Laughing With Di – October 2017

 I recently had the opportunity to meet up with a cousin of my grandkids at a Little League baseball game. He had not seen me in a while but he knew I was Grandma Hi Di. He decided at that moment that my husband must be “low Di” and that was just the way it should be. He is eight.
So, let’s have a laugh.
Santa Clarita Little League baseball has ended for our team. Sad. It made for an exciting spring/summer season. Watching, in our case, five to seven-year-old kids play baseball is funny folks. Especially, when the second base “person” is a little girl in a pink tutu!
Some of the plays are brilliant, like the kid at center catching a batted ball and then having the presence of mind to throw to home to make a double play! He is more surprised than the spectators at this feat! Or, the occasional home run when the only thing the runner is thinking is, “I’m getting a doughnut.” They run as fast as they can with total abandonment and joy and high-five their teammates. Sometimes what’s happening on the field is like watching the classic, “Who’s on First” Abbott and Costello routine, when all of the players are trying to figure out where to throw the ball, or NOT to throw the ball at all.
The grandmother section of the bleachers is an honorable place. Meaning our places of honor are never usurped by other spectators. We cheer for everyone. Every now and then, Grandma Hi Di will pull a Susan Sarandon (as her character in “Bull Durham”) and give our team’s coach some player tips (not that he listens). I get away with it though because the coach happens to be my son. The basic rules from that movie have always been my favorite explanation of the game of baseball. “You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball.”
Oftentimes, the kids in the outfield are either entranced by something they see on the ground (maybe a roly-poly, the dirt or grass growing); fidgeting with their hat, their gloves, their pants, tying (or trying to tie) their shoelaces, dancing, watching helicopters fly overhead and then, all of a sudden, waking up to scurry after a ball that goes rolling out of their reach. Timeouts to switch players for a potty break is a hoot! At bat they all seem to try out the “stance” of their favorite pro player (a Dodger? an Angel?) You know, how high to hold the bat, the right grip, the perfect turn of the ankle, the finesse of stepping into the swing, etc.
These little guys never tire (they once played an eight-inning game until one team finally won); there’s maybe a quick tear that is wiped away by the caring team moms; or an injury that is cheered away by the fans; but they learn more and more at every game – hitting skills, catching skills, sportsmanship, rules… and how to spit!
It’s been a pleasure!