We didn’t keep scorebooks, stats and all that for our seven-year-old granddaughter Charlee Ann’s Tee-Ball season, but I think she had a pretty good year.
That’s a good thing, because this might have been the end of her Tee-Ball career. Kids about her age graduate from Tee-Ball and move on to “live pitch” competition.
All this highly organized youth softball and baseball is a little confusing for me. We played in empty lots when I was growing up, and our main rule was that somebody had to bring a ball and bat.
I’m not even sure what position Charlee was playing all year. It was not first base, second base, pitcher or catcher, but she was sort of in between all those players in the infield.
She got better as the season progressed. The first popup that she tried to field missed her glove and bounced off her forehead. The only damage was a red spot for a while.
In one of her final games, she caught a low, slow moving pop fly with the bases loaded and one out. Then she tagged out the player running from third base to home.
There was some cheering and commotion in the stands, mainly from me and other family members. She asked about it after the game, and we told her we were proud of her double play. She said, “What’s a double play?”
Charlee’s older sister Allie played on a live pitch softball team, and their games often overlapped. So Regina and I had to split up spectator duties with their parents.
As we were leaving Allie’s game headed to the field where Charlee was about to play, Charlee asked for a blue Powerade. Her mother wouldn’t let me get it because it was too close to supper.
In addition to the double play that day, Charlee hit an inside the park home run. Inside the park home runs are common in Tee-Ball since kids’ batting and running skills are ahead of their pitching and catching abilities.
As she rounded the corner headed for home plate, Charlee said something to her third base coach. The coach bent over with her hands on her knees laughing.
When the inning ended, the coach came over and told me Charlee said she got thirsty running the bases and really needed a blue Powerade. I went to the concession stand and bought her one.
REPRINTED FROM THE NATCHITOCHES TIMES