Am I allowed to just be glad that game is over? It was freezing cold with snow. If it had been rain, then the game would have been called, but since it was snow and cold we kept on playing. I felt bad for the kids and they played really hard.

So let’s first stop and give these young ball players a big round of applause.

In typical AAA first game fashion, there were lots of runs scored off of walks, steals, over-throws, and errors. This was true for both teams. As one of the coaches it was really hard because you couldn’t really fairly assess anything other than who could keep their positive disposition in the freezing cold. You had to feel especially sorry for all of the pitchers because it was just too cold to grip the ball and do anything.

NOTE: 3 players were no shows. We failed to see Alex at the last practice and also at the game. Brad was nowhere to be found. Keegin was also a no-show and a friend of his said that Keegin had texted him and said he wasn’t on our team anymore and that he went to the Major League Cardinals... But this has yet to be confirmed.

HIGHLIGHTS

DANIEL - I loved the catch Daniel made in left field in the second inning. The catch stopped a rally and prevented several funs from scoring. I wished that I had snapped a photo of the smile that graced his face as he realized that the ball was still in his glove and his catch had successfully ended the inning for the other team. He was jubilant as he ran for the dugout.

TOMMY - Having never played as catcher stepping up and putting on the gear. His diving attempt to make the tag at home was cool. Earlier in the game he pitched a good inning that was full of action. I flashed back to the days of my youth when I remember the brightness of the lights, the greenness of the grass, and the roar of our fans as our young team took the field, made a good play, or scored a run. It is interesting to step back and realize how much those moments in time affected my life and how important these moments are in the lives of our young players. Each pitch, each play, each hit and stolen base may be the moment that our team remembers in 35 years.

EMMA - 3 straight ground ball sacrifice hits that scored a runner each time. She looked good on the mound as well.

BRADY - Watching brady beat out a play at first and then steal his way around was pretty cool.

TIM - His little strike zone drew a walk and then he stole his way around the bases. He drew a long pickle and showed no fear as he went back and forth and back and forth to ultimately go back to third safely.

ZACH - His power swing did not connect, but I see the promise in his abilities.

HYATT - He played a good first base and shows a lot of promise.

GARRETT - I loved watching Garrett lead off base once the ball passed home plate. You can see his agressive stance as he toys with the catcher tempting them to throw down. You can also tells that he loves to play shortstop. I look forward to seeing a lot of great plays made from that position this season.

AARON - Of course I have a special bias for Aaron. He was emotionally set to pitch at the beginning of the game, yet our other catcher never showed up for the game so we put Emma on the mound. Aaron took the mound in the last inning and struck out the first two batters. Then things got away from the team and the snow started to really come down.

Another “Agony of Defeat” with positive overtones was the great tag out at home plate by Aaron. His final placement was perfect in front of the plate. He caught the throw home and dove to make the body crashing tag. Unfortunately the ball was knocked out of the glove and the runner was safe at home. Look closely at the rather blurry photo below you can see the ball coming out of the glove. The umpire yelled “He’s out!” and then saw the ball on the ground. The highs and lows of this game are what make it great. We’ll get ‘em next time!

As a Dad, it is so hard to watch my son Aaron struggle when I can do nothing but offer emotional encouragement. As a pitcher, when you are on the mound, you are all alone and the outcome of the game in completely in your hands. The pressure on our young pitchers is incredible. And tonight we were unable to build very much confidence in the freezing cold environment. I smiled as Aaron would get a strike and then clench his hit, pound it into his glove and you could read his lips as he would say “YES!!!”

COACHING LOW POINT - I would be amiss if I did not comment on the bad learning moment displayed by the other team late in the final inning. There was a play at first and as Hyatt through the ball to Aaron covering first the Umpire yelled, “Out!” The other team’s coaches all started to complain loudly protesting the call and required the two umpires to have a pow wow. Our team cleared the field and the other team started to grab their gloves and head out when the umpires reversed the call. Tommy had already taken off the catching gear when the change was made and our team had to once again head back out onto the field in the falling snow. Aaron had to once again take the mound in what had already been a not so spiffy inning. Finally, a few plays later, another strike out ended the misery and allowed us to come up for the final at bat.

I wonder what the other coach was trying to teach his kids. Should they also question every call? Should we all yell and put in doubt our confidence in the umpires. In his zest to get the call right he taught the boys that vocally questioning the call works... I spoke with him briefly and let him know that this was a Triple A developmental league and that his questioning did more harm than good. I feel that we should be teaching the boys that there will be both good calls and bad calls, but the call is the call and we should not question the call. We should respect the umpires. And as adults, we should not intimidate them into reversing a call. Just take it in stride and enjoy the game.

And on that note, we all look forward to playing future games in real baseball weather and not in the frigid temperatures of a snow storm... Welcome to Orem Youth Baseball in Orem, Utah!

Coach Michael Leavitt