Put Me in Coach, I'm Ready to Play...

Saturday was Will's very first T-ball game and he loved it!  Will plays for the Red Sox and he chose #6 as his number.  We are playing at the YMCA and it is the first year they are doing T-ball.  There are only two teams, the Red Sox and the Yankees, so we will play each other for all 6 games.


Before the game started, we had the playing of the National Anthem...

The first pitch of the season was thrown by the mayor of the town.  Pretty impressive for 4 year old T-ball.

T-ball is so fun because each inning everybody gets to bat and everybody gets to play in the field.  The last player in the rotation to bat "hits a homerun" as he is allowed to clear the bases.  Lucky for Will, he was the last to bat in the rotation for his first time up at the plate.  And he didn't know this automatic homerun rule.

Will's first at bat.  Coach Jordan was giving everyone a few helpful pointers...like where to stand and how to hold the bat!

He gets a hit!  It was a solid hit, too.  It went into the "outfield", meaning that the ball got behind all of the fielders.

He hit a homerun!  Will was so excited that he jumped on homeplate.  Will was one of the few players that knew where all of the bases were, so he was able to round the bases pretty quickly.  The credit goes to big brother Jack who took Will out to run the bases before the game started.  One of the many advantages of having an older brother.

On his way to the dugout after his homerun, I heard Will say, "I KNEW I COULD DO IT!"

Will did really well in the field, too.  

Will in ready position at shortstop.  I'd never seen this before, but they had little hula hoops down at the different positions so everyone knew where to stand.  What a great idea for the little ones learning the game!

And this is what I love so much about T-ball.

Will and several of the other players going for the ball.  But what I really love is the little kid who is oblivious to all the action because there is something far more interesting going on in the dirt!  We were pleased to see Will play aggressively; he wasn't afraid to get in the middle of the pack to get the ball.

In the second inning, Will didn't bat last so there wasn't a second homerun.  However, he did get another hit...this time a double.  

Will takes off for third base.

Mercifully, the games only last 1 hour at this age.  That is really enough for both the players and the coaches (aka cat herders).  Brent was a volunteer coach for this game and he was totally exhausted.  He spent his time on offense making sure everyone knew to run to him at second base, and defense was spent putting everyone in position and then chasing the player down as he darted off into outfield for no apparent reason!

Doesn't he just look like a baseball player?!?!  

 

 

The Red Sox defeated the Yankees 15-13.  I was surprised that we were even keeping score in T-ball, but yay, we won!  Will had a great time and was so excited about the team's win and especially his homerun.  He told me that he was so fast that no one could catch him!  He'll be reliving the glory for weeks to come!

Play Ball!