In From Left Field

My fondest memory of one season of Little League was playing third base. I didn't play the hot corner for a season, or a full game, but for an inning in a game in which we were either getting or giving a thorough drubbing. I don't remember the score, the opponent, or even if I made plays, I just remember the coach saying "Hal, go play third base." And I ran in from left field, my usual station as a 10-year old rookie, to play the infield. If I couldn't be Willie Stargell (and going hitless in 17 plate appearances wasn't getting me close), I could at least be Richie Hebner, the Bucs third baseman in the early 70s, for a spring morning.

Richie Hebner produced an unlikely set of statistical bookends: he had the first hit in Three Rivers Stadium (a single) and completed hitting for the cycle in his last at-bat, needing a home run to complement his other three hits, and getting (or taking) an inside-the-park shot to finish the job.  Hebner played 18 seasons without making an All-Star team, but he remains involved as a coach and manager in the lower levels of baseball.

Which takes us back to the first level of baseball - this weekend's Little League games.  One of my usual left fielders, whom I'll call Fred (not his real name), reminds me quite a bit (athletically,  at least) of me at that  age. He came to practices, he worked hard, and at 12 years old, he was playing in his last two games at this level.  He never once complained about being a substitute player, or not playing in the infield, or hitting deep in the lineup.   For an inning on Saturday, I moved Fred in from left field to third base.  He's been practicing there; he has a sense of what to do defensively, and on a sharp shot that might have gone through the gap at short, he fielded the grounder, turned, and tagged out the runner advancing from second.  Inning over, no runs scored, and our pitcher gave him a glove tap on the way into the  dugout.

While the Yankees wallow in near-even mediocrity, and the Nationals rule from the Capital, we should all remember what Willie Stargell said: "€œIt's supposed to be fun. The man says 'Play Ball.' not 'Work Ball.'"

On Sunday, in our season finale, Fred made two great catches in left field, went 2-for-3 at the plate and had a game-tying RBI.  We ended up losing in the final frame, but I think Fred -- and the rest of us -- had fun.