Batter Up

Batter Up!
Sunshine, the smell of fresh cut grass and the crack of the bat means only one thing….baseball season! This year we’ll have another member of the family lacing up their cleats and tipping a cap on the ball field, when Karsyn kicks off tee ball for the Orioles in Sunnyvale’s Serra Little League.

We went out and bought her a new glove, an aluminum bat, a batting helmet, some baseballs, whiffle balls and a tee. For those not familiar with tee ball, a softer version of a baseball is placed on a “batting tee” (or a pedestal if you) which allows the ball to sit at waist level for the kids.


Tell it Goodbye!
Each player is allowed to hit the ball of the tee, rather than face pitching. This is entry level for little league, so the goal is to teach the kids the game and to have them work on basic skills, like catching a ball in a glove, basic hitting technique, base running and the defensive positions.

Karsyn had her first practice this past Saturday at her school. The kids got to hit off a the tee for the first time, and they were introduced to the four bases on a baseball diamond. From the looks of their first practice, this should be a pretty entertaining season. These are 10 five year-olds mind you (8 of which are boys), so the attention spans of the players can be calculated by multiplying the average age of the players by the number of kids on the team (in seconds).

Opening Ceremonies for the 2005 Season will take place at Serra Park in Sunnyvale on Saturday, March 19th, starting at 9:00 am. Karsyn’s first game takes place later that morning at the same park (10:30)

Her complete schedule looks like:

3/19 – 10:30 a.m. vs. Giants
3/26 – 11:30 a.m. vs. Red Sox
4/2 – 2:00 p.m. vs. Athletics
4/9 – 9:00 a.m. vs. Royals
4/30 – 2:00 p.m. vs. Cardinals
5/7 – 9:00 a.m. vs. Giants
5/14 – 11:30 a.m. vs. Red Sox
5/21 – 2:00 p.m. vs. Athletics
6/2 – 5:30 p.m. vs. Royals (Thursday night)
6/4 – 2:00 p.m. vs. Cardinals

ALL GAMES AT SERRA PARK – POND FIELD