He's a ball player now, and a Kansas City Royal, no less. Pretty exciting for Gram and Pops and the rest of his Kansas City family! The first game was last Saturday. We were worried it was going to be cancelled due to the heavy rains the night before, but luckily the grass held up nicely and despite the cloudy, chilly weather, Opening Day went on as planned.
He had a great time and played really well, too. He got four solid hits and ran the bases. The things we thought might be issues like wearing a helmet and batting in front of strangers turned out to be no big whoop. Ask him what the best part was and he's likely to tell you the "granilla bar" (granola bar) they got at the end, but I think he liked hitting the ball, too. He played two positions - pitcher (who doesn't pitch) and something called "second shortstop", which was located between first and second base.
It's funny to watch the kids play ball at this age. They're just working on the basics at this point - hitting the ball off the tee, automatically running once they've hit the ball, knowing where to run, etc. When a ball comes their way, they often will just look at it rolling by them. They
might
reach for it...if they're wearing their glove and not throwing it in the air! His coach and the assistants are all very nice and
patient
- oh are they ever patient!
Before the first practice, Brian got him a glove from Play it Again Sports. It was an older-model glove with former Royal George Brett's signature stamped inside. Last week the kids got their jerseys and Sam was assigned #5, which happens to be George Brett's number. Perfect for this new Royal!
We practice once a week and have games on Saturday through the spring. He loves to practice and play and we're glad he can get outside, be with kids his age, and learn the game of baseball. Here's to a great season - Go Royals!
