02-18-2020, 11:16 PM
(02-18-2020, 10:21 PM)grampahol Wrote: I still remember being about 8 years old back when the entire neighborhood would get involved with big kids and little kids all playing in the same game, sometimes with 6 outfielders and so on. So I'm standing at SS with my glove just sort of hanging by my shoulder and me staring off into the distance watching a bird or something. Jerry Morgan, who was in HS at the time a a BIG kid comes up to bat. I figured he'd hit the ball a mile over everyone's head like he almost always did, but instead he hit a hard line drive directly into my glove. I caught it without even thinking about it. Of course there I was a cocky 8 year old kid acting like I do this every day and probably went on to make a prompt 9 errors right afterwards, but the moment will live in infamy for me and anyone who was there that day.. That was my 8 year old HOF moment never to be repeated in a million years. Good thing I wasn't standing an inch to my left or it would have probably killed me.
It was times like that that gave me such a love of the game of baseball. The biggest kids in the neighborhood played with little kids barely big enough to hold a bat and I got to hit homeruns and make great plays as just a little, fat kid. I'd give anything to be able to relive that moment in time..
Sweet ! I remember a few catches like that at 2b and especially 3b. More self defense than anything else lol. We had a giant yard/field we played in out in front of an apartment complex. It even had a bit of fence covering part of LF and all of CF. Those were the days. You never or very rarely see kids out playing like that now.