The Bad News Bears have got nothing on the recreational men’s softball team that I’m currently suiting up for.
In our first game of the season in the Sumner Parks and Recreation‘s league, only a handful of us reached base safely resulting in our team suffering a crushing defeat on April 15 in Sumner.
The score was so out of hand that I don’t even know how many runs the team we faced scored. I do know this—my team only scored one run.
In our five inning contest, I played three defensive innings in the outfield and not one ball came my way. At the plate, I had one at bat and my brief time in the batter’s box ended when my line drive up the middle was snared by the opposing team’s pitcher.
My fellow Herald colleague, Puyallup reporter Chris Albert, was one of the few players on our roster to reach first base safely. Albert’s check swing on the second pitch served up to him rolled toward the left side of the infield. Chris hustled down to first base, beating the throw after the first baseman was pulled off the bag.
For a number of our members on the team, Chris’s memorable run to first base was the topic of conversation when a handful of us made our way to one of our favorite watering holes at the conclusion of the contest to enjoy a specific brew to go along with chicken tenders and pizza.
Softball in many ways is similar to baseball when you’re in Little League or Pee Wees as a child. You’re just out there to have fun.
When I was a youngster in the late 1980s and early 1990s, after almost every game my father (who was my baseball coach until I was 13) would squeeze as many members of our team as possible into his Chevy Blazer in route to our favorite pizza joint in downtown Belfair. Upon arrival we would eat as much food as we could, insert a plethora of quarters into arcade video game machines and drink glass after glass of soda pop to satisfy our thirst.
As I sat with my teammates on April 15 essentially doing the exact same thing I did as a child, it brought me back to my childhood and reminded me of my days growing up as an adolescent. The fond memories were rushing back to me, taking me on a virtual trip down memory lane.
Hopefully next time our recreational softball squad will gobble down a few slices of pizza after celebrating our first victory of the 2008 spring season.
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