I don’t watch baseball. But when I do, it’s the Little League World Series. A couple of things to talk about today. One, they have awesome Easton batting gloves, a pair I have for adult league softball. So basically I have the same awesome taste as middle school boys. Nice. And two, the play in the video below is pretty amazing on the defensive side. It starts with a wild pitch but then it gets amazing. I’ll try to break it down Jomboy Media style…
The Wild Pitch. It all starts with a pitch that gets past the catcher. Always a chance for the baserunner on first to steal second.
The Catcher’s No-Look Throw. This comes with oodles of practice. Spacial awareness and the catcher knowing someone will be covering second before he even throws the ball.
The Runner’s Mistake. This is a big one. The play-by-play announcer mentioned that he should’ve slid into second. Acceptable. The runner knew he was safe by a mile so he committed two mistakes: He ran slow, and still overran the base. Third mistake, he didn’t keep his eyes on the ball. In the video you can see that he turns his head to find the catcher as he arrives at second, not knowing the catcher had thrown the ball seconds earlier. The runner would’ve known the ball was in the air if he was watching the catcher as he stole second.
The Short Stop’s Nonchalant Trick. This was pretty awesome. The baserunner is paying attention to the short stop, so body language is huge here. If the SS is dramatic about the ball coming is way, preparing for the catch, this would tip off the runner. So he, possibly instinctually or a purposeful choice, plays it cool as the ball is coming his way. At the last moment, he snatches the ball out of the air and swipes around to tag the runner.
The Umpire’s POV. Taking his job so seriously, craning his neck to get the best view of the tag and the runner’s foot. Excellent work.
The Coach’s Consolation. The coach is backing up as the runner returns to the dugout. But then he sees his player getting upset so he changes course, coming in to console the young man. Great coaching in a tough moment.
I feel terrible for the baserunner who made a couple of mistakes and ultimately sucked the wind out of the team’s sales with that out. It wasn’t the third out of the inning but it’s the play that ended the game. A learning experience and my hope for that little man is that he never forgets how he felt in that moment and can use that as a landmark and a guide for the rest of his life.
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 