The start of youth baseball, in various leagues and associations here in Barrow County, had me going back in time to my own childhood and my participation in the sport.
I admit up front I was never declared “the next Dale Murphy” or “the next Nolan Ryan.” I might have been called “the next player to strike out” but that would have been about it.
My first season in organization youth baseball was for a Pee Wee League team called the Falcons. Calling us “The Bad News Bears” would have been more like it as we were short on standout athletes and long on bumbling and stumbling in the field and at the plate.
Long time readers of this column may remember this was the team which featured a “star player” whose greatest contribution was to leave his glove at home one day. When the coach inquired about the whereabouts of this essential piece of equipment, the player responded, “I left it at home because my mom baked it in a pie!” With a shrug of the shoulders, the coach (also a character himself) simply walked away. Through the years I’ve wondered if perhaps my mind may have created this particular memory but sure enough in the team photo, the player is seen minus his glove.
The following season I moved up to Little League and played for the Red Sox. Many of my friends were on the team and it made for some great sleepovers and such as we thought of ourselves as a team on and off the field. I competed for the Red Sox for four seasons. One of the highlights was an annual trip to see the Atlanta Braves. During our trek to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium one summer I remember seeing our name in lights on the outfield scoreboard. With some lights blown, it read “Welcome Red So”. The X had apparently taken the day off.
It seems as if most of us had as much fun off the field, hanging out, going to team swimming parties and such. By my final season on the team, we were one of the top two teams in the league and just missed winning the title after a one-run loss in the final game of the season. I can still visualize the game-winning run (for the other team) crossing home plate with my being powerless to stop prevent it.
I gave up organized baseball after this season. I truly was not good enough to compete at the next age level and the thought of going to all those practices with little playing time to show for it just didn’t appeal to me. It was fun while it lasted, however, and the memories from those youthful seasons on the baseball field remain with me today.
Many of my former teammates and I remain connected if only by the invention of Facebook. A few months ago I reconnected with one for the first team since we competed together. The bonds that were formed then remain with all of the players from those teams.
In looking at the teams today, I hope they manage to have as much fun as we did back then. Youth baseball and softball has grown to unbelievable proportions today. It seems most every young person is involved.
That’s good for many reasons. One, it’s important for young people, I believe, to be a part of something like youth baseball or softball.
It can also provide them with lasting memories and something which will stay with them for a lifetime. The memories I made are in many ways just as clear today, decades later, as they were right after they happened.
Hopefully, those who participate today will learn the same thing in 25 years.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
