Season's End

The end of baseball season is here. Good from a rushing out of work to make games, car pooling, and nighttime - shower, dinner, and bedtime chaos perspective, but sad for the boys that enjoy playing so much. With 2 games each a week (and hardly ever on the same days), 4 nights out of the week are spent scrambling from 7:30-9, trying to get the boys showered, fed, and into bed. Plus I still have to clean up from dinner, make and pack lunches for me and the boys, get my clothes for the next ready with my gym stuff, and maybe actually sit down for a few minutes with Demi.
Caz finished the season very strong. He finally got the bat working, used his speed to hustled out a few extra base hits - including two triples. He fielded well. And he dominated (yes, the proud Dad is speaking and using my own interpretation of events) on the mound. He came in to relieve a struggling pitcher late in the ball game with bases loaded. He got the next three batters out and then threw a 1-2-3 6th inning to get the save in a 1 run game. He pitched two perfect innings two days later. It wasn't the good stats but the confidence and actual pitching that were impressive. He really threw hard and accurate. It was great to see. He believed he could throw strikes, and he did.
Coco finished up strong as well. A fly ball to the outfield is a rare event for AA. A caught fly ball in the outfield is even rarer. Not only did Coco run down a fly ball and make the catch, he doubled off the guy at first base. Now yes, the kid at first ran on contact and was halfway to 3B, but it was still a remarkable play. Coco hit well all season. His coaches say "he doesn't get cheated at any at-bat." He doesn't swing for the fences but he swing strong and hard. He really unloads on the ball. He also was a vacuum at 1B, scooping up everything thrown close to him. He may really great plays in the field, especially at SS, charging ground balls and throwing out runners at 1B. The kid loves to play the game. Loves everything about it, hitting, throwing, fielding, stats, and obscure facts.
I probably should have said that playing baseball is over. But baseball itself is never over in our house.