Spring Training is on TV and kids everywhere are suiting up for their spring season of youth baseball. Let's be honest, as a hardcore baseball person, it's my favorite time of year.
Opening Day/Picture Day was cancelled last Saturday because of rain so I took the kids and their sparkly new uniforms out to the base field today and did my annual opening day photo shoot with them.
Calen has now played four full seasons of baseball (2 springs, 1 summer, 1 fall) in two calendar years and is moving into his 5th season this spring. Being a lefty/lefty hitter/thrower, he's a natural standout in each team he's played, if not for his athletic ability, but for the unique advantage that being a lefty has in baseball, more than most (if not all) other sports. Last fall, we took the jump from Little League to Cal Ripken Youth Baseball, for it's season length and competitive edge (keeping score, outs and strikeouts are recorded in all non-tball divisions). This season, he's playing for the Rookie (8u) division Indians. He's #11, which I picked for none other than Mariner great Edgar Martinez (his usual #3 wasn't available and other M's favorite Ken Griffey Jr (#24) was too high a number for the roster).
Camden, the poor kid, has been forced to sit behind the dugout and watch Calen play for two YEARS without being able to participate. This has been absolute misery for him as Camden has more of a competitive and athletic drive than Calen. And finally, finally, he's old enough to play tball! He has a unique advantage also, being a righty thrower but a lefty hitter (which means he can play basically any position on the field but still have the hitting advantage). He's playing for the Peewee (6u tball) division Orioles, and is wearing #8, obviously, because he's playing for the Orioles in the Cal Ripken league and Mr. Cal Ripken Jr. himself played for the Baltimore Orioles and wore #8.
Sorry, but is there anything on this planet cuter than a not-quite 5 year old in a way too big for him baseball uniform? I don't think there is.
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| He REFUSED to smile and INSISTED he needed to have his "GAMEFACE" |
And then of course I HAD to get shots of both of them together.
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