The unassisted double play
Its 9:30 on a sunday morning and I’m standing on the sun scorched grass of a high school practice field watching 10 little boys in bright orange Tiger jerseys facing down one loan Met with a 29 inch aluminum bat in his hands. Standing on first and ready to run is another little Met. Everybody waits and dangles while the Met’s coach tosses easy underhand pitches to the eager batter.
Connecting with the pitch, the batter smashes a solid line drive right at the first baseman. The tall little Tiger raises his glove and snatches the ball from mid air. 
Having dreamt this moment numerous times, he reaches out with the gloved ball and tags the baffled Mets runner where he stands and then runs to stomp on first base just for good measure. Two outs, inning is over, the Mets are held scoreless, and my very own eight year old gets an unassisted double play; and a game ball to boot.
I sometimes wonder if Little League isn’t the best thing in baseball, maybe the best thing in sports. When I was a boy, my dad was always coaching me or one of my brothers every season. And now, 30 years later, I’m a base coach for both of my sons. Coaching your kids in baseball is a unique experience. You get to meet their friends and classmates, and really get a sense of their natures, attitudes and character. The boys get an opportunity to talk to, listen to, work with, and most importantly, be taken seriously by grown men.
And the men get the chance to play, to teach, to coach, to watch their sons growing up to become men. In our society where kids spend their lives in kids-only ghettos of school, music, friends and videogames-it is just huge to have the chance to enter your sons’ world, and work together.
This year both of my boys are first basemen, tall, quick, and eager to get a glove on the ball. Learning to take winning and losing together, and working on getting better all the time. Truly a double play.
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I play little league first base, and my dad is my coach. I like playing ball with my friends. We’re having a winning season this year. I really like this because its almost the same as my life.