Let’s Call It A Tie

Wins and losses really do blend. Like in baseball last spring our team fell short in 8 of 12 games (loss) including two extra inning heartbreakers (loss) but they improved literally in each game (a pretend win/tie), especially the veteran kids who learned to make plays on their own (win) without us yelling instructions every second (loss). I’m a big fan of letting the baseball games be for the kids as much as possible, and then talking to the kids in the dugout or as they come off the field. I’m not sure my dad agrees. One time he coached a kid so much rounding third that he went a bit far (figuratively and geographically), scampering down the third base line, even pushing him a bit, all the way until the kid slid. He meant well (win) but probably didn’t need to escort the kid (loss). In the playoffs, we pitched our way to an 8-2 win and had the best team in the league down 5-1 after 5 and a half innings in the semis due to some good defense and plays at the plate, including one from Mitch, that tall, non athletic sort of kid who was always put in right field and told he couldn’t play, but who had 2 singles and made a gold glove stop and throw at third in a key part of the game (win), and whose mom says it made him feel a part of the team in a way he never had (win). That’s a good part of coaching. We squandered the lead in about 6 minutes after 4 walks (loss) which I was okay with because, it happens (loss), and by losing I’d have Father’s Day off to watch the US Open (win) rather than writing out another lineup.