With all the fun I had watching (and photographing) Mikey playing baseball this past year, I am even more amazed at his natural swing at the plate! I wish I had this good of a swing when I was in baseball! (I know. This is at least a little of a Dad’s pride coming through, but I wasn’t the only one to see it!) This kid hits the ball with power, joy, and a resounding “THUMP!”

Both of these shots show the ball leaving the bat. In the second shot, you can even see the dust spray off the bat just as he hits it! I am proud of these shots, but even more proud of the boy who hit them!

My son has always been a naturally strong kid. There are numerous “Mikey” stories I could tell, but here are just two:

1) Mikey was just two (2!) days old and the lame new dad (me) was trying to get him to take a pacifier (binky) to sooth him. He was having NONE of it! He actually grabbed the binky out of my hand and tossed it away! A two day old kid did that!

2) We were in the car driving down to San Diego to visit family. I was driving. Mikey was not even one year old yet. He was sucking on a Dum-Dum lollipop, of course in his car seat in the back. All of a sudden, he figured he was done with the lollipop. I saw him throw it, kind of a flick of his arm. It was a blur. I could barely see it moving. I hear a “crikt”… IT CRACKED THE WINDSHIELD! Yikes!

I’ve always had the feeling that he was physically special. He is a natural in martial arts. (He gets his flexibility from his mom, thank God. Not me!) He has always been a tall kid. He is fast. (Again, Mom, not me!) And he got strength from both of us. I really look forward to the future to see what he does next! I’m sure it will surprise me!

Here are links to a couple of Mikey’s Padre games, (game 18 and game 16), if you are interested!

Probably the best thing that happened in the past year, to me, and probably to the rest of my family, is my son Mikey playing Little League baseball. I played as a kid and was a big baseball fan for many years. (Go A’s!) But his decision to play baseball took us be surprise. We didn’t push this on him. Somehow, he decided on his own that he wanted to play.

So, last December, I went and signed him up for our local little league (Rancho San Diego Little League, Go Dawgs!). As a first–time player at 7 years old, he was “drafted” into a Minor “C” team where the coaches pitch to the kids. There are no “outs” officially, and no score is kept. Also, there are only 3 innings and the whole team gets to bat. Also, no negativity by players, parents, or fans is allowed, only positive comments.

And I was AMAZED at how much fun everyone had! The kids had FUN! They ran hard, they couldn’t wait to get up to bat, and baseballs were flung about everywhere but to the right base! And kids applauded their competitors, too. EVERYONE had a great time: kids, parents, and coaches. What an awesome example to set for young kids playing sports!

I also had an absolute BLAST photographing every game! I got to see my son’s first home run (and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th!). And I could see the kids getting better with almost every “at bat”! It was really inspirational to watch. My hat is off to the coaches! They really gave my son, and every other boy on the team, an awesome introduction to the game. And more importantly, they showed the kids the way to conduct themselves on the field. I’ll always remember this team (Go Padres!) and Mikey’s start in baseball.

And, as a bonus to all this, the experience rekindled my love of the game! I now happily watch MLB.tv on our trusty Roku 3. (Wow, what a way to watch! I can now watch A’s games, in San Diego, anytime I want!) And I really look forward to next year to see what Mikey will do at bat! Go get ’em Mikey!