Returning to baseball, this time in the coaching box

It's been almost four years since my run as a pitcher for the OHS Chargers came to an end. But, this spring I've gotten back into the sport by doing the next best thing: coaching my own team. I'm the head coach for the Nationals (or, 46ers depending on who you ask) in the 13-14 year-old league of the Oxford Park Commission. It has been challenging so far, with a few talented kids and a bunch of other guys who give it their all every play. I have a couple guys assisting who know about the game, and after about six or seven preseason practices, we had our first game Tuesday against the team most predict to win the league.

We came out slow, but used a seven-run third to take a 7-1 lead. After making a few substitutions, the Twins rallied to tie it at 7-7 in the fourth. They took a one-run lead after an error allowed a run in the fifth, but we rallied the troops for two runs from the two most unexpected players in the bottom of the inning to get the 9-8 win. The kids gang-tackled me after the post-game talk, but it's OK. Hopefully they had fun and learned something about themselves and will be able to carry it over to the rest of the season. Only 13 more wins from being undefeated. Ha. Kudos to the National 46ers fan club for keeping the atmosphere lively.