The Tee-Baller

Gabe and his baseball escort, Uncle Jake, who held his hand almost the whole game.
The end of a father-son conference. As the song says, "Put me in, Coach, I'm ready to play"...so I can get my Capri Sun and post-game trip to Mr. Gatti's.
Gabe (center) and escort Jake.
Audrey, before falling asleep, was a thrilled fan
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Tee ball has begun. Gabe did not want to do it at first, but I think he had fun after getting through his first "game". The set-up was this: each team would stand all the players in a line. One player would hit, while a player from the other team would try to get to the ball and throw it to first base. When the next player got up to bat, the one on first would get to go to second, and the next person on the other team would try to get the ball, and so on. Barry and his brother are the coaches who are to help execute this plan.

This was a nice idea, but in reality, it was less a game and more a free-for-all of preschoolers, wearing huge t-shirts and hats, and parents doing various activities (taking pictures, sitting in the dirt, complaining, sometimes swinging a bat, etc.) on the field. Unlike "adult" baseball, I think each of the players quit at least once. (I guess that's what happens, when you're playing for the sheer love of the game and ballpark candy, rather than a big paycheck.)

It was also more exciting because you never knew what was going to happen.For instance, Gabe actually kicked the ball once instead of throwing it to first, and was the only player that I saw to field the ball he also hit. Most of the parents stood close to first base, which was the best photo-op spot, but there were people all over the field. As my dad said, we were not afraid of a screaming line drive, to say the least. You can't see those kinds of things in a REAL baseball game. Next game is Tuesday, so I will give you the update after that.