Little League – Batter Up

Baseball has always been America’s pastime, and it has been a game I have loved since I was old enough to play. I played little league from T-ball through seniors and now have the joy of watching my kids play too.

Some of the best years are the T-ball and farm team years. The kids are just beginning to learn the fundamentals of the game and there always seems to be a kid who runs the bases backwards or skips a base or two on his or her way to home plate. There are not a whole lot of outs made (at least not on purpose) and in general not a whole lot of paying attention. Sometimes it’s hard for the kids to focus as the dandelions beckon them to be picked and sand seems to call them to bury a base or two.

The next group is minors where the kids start to pitch on their own and needless to say, these games can drag on for hours. It is fun to see your kids finally getting the big picture of how the game works. It can be painful to watch.

Majors is the next level and the kids are finally starting to grasp the pitching thing and the games are half as long as in minors. The kids have the fundamentals down and it is fun to watch them in a different way. It’s fun because they actually know what they are doing, not because they do crazy things, like inT-ball.

If you ask me, seniors is probably the best. It is just fun to watch because the kids know the game and are pretty good at it too. They have been playing for around seven years and they know how to make it look easy. They are good enough to make double plays, hit homeruns and know how to get in and out of a pickle.

If you have kids in little league, like me then you understand the different stages of the game. If you haven’t been through all of them yet, then now you know what to expect.

Joy Larson is a mother of four boys, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.