Take me out to the ball game...

... take me out to the (t-ball-sized) park, buy me hot cocoa and extra socks... Oh, wait, that's not how the song goes!

But a hot drink and winter layers were necessary at Evan's first baseball (well, t-ball) game today. It was really cold out! More importantly, though, it was a lot of fun. This is his first actual team sport experience and he is having a blast. His coach is a great guy, with the perfect temperament for working with a bunch of squirrely 4-6 year-olds. I think Evan is actually learning some fielding skills. He's been a solid hitter since he was about 2 years old and hit his first wiffle ball over our back fence.

Games at this level are very simple. Each player on the team gets a turn at bat (they're given 4 pitches to try to hit, and then they get to use the T). A hit (from a pitch or the t) gives the batter a chance to run to base. If a succesful defensive play is made, the player does have to go back to the dugout, but outs are not counted and neither are runs. The kids progress around the bases as hits are made by their teammates, and most end up crossing the plate at least once. Once their team's at-bat is up they rotate out to take the field for the defensive half of the inning. The goal is for them to actually follow the action, try to catch balls hit, and perhaps make a play or two. We'll see how that goes. ;-)

The games run a maximum of 3 innings or 90 minutes, and I seriously doubt we'll get to more than 2 innings in a game this season. Evan played shortstop for their first inning today, and he was proud of being assigned such a prestige position. So far I am having fun being a baseball mom...

Go Giants!