Grasshopper Baseball

okay - so that sounds funny. Actually, Sam and Andrew are playing Second Season, and I am managing the team. All the teams from Grosse Pointe Park have team names of minor league teams. Ours is the Grasshoppers.

This real team is the Greensboro Grasshoppers, a Class A affliate of the Florida Marlins.

We have the same hats as pictured to the right, but our shirts are Orange, with the Grasshopper logo on it.

Hardly a logo/mascot that inspires fear in the hearts of opponents!

Unlike the first season, second season is much more laid back. Teams are larger (16 people in our case) because so many come and go on vacations during the season (started July 23rd, ends at the end of August). In fact, we have had games for two weeks now, and I have 5 players who have yet to play in a game! Four return from out of town this week so we will have a fuller contingent (only one game have we had more than the minimum 9 present, and then one got injured!). But then others are going away next week or the week following. I frequently make up the line-ups/batting orders 10 minutes before the games start because I am not contacted about who will/will not be there that night!

Second Season also has all their games Monday through Thursday (people go away on weekends), there is no play-offs, and we play teams from the City/Farms and Shores/Woods. Grosse Pointe Park has 5 teams, and the other cities (their little leagues are combined, GPP stands alone) have 6 total.

So, how are we doing?

The first game ended in a 11-11 tie, called at the end of the 4th due to darkness. In fact, all our games have only lasted 4 of the 6 innings! This was against a City/Farms team.

Our second game vs. a GPP team we got clobbered - 22 to 6 (all six runs coming in the 4th/last inning).

Our third game vs. a GPP team we won 14 -13, with the opposing team walking in our winning run!

Our fourth game was cancelled (although no one bothered to call us and tell us, so we showed up anyway and had a practice) due to heat.

Tonight (Thrusday) for our fifth game against a Woods/Shores team we lost 14-12. In fact the outcome could have been very different due to a blotched play. One of our players (1st baseman) caught a fly ball between 1st and second which would have been the third out, and then dropped it having never had possession. Then the umpire was watching a run come home and missed that the pitcher had run to first, and the first baseman picked up the ball and forced the batter out at 1st. Having missed the call, the ump had to call him safe (he had him by 2 or 3 steps). They went on to score that run and another on the next batter - making the difference in the loss. If the 1st baseman had held on to the catch, or ump saw the other call it would have been a very different game. But he was doing his best and acknowledged to me that he missed the play at first so he had to call him safe. Such happend in second season and that is okay.

BTW - this is my first experience as the manager, and although I think I am handling the organizing part pretty well, I need help with the coaching players skills part! Thankfully, two players dads who have been managers return next week from Vacation to help coach!