Sonny Jones
Cute.
That’s the only way to describe the games that were played in the Diamond Youth Baseball 6U state tournament held over four blistering hot days in Pembroke.
Admittedly, I’ll have to sacrifice my man card for a week or so for describing a sporting event as cute, but watching the 5- and 6-year-olds scurry around the field while I sat in an air conditioned scoring tower was, indeed, cute.
Sorry … not sorry.
The scores were what you may see on Friday nights on a high school football field. Riegelwood beat Stanley 16-15 Tuesday in the championship game after defeating Mount Pleasant 21-17 in the semifinals. Other games had similar scores.
Offense is the name of the game in 6U play. There’s no such thing as a sure out and pop-ups are an adventure. That’s why teams are limited to seven runs per inning except in the sixth inning and there’s a 90 minute time limit.
It’s cute watching the shortstop run as hard as he can toward home plate in an effort to beat the runner before realizing he can’t get there in time so he turns and races toward second base in an effort to get the batter who hit the ball. Meanwhile, another run scores while the shortstop runs toward second base. Then, the shortstop realizes he can’t beat the runner to the base so he throws to a teammate, who misses the ball, and another run scores by the time the ball gets back to the pitcher.
It’s run, run and run with several strikeouts mixed in along with an occasional catch of a throw by the first baseman for an out which draws boisterous cheers from the moms, dads and grandparents in attendance.
Coaches pitch to their own batters. Batters get a maximum of five pitches.
If you think you’ve felt pressure, then try being a pitcher for a coach pitch team. It feels like you’re throwing to a strike zone the size of a thimble in hopes of the batter making contact so mom and dad won’t holler at you when you toss the final pitch two feet short of the plate. I pitched for three seasons and once struck out my son to end a game that we lost by one run with the potential winning runs on base. Can you say loser?
The players hustle and you can see they are beginning to learn the game. There’s still confusion defensively about whether to step on the base for a force out or the need to tag the runner, but these kids will get it in due time.
Hopefully, many of the youngsters will stick with the sport. There’s nothing like being part of a baseball team.
No, the 6U state tournament was not baseball at the highest level. It was baseball in its purest form and just plain cute to watch.
I’ll be back to pick up my man card next week.
Sonny Jones can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @FOSonnyJones.