Archive for November, 2009
Buying a Youth Baseball Glove
With Christmas coming, and shortly after that-baseball season, many people will be buying a youth baseball/softball glove or mitt for their youngsters. So, just what do you buy and how do you know if it’s the right size to fit those young, growing hands? Also, how long will a glove last, and will the child “grow out” of it in a year or so. Good questions, considering the price of youth gloves.
First, what is a glove and what is a mitt? A mitt has no fingers-like a mitten. Only two positions have mitts; catcher and 1st base. All the rest have fingers. A catchers mitt is round and is measured in circumference. Youth catchers mitts are from 30” for 5-8 year olds to 33” for 12-15 year olds. 31” are for ages 6-10 and 32” are for 9-13 year olds. Gloves are measured from the index finger, through the pocket area to the heal of the glove. Ten and a half inch gloves should fit your T-ball players. 11” is good for ages 6-10, 11½” for 8-12, and 12” for 12-15 year olds.
All of the gloves & mitts should last, and fit those growing hands for at least two years with proper glove care. (See my blog on November 1st, part 1 & 2 on “Breaking in a Baseball Glove.”) Bottom line-gloves and mitts make great gifts!
Learning To Pitch In Sarasota
In the spring of 1990 in Sarasota, Florida shortly after the White Sox broke camp and headed for the still cold streets of Chicago, my 14-year old son Andy decided he wanted to be a pitcher. With us living in a spring training town, we had rather easy access to major league pitching coaches. So, all it took was a telephone call-and money, to set up the lessons.
Andy had several weekly lessons with a White Sox pitching coach, and almost daily homework with me, his catcher. We actually built a pitchers mound in our rented back yard. (I hope our ex-landlord isn’t reading this, although we did restore the yard to almost normal.)
I was impressed, not only with how the coach was teaching Andy to stretch before a workout, but by the way he taught him how to throw a slider, curve, fastball and change-up. Being his catcher, with my old Wilson catchers mitt, I was having a little trouble catching the slider. Andy did strike out a lot of batters later that year in the Pony League. Too bad he didn’t keep pitching. He’s in insurance now…
Surprise, Surprise-Pujols NL MVP
Was there any surprise that Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals was voted National League Most Valuable Player? This is his third MVP Award, and second in a row. He also won it in 2005. All anyone has to do is to look at his numbers to see why he won it again this year.
Pujols received all 32 first place votes because: he led the major leagues in home runs with 47, runs scored with 124, slugging percentage .658, and intentional walks with 44. He also led the National League in on base percentage at .443 and was second in the NL with 45 doubles, and third with a batting average of .327, and RBI’s at 135. Now that’s pretty impressive!
But possibly, most impressive of all was when he picked up his baseball bat with the bases loaded. He got ten hits including three doubles and five grand slams. What can you say besides WOW! All of that, and he’s just turning 30-years old. “News flash”–this may not be his last MVP…
The Carefree Days of Little League
Even though it was many, many years ago, I can still remember the fun and excitement of playing Little League baseball. It was a much simpler time, well before radar guns and the all-important “pitch count.” Getting a new baseball uniform with stirrups and your own baseball hat made you feel just like a big leaguer. Back in those days, (it was the late 1950’s) the parents weren’t even too bad. I don’t remember anybody cussing out the ump.
I played Little League for about three or four years. The two positions I was best at were second base and catcher. But oh, how I loved to play catcher. I got to wear all that gear; mask, chest protector, and shin guards. I really felt like a baseball player. I even had my own Wilson catchers mitt. I loved to squat down and give the pitcher a good target and feel the ball “pop” into my mitt. It was such fun whether we won or lost, but winning was better. Oh, the carefree days of Little League Baseball…
Practice Hitting With a Whiffle Ball
When we were kids, we would play whiffle ball much of the summer. I found it helped in hitting a baseball. In whiffle ball, whether you used a baseball sized whiffle ball or plastic golf ball, it made you a better hitter. It was better and more fun if it was windy outside because the ball moved so much.
If you have a T-Ball player or Little Leaguer, it will help teach them not only to keep their eye on the ball, but to hit a ball with a lot of movement on it. They can either use a regular, thin whiffle ball bat, or a wood baseball bat. In either case, you can practice this in your back yard. Benefits are; no broken windows and you don’t have to chase a baseball down the street. You also get a fair amount of exercise and good bonding time with your kids. This is a win-win situation.
A day at Baseball City in Florida
A few years ago, there was an amusement park in Central Florida called Baseball City. It had all kinds of rides, a ballpark, games and baseball equipment. It was pretty much all about baseball. With my son Andy involved in Pony League at the time, we thought it would be a great place to spend the day. While we were there, we ran into a friend named Greg (once a minor league pitcher) and his son Brett.
As we walked by the batting cages, we came upon an area where you could see how fast you could pitch a baseball. For a dollar, they gave you three baseballs to test your speed with their radar gun. Our 13-year sons went first, and both threw about 64 mph. Then Greg pitched and hit 86-mph. Wow! I knew I couldn’t top Greg, but I was sure I could beat the boys.
I took my position on the mound, rolled the baseball in my hand, took a deep breath and let fly with all my might. Holy Monkey!!! The pain in my arm was so incredible that I saw stars. (Not Derek Jeter or A-Rod, the kind in the sky with Saturn & Mars). The speed came up as 59 mph. 59!! You’ve got to be kidding. All that pain and only 59mph!? My son said, “you’ve still got two throws left.” With that, I tossed him the balls and said, “Why don’t you try to improve on your 64?” One stinger that day was plenty for me…
Hotdogs and Baseball at Wrigley Field
It was in August of 1986 that my wife Eileen and I drove our kids up from Florida to the Chicago suburbs to visit family and Cubs Park. Having moved from the Chicago area to Florida four years earlier, we were still Cubs fans. Our 11-year old son Andy & our 9- year old daughter Brenda (Little League and softball players) both wanted to visit Wrigley Field.
Along with Grandpa and Aunt Dianne, we crammed into our car and were off to the city and Cubs Park. We bought tickets at the ballpark (mistake) and wound up sitting in the top row of the upper deck. Although it was August, the wind was off Lake Michigan, and we nearly froze in our lofty perch. What better way to stay warm than eating a couple of Chicago hotdogs at the ballpark? What a treat when you’re cold and hungry!
Giving both our kids a hotdog and a Coke, they were forced to finally take off their baseball gloves, (no foul ball has EVER gone that high!) and enjoy their meal. Oh, by the way, the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a good day…
Twins’ Mauer American League MVP
Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer was voted Most Valuable Player in the AL, becoming only the second catcher to do so in the past 33-years. He received an almost unanimous 27 of 28 first place votes. Yankee teammates Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter were a distant second and third in the balloting.
Mauer says he loves catching with all the demands and responsibilities that go with the position, although it does beat him up a little-both physically and mentally. He likes being behind the plate making those decisions for the team.
Marer’s numbers were pretty amazing also, as he finished first with a batting average of .365, an on base percentage of .444, and a slugging percentage of .587. Along with that, he was voted to his third All-Star team and won his second consecutive Gold Glove. His .365 batting average was the highest ever recorder by a catcher in the major leagues.
So, not only is he a great defensive catcher, he can also inflict major damage on an opposing team with his baseball bat. He’s truly an all-around player.
Memorable Baseball Game in Miami
It was October of 2003. My son Andy was able to get two third-row, behind the dugout tickets for Game-5 of the NLCS. The Chicago Cubs were up three games to one over the Florida Marlins, and were only one win from doing the unthinkable…going to the World Series.
Being big Cubs fans at the time, (now we cheer more for the Tampa Bay Rays. Hey, I gave the Cubs 60 good years and I’m STILL WAITING!!) we thought we might actually witness history. Sitting a row behind us, just across the isle, were two of our all-time favorite Cub players; Billie Williams and Ryne Sandberg. Andy was able to get their autographs not only on his Cubs hat, but on his Rawlings baseball glove as well.
It seems that nobody told the Marlins it was the Cubs year to break their l-o-n-g streak of not going to, and winning the World Series. Of course, it just wasn’t to be. With three quick losses, it was once again, “wait until next year”, and the next, and the next, and the next…
Tim Lincecum Wins NL Cy Young
The San Francisco Giants’ Tim Lincecum has won his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. As only 10 points separated the top three vote getters, it was one of the closet votes in the history of the honor. Nicknamed “The Freak” for his giant stride, a 15-7 record was good enough to win. Randy Johnson was the last pitcher to win back to back Cy Young Awards.
Along with Lincecum’s 15-7 record, he recorded 261 strikeouts with an ERA of 2.48 with four complete games pitched. His accuracy allows him to hit the Rawlings catchers mitts wherever they are positioned.
No longer is the Cy Young just about wins and losses. The focus has changed to include other statistics such as the number of walks and hits allowed per inning. That’s an important statistic because you limit the number of base runners that can hurt you. So, will there be any more 20-game winners?