Now batting.....

Now batting... Number Three... Chase Schwade.  I hear the voice of legendary Yankees public address Bob Sheppard announcing my son's name at Yankee Stadium.  Mr. Sheppard has passed on and there's no way my son could wear #3 for the Yankees as that was Babe Ruth's number and has long been retired.  I can still dream though that my son will have the type of career that finds him one day swinging lumber at Yankee Stadium.

Thursday, September 6th, my son had his first official day of tee ball.  He's playing on the Orioles in a four-team instructional tee ball league, a month short of turning three years old.  A lot of people can't believe he's already on the ball field, but we've been throwing and hitting for a long time now.  When we play in the backyard, I can't help but notice his baseball instincts already.

The only teammate he knows is his cousin Kira.  When the two of them checked in, they were handed a jersey and a hat.  The jersey number choices were #2 and #3 and when I asked Chase if he wanted to be Derek Jeter or Babe Ruth, with no hesitation, he screamed, "Babe Ruth!"  Coincidentally, Ruth did get his start in a Baltimore Orioles uniform.

Chase and Kira started out in the infield, throwing (more like bouncing) the ball back to each other.  The coaches brought all the kids together and separated the Orioles and Indians in the infield and the Blue Jays and the Cubs in the outfield.  The Indians started out in left, hitting and fielding.  Chase and Kira's team started out running the bases.  They all ran to first, all ran from first to second, second to third, and third to home.  They did that twice.  Chase did pretty well, except he didn't understand that he had to wait for his coach to yell "Go!" to start running.

When it was their time to hit, one player would hit at the tee while the others were in the field shagging the balls.  Chase showed off by pounding the plate before he swung, something I tought him so he knew where to line up and stand when he hit.  One parent asked me, "Did you teach him that?  That's pretty cool, maybe I need to work on that with my son."

Chase hits left and throws left.  I've been noticing he likes to slap the ball to left field with his swing.  He had a few good hits in there, and a couple swings and misses.  Everybody loved his pounding of the plate though, even my mom said she loved it.

I might be a little tough on him, but I told him to hustle in when they ran in to play the "game" with the Indians.  He knows when daddy says hustle, that means, "Run really fast."

During the game, each team sent each member of the team up to hit once and run the bases.  Chase hit second in the batting order and took a big hack and missed on his first swing.  The second swing he took, he made contact and hit a little dribbler in front of the plate.  I was proud, though, he knew to run to first base after he made contact.  Some of the other kids had no clue what to do once they hit the ball.  Some would run for second, some stood there, and some even went after their own batted ball.


Later, his cousin Kira hit a hard ball up the middle-- one of the best hits by the Orioles.  After the "game" was over, Kira and Chase both enjoyed a blue Gatorade, courtesy of their Mimi courtesy of Aunt Kirsten.

Overall, I think it was a fun first day of tee ball for Chase.  He seemed to enjoy himself and said he had a lot of fun.  I look forward to sharing Chase's progress in tee ball as I can only hope these are his "first steps to Cooperstown."