My son, Sam, called me last Sunday. Just made his college baseball team. Good for you, I said (adolescent males like to be part of a club).
Is this development good from a baseball perspective? I don’t know. (Cooperstown executives are probably not readying wall space in the Hall of Plaques for Sam).
Is his making the team good for life lessons reasons? Yup.
There are 10 things that Sam went through in baseball from kindergarten T-Ball to his news about the Trinity College team in Hartford, Ct., last week that came to mind when he called me.
• His mother agreed to have his middle name be Brooks, after Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson. Good start!
• He played “featherball” baseball at Camp Ketcha at age 3-4, with soft squishy balls. (So nobody could get hurt). He could not hit the ball at 3. But he still wanted to play at 4. Good sign, I remember thinking.
• In kindergarten T-Ball, I was his coach, and had him start the games playing right field, and hitting last in the batting order. He hated that (and me!), but I think it taught him humility and patience. I bet those qualities came through in his college tryouts.
• Little League all-stars is daddy-driven. One year he did not make the all-star team. I had refused to be involved and advocate for him behind closed doors. (Are 11-year-olds old enough to learn about the dark underbelly of American life?) Two kids who did make that all-star team got cut recently from their college teams. Good to peak at the right time…
• In eighth grade, the coach, a martial arts instructor by background, did not have him pitch a single inning the whole season. I always figured that was hard on Sam. I think, now, it motivated him.
• In AAU baseball, the coach told kids if they were pitching and wanted to come out of the game, just ask. One day, our team was having a tough game. One kid begged to come out of the game. Sam went in next. He got hit hard. But he did not ask to come out. At some point, he had learned resilience.
• AAU coach Glenn Reeves made Sam and his teammates rake and tarp the field after each game. “Respect the game, boys,” he would say. I thought that was cool. Molded the kids.
• Junior year, it was pouring rain late in a game vs. Portland. One pitcher bowed out, soaked. Sam went in. Not flashy but steady. Survived. I remember thinking, Character-building involved there? Yup.
• Senior year in high school, Sam broke his ankle in March. Recovered by mid season. Pitched six games. Started three. Lost each one 1-0. Horatio Alger meets the 1962 Mets. Nice medical comeback, though.
• I never would have encouraged him to try out for college baseball. Hard to pull off. Risking great heartbreak. Did my son ask for my advice? Nope. Did his own thing. Wish I could take credit. It would be a lie if I tried. Happy ending. Nice work, Sam. 04074 proud.
Dan Warren is a Scarborough trial lawyer. He can be reached by private Facebook message at Jones & Warren Attorneys at Law page, or by email at jonesandwarren@gmail.com.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
