When did you know?

Son #1 - I knew early on that he wasn't going to play baseball beyond high school. I was correct.

Son #2 - I knew he was going to be an outstanding player when he was very young. He ended up playing professional baseball for a short period of time.

Son #3 - I knew he would play in high school, but thought, even while in high school, that college was a big longshot. He ended up playing professional baseball for 11-12 years and made it to the Major Leagues.

Lesson learned - You just never know how things will turn out. However, they are all very special! Not once did I ever think about any of them having "IT".

This question comes up from time to time.

IMO, it's not when WE realize it, but when THE player realizes it, for mine it was in HS, we just went with the flow and didn't pay much attention until it all really meant something (which was securing a college scholarship), then draft potential.

PG is right, all players are special, and you never really know how things will turn out, so just sit back and enjoy your player for the person he is and not the player he is.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Lesson learned - You just never know how things will turn out. However, they are all very special! Not once did I ever think about any of them having "IT".

Great point.

I just sent this in a pm to my dear friend lafmom the other day but I believe it applies here:

I'll never forget how my baseball playing son's (Tyler) baseball began. My wife went to sign Beau (my oldest son) up at the fire hall and of course had to tug Tyler along with her as he was a few months shy of his 4th birthday. When Tyler found out he was not getting signed up too he sobbed so badly that everyone at the fire hall felt sorry for him and they made an exception for him and put him on Beau's team. That started a pattern where any coach that picked Beau was automatically getting Tyler That first year, Tyler would draw pictures in the sand when he played in the field. He could always hit. He would hit but stand there at home admiring what he had done. All the parents would be screaming, run Tyler, run Tyler... all the while running down the line pointing where to go. After a few years, coaches figured out that they were getting a huge bonus when they picked Beau for their team because they automatically got Tyler. They would play Tyler at short and Beau at second and hardly ever lose a game as both of them pitched as well. At 10 years old, Tyler was the best player in Beau's 12 year old league.

I think back how much fun and innocent all that was. Travel ball kind of corrupted the innocence of things and took some of the fun out of it for me but Tyler never let it rob him of his joy which he carries with him until this day. I am convinced that the whole key to the puzzle is joy. I think Tyler's joy goes back to that day in the fire hall when they made an exception for him.

After I accepted the fact he was going to be right handed and not one of the chosen ones , I think that I knew he had something special when he started playing up in age and was not mentally intimidated while he was physically outmatched at times. IMO many times kids hold themselves back because they are insecure about their abilities or potential. I will also say that while I thought there was something special about his ability and attitude, I always knew that "baseball special" included a lot of luck and never did I "bank" that he would make to the level he has.

8.

I've found that the older the player gets, the less special his parents tend to think he is!

Picture a plastic ball and a plastic bat: When I underhanded his first pitch from about 10 feet and he smacked a liner back and broke my glasses I went inside the house and told my wife "That kid can hit" ---- I knew then (he was about two) he COULD play baseball. However I NEVER knew from year to year if he WOULD continue to play baseball. He played for 22 more years.
Fungo

Fungo,
I can relate! BTW, our players first word was ball too, except pronounced "bawl".

I asked hubby this question he said the day son was the only position ready player in the field, in tball.

Seriously you never know, I have seen a few kids that had the "it" and done playing as teens.

Each post of mine concludes you don't have to be a great player to be in MLB, you have to be a good one every day.
That statement would perfectly reflect our son as a player. While he was always "special" to us, no one in little league, senior league or high school ever would say he had "IT."
That he was a good player every day became apparent when he went to the NECBL, became a two time All Star, and was the 2nd leading hitter in the league. It became equally apparent when he went from riding the bench at the beginning of the 2005 Milb season to playing in the All Star game some 3 months later.
Now that he is coaching, I think he is showing he may have "IT." He is now working with his 3rd program, this time with a very, very talented DI coach. Each of the 3 head coaches has commented he has "it." The players he has/is coaching comment he has "it."
The way the teams have performed suggest he can really coach. Long way to go in his pursuit, but maybe he really does have "IT" as a coach when, as a player, he was "just" a good one everyday, and very happy for all that brought him in baseball.

First at bat of LL majors. 4thGen was the youngest player in the league. He lead off the game and year for us. As a switch hitter he was up lefthanded and the other coach moved his outfielders toward right. 4th roped the first pitch he saw over the third basement's head and was hitting the thrid base bag about the time the left fielder got to the ball. I was going crazy in the box at third but he came into the dugout with the "that's pretty much how I expect it to go every time" attitude.

My observation matches 06catherdad, after HS the players are all good.

quote:

when it was that you first realized your little guy was really something special.

I'll let you know when I do!

When my son was 2 months old and sitting in his high chair, he threw his pacifier at me. When I noticed that he used his left hand and that the pacifier had good run and even a little sink - I knew that he had it...

I really don't know yet if my older son has "IT" or not. I know of some people (some knowledgeable and some not quite so knowledgeable parents and some coaches) who have told me for years (tball on) that he does and they may be correct...I think he was 9 when someone said they were looking forward to watching him on TV some day...I also know of a few kids that some of those same folks said had "IT" and, still in HS, they aren't playing anymore...I know the 90' diamond took some of them off the list as did HS ball and there are some kids I was sure would play in college that aren't...

There have been times I thought my younger son, who always seemed to jump into my older son's practices and pretty easily hold his own, might have more talent...He just didn't have that love for the game that my older one does...He's now playing another sport that he really seems to be enjoying...

I'll wait to see where their paths lead and enjoy the ride with both my sons...

When did I know? It's hard to pinpoint a particular moment. I suspected it very early, but knew it was his dream to pursue, not mine.

That didn't stop me from kidding about it, though. When infidel_son was 4, the company I worked for was beginning to change their retirement plans. They brought in a contractor for a few days and he was to educate us about IRAs, 401Ks, investing and similar stuff. The problem was that the classes were right after lunch which seemed more like naptime. Being bored silly and fighting drowsiness, I thumbed through some pictures I had with me that were of the kid's T-Ball and some others I took watching Spring Training. I found one of infidel_son hitting the ball off the tee that looked really good. I noticed that there was one of Rickey Henderson that was almost exactly the same; hands, head, feet, position of the bat. I took those photos to the instructor and announced, "Here is my retirement plan."

At 3yo one of my DDs came in to the room at Christmas with someone else's basketball and was dribbling it. At 5yo, she turns a triple play in her first T-Ball game. (I travelled a lot back then, she didn't learn it from me.) She turned out to be a pretty good athlete.

Her older sister was a cheerleader (I know, but hey it's better than s****er), then became a pretty good fastpitch player in HS.

But, I think you never know about any kid until they hit high school. Most of the 8U,10U, 12U stars fall by the wayside. The kids that couldn't play at all can be great pitchers. The great 10U home run hitters may not hit a lick in HS. Puberty changes everything.

When GUN was 7 years old, he played up. That same year he turned his first unassisted triple play. When he was 10, he moved to 54/80’s and played up. When he was a high school freshman, he started every varsity game; he’s now a 3 year letterman and a captain on the team. That same freshman summer, he started playing with his current summer travel team with a bunch of rising JR’s and continued to have success. Last summer he played on a state championship team and played in a World Series event.

I say all that to say this… He’s very special because he’s my son. Will he be a special baseball player in college? Who knows, but he’ll always be my son. I will add this too, alot of players that have great sucess at every level, have one thing in common. Baseball is part of their identity, it is as much a part of who they are as it is what they do.

GED10DaD

When Jr. was 18 months old , I put a souviner bat in his hands and he repeatedly crushed a ping-pong ball across the room .

When at age 8 or so, playing a completely imaginary game in our basement,with pillows on the floor as bases, running around, "diving catches", etc., he came up disgusted and sweaty. I asked what was wrong and he said "I gave up a walkoff homer in the 9th". I figured if he was that intent in imaginary games, he'd be pretty good at the real thing.