You're Out

I did not grow up playing a lot of baseball. It was just not the sport I played as a kid and as I got older I did not even follow the pro team. I was a football fan and the Eagles were my team. The Phillies were just the hometown team, but I never really knew all the players.

Now that I live in Boston, this city kind of makes you a baseball fan. Just go to Fenway and you are hooked. I've written about taking Mason to his first game and now he loves to play baseball in the back yard. We switch between being the batter and the pitcher all day long. Here are a few reasons why playing baseball with your young child is the best.

When you are the pitcher, you are ALWAYS Dice-K.
You can get a homerun by hitting a bunt.
The baseball diamond is really a hexagon and the distance between first base and second base is three steps, but the distance between second and third is the length of the whole yard.
When you are Ortiz, you have to spit in your hands.
When you are Youk, you have to hold the bat funny.
Every time you are Tek, the other person has to say they love Tek.
Manny is a Dodger, but when he's in the back yard, he's still a Red Sox (and he still tries)
The rules change pitch by pitch.
One minute the score is 5 to 3 and after I strike out, the score is 15 to 1.
If you have to go pee while running to third base, just stop and pee on the grass.
Sometimes the pitcher and the batter are on the same team.
You can play barefoot.
If someone brings up the Yankees, you have to say that the Yankees are "stinky" or "Boo Yankees"
Playing in the backyard must always be FUN.

Laughing is part of the rules.

I try not to get sappy when I write this stuff, but today, while playing baseball in the backyard, I realize that this is one of those amazing moments. I can look back on these memories and find the true joy in being a dad. Playing baseball with your son on a cool, day towards the end of summer, the sun low in the sky, the breeze slightly blowing.........yeah this day kicks ass.