Another Parent"

My memories relate to a pitcher. I remember our Summer League game in the old South Dakota Basin League. His name was "Bob Gibson"!

His pitched ball appeared as a "white" dot. Fortunately, I place the bat over the plate and ball disappeared over the RF fence.

The league that year sent 32 players to the MLB.

Bob

I love this story, Bob!  But you didn't put the year...

Summer ball, is right for some and not for others.

My son chose to train instead of play, and it was the right choice for him. I was frustrated at the time, because there was a lot of parental buzz about which league, level of competition and exposure. He used the summers to train and get stronger - it worked for him.

Son pitched his first scoreless start in High-A!  6IP 0R 2H 4K.  It has been tough for him to transition from last year's 40-game Ivy season (pitching once a week) to this year's 132-game pro season (in a five-day rotation), so seeing him have a good game is terrific!  Otherwise, it has been brutal, lol.

Last game of the season yesterday and my 2027 hit a hr with a wood bat over 340'.  Legit over the fence hr. One more showcase then a much deserved vacation.

Had a senior and a freshman playing together.  Senior started the conference clinching game, struggled on the mound and then rolled his ankle on 2B trying to stretch into a triple.  His  brother came in and shut the door for a 2 inning save. 

Scene one is a 13u USSSA Majors championship game. We were hanging around waiting for the consolation game to end. My (then) 5’2 “ 100 son was standing next to me while I was chatting with the dad of the stud of the other team. The kid was 5’8 and touching 80. He could also run and hit.

Looking right at my son the dad told me while my son was playing for fun his son was playing for scholarships. No one was playing for college scholarships in 13u. Maybe he meant private high schools. My son took the comment as an insult and never forget. Even though he knew the kid’s name he always referred to him as “The ***hole’s Kid.”

Fast forward to 17u ball post soph summer. My son is now 6’1” 170 coming off being all conference in one of the tougher 6A conferences. The other kid is now 5’9 and throwing mid 80’s. My son was on a national 17u team that traveled the east coast. During the week he played in a scout league of elite local players. They played a couple of games per week.

My son was never a demonstrative player. His idea of firing his team up was yelling, “Let’s get some runs” when running off the field.

He stepped into the box against “The ***holes Kid.” My son wasn’t a watch it fly kid. But there was absolutely no doubt about this one off the bat. It was halfway up the trees.

The ***holes Dad was sitting in the stands behind my son’s team’s on deck circle. My son walked over to the fence. He pointed at the dad and said, “I’m still playing for fun. That’s as fun as it gets.”

He was a little excited. I left out a couple of bleeps. After the game I tried to hold back from laughing while telling him his little f bomb rant at the dad was not classy. The rant was ok. I didn’t care for the f bombs. It was really out of character. His friends always said “damn” was as harsh as he usually talks.

Now that’s funny!

There was a lot of highlights this summer for son's possible last summer of HS Travel ball. However, yesterday has to be the biggest highlight. They were home team, time had ran out, and it was their last chance to score in the championship game. Two outs, runners on first and third, score 9-8. Son comes to the plate and on the second pitch, hits the ball to the fence in left field. Runner on third scores, runner on first comes around and slides across home just before the tag to win the game. Son was attacked and dogpiled. Great ending to the season.

This has been the first summer without any "summer ball highlights" since my son started playing.  To be honest, I've actually missed the long car rides with my son, seeing all the families that I only see at baseball tournaments, etc.  My wallet has NOT missed summer baseball.

The boy went to campus June 1 to eat, throw, lift, take a class, and get ready for fall.  He's put on 15 lbs which is great.

Kid likely played his final summer ball with current team. They ended their league in the quarter finals and my kid was left on deck with a tying run on base. 3rd year in a row left on deck and 2nd in row with a tying runner on base.  The manager was his HS pitching coach so they had a long and great relationship. Kid started the season beyond awful (he was re-tooling his swing) but mid season turned it around and hit 500 the last 8 games and was 2 for 2 in the final game. It was an emotional farewell.