- 25,268
- 261
Mason put in some hitting work tonight with our local batting guru. He said earlier in the season that he thought he was weak on outside pitches. He threw about 20 low and outside, Mason drove them. He then proclaimed "He must be fixed". Ha. I was glad to hear him say that as I think he is a really knowledgeable hitting coach.
First game with the 17u team is tomorrow night. No idea how that will go, but I'm looking forward to it regardless.
First game with the 17u team is tomorrow night. No idea how that will go, but I'm looking forward to it regardless.
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- 261
That did not go as well as it should have.
Mason came home from school with a jammed finger from playing basketball, so he was whining about that, tired and grumpy. I knew he wasn't going to be on point, which he needed to be since he was playing with the older boys today. He blew two easy plays, made a few others that were routine. 1/2 at the plate. They did win 15-4, but he should have given a much better personal showing. I imagine he will next time, especially since he took a little ribbing from the team. He earned it.
Mason came home from school with a jammed finger from playing basketball, so he was whining about that, tired and grumpy. I knew he wasn't going to be on point, which he needed to be since he was playing with the older boys today. He blew two easy plays, made a few others that were routine. 1/2 at the plate. They did win 15-4, but he should have given a much better personal showing. I imagine he will next time, especially since he took a little ribbing from the team. He earned it.
Off games are just as important as good games. They're all learning experiences. He's got a lot more innings left in his future...
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I told him the same thing, Jim. I knew before the game even started he was going to make mistakes. He was just lethargic, not excited to go, etc. He said after the game that he felt like the kid with a booger on his shirt. Haha.
- 25,268
- 261
Mason threw one heck of a game tonight. 3-0 win. He was walked twice and hit by a pitch, scored on a squeeze bunt. He played with the pony league team while the 17u team played on the next field. As soon as they finished the pony league game, he switched jerseys hoping to get into the 17u game. They finished early and ended with a 13-0 run ruling just as he arrived to the field. That bummed him a bit as knows he needs to redeem himself with them. Ha.
Got a really cool story here...
Kody (16 years old) and Klay (15) have just finished up their soph and freshman year in HS. Their goal was to play for a local American Legion team this summer, but their ultimate goal was to make Steubenville Post 33 where I played from 89-92, my brother played from 85-87, and my other brother played from 80-81. It's a tradition!
As our HS season came to an end, we started to gather info about tryouts for 3 local legion teams. Our first stop was in Toronto and our second stop was in Richmond. They had pretty good tryouts at both places and were offered a spot on each team where they would get quite a bit of playing time. I spoke to both coaches and told them what was going on... my boys wanted to see what Steubenville was like first before making a decision because this is a 4-5 year commitment and they wanted to make sure they made the right choice. Steubenville is, and always has been, the big dog around here in Legion ball.
So, off to Steubenville tryouts we go... The first day was too wet to get on the field and they could only hit in the cage and do a bullpen session. We didn't get any answers that day. There was roughly 24 kids vying for 3 open spots on a team that returns 15 of last year's 18 man roster. The rest of the kids that would be trying out (most were on the roster last year) are playing today in the state semi-finals for Steubenville HS so they weren't even allowed to be there. 24 new candidates for 3 spots!
The second day was an intrasquad scrimmage. Out to the mound trots a 19 year old lefty that finished his Freshman season at Allegheny JUCO in Maryland. Heading to the box first was Kody. I'm thinking, "Oh, shit... but if he can hit him, he can hit just about anyone at this level."
He fouls one off, takes one, whiffs on one, then sneaks a ground ball through the hole on the left side.
Klay then steps in (it is apparent they wanna see if my two idiots can hit their best). He is an aggressive swinger and he wasted no time. He jumped on the first pitch fast ball and lined it into shallow RF. Hot damn!!!
Kody's next at bat was off a Junior righty and he lined a hanging curve up the middle. In his final at bat he walked.
Klay's next two at bats were a line out and ground out, but he had solid contact.
Long story short, I got a call that evening that both boys made the team. I was in shock. I thought for sure they would tell me that they were a year or two away, especially since Kody's throws down to second are still a little slow for that level. The coaches made it clear that they really liked what they saw, but both boys will have to pay their dues and learn. Fine by me! I'm old school... making a team like that is an honor and a great chance for my boys to learn from some really good ballplayers.
Kody will have an 18 and 19 year old ahead of him behind the plate, and he will get a chance to work out at 1st and 3rd.
Klay will be used as a utility guy as he can play anywhere.
Another really cool twist to this whole thing... back when I was 15 in 1989 I played for the state champion team. On that team two of the 18 year olds went on to great careers (one played at OSU and was drafted by the Indians and was stuck behind Jim Thome, and the other played at Kent and got some at bats with the Cardinals and Marlins). This year, their sons are 18. With my boys on the team with their sons, we have come full circle.
Ahead of them is now 46 games in June and July. We will travel to North Carolina for a week, Morgantown to play in WVU stadium, and Lancaster for a tournament. It's gonna be a busy summer!!!
Kody (16 years old) and Klay (15) have just finished up their soph and freshman year in HS. Their goal was to play for a local American Legion team this summer, but their ultimate goal was to make Steubenville Post 33 where I played from 89-92, my brother played from 85-87, and my other brother played from 80-81. It's a tradition!
As our HS season came to an end, we started to gather info about tryouts for 3 local legion teams. Our first stop was in Toronto and our second stop was in Richmond. They had pretty good tryouts at both places and were offered a spot on each team where they would get quite a bit of playing time. I spoke to both coaches and told them what was going on... my boys wanted to see what Steubenville was like first before making a decision because this is a 4-5 year commitment and they wanted to make sure they made the right choice. Steubenville is, and always has been, the big dog around here in Legion ball.
So, off to Steubenville tryouts we go... The first day was too wet to get on the field and they could only hit in the cage and do a bullpen session. We didn't get any answers that day. There was roughly 24 kids vying for 3 open spots on a team that returns 15 of last year's 18 man roster. The rest of the kids that would be trying out (most were on the roster last year) are playing today in the state semi-finals for Steubenville HS so they weren't even allowed to be there. 24 new candidates for 3 spots!
The second day was an intrasquad scrimmage. Out to the mound trots a 19 year old lefty that finished his Freshman season at Allegheny JUCO in Maryland. Heading to the box first was Kody. I'm thinking, "Oh, shit... but if he can hit him, he can hit just about anyone at this level."
He fouls one off, takes one, whiffs on one, then sneaks a ground ball through the hole on the left side.
Klay then steps in (it is apparent they wanna see if my two idiots can hit their best). He is an aggressive swinger and he wasted no time. He jumped on the first pitch fast ball and lined it into shallow RF. Hot damn!!!
Kody's next at bat was off a Junior righty and he lined a hanging curve up the middle. In his final at bat he walked.
Klay's next two at bats were a line out and ground out, but he had solid contact.
Long story short, I got a call that evening that both boys made the team. I was in shock. I thought for sure they would tell me that they were a year or two away, especially since Kody's throws down to second are still a little slow for that level. The coaches made it clear that they really liked what they saw, but both boys will have to pay their dues and learn. Fine by me! I'm old school... making a team like that is an honor and a great chance for my boys to learn from some really good ballplayers.
Kody will have an 18 and 19 year old ahead of him behind the plate, and he will get a chance to work out at 1st and 3rd.
Klay will be used as a utility guy as he can play anywhere.
Another really cool twist to this whole thing... back when I was 15 in 1989 I played for the state champion team. On that team two of the 18 year olds went on to great careers (one played at OSU and was drafted by the Indians and was stuck behind Jim Thome, and the other played at Kent and got some at bats with the Cardinals and Marlins). This year, their sons are 18. With my boys on the team with their sons, we have come full circle.
Ahead of them is now 46 games in June and July. We will travel to North Carolina for a week, Morgantown to play in WVU stadium, and Lancaster for a tournament. It's gonna be a busy summer!!!
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Hell yeah that is some outstanding news Mike!! Congrats to the boys and family for that matter!! Looking forward to some big league updates from you now! LOL
Thanks, man.
Mingo is a little questionable right now. That's the bad news. The regular season ends on July 13th and the district tournament begins July 15th. It is possible that the Mingo weekend could be district finals. However, I do not foresee them being contributors to them in the post season at all, but who knows for sure. If they are just watching from the pine, I will be at Mingo for sure.
If they somehow earn their way into a certain role depending on lineup changes and who's pitching or something, that may be a problem. LOL
