Epilogue

The tournament is finished, and everyone has returned to normal life; some are back in Saudi, others are out there traveling, and many are back home relaxing for the summer.  Williamsport is not on the schedule for us this year.

The Asia-Pacific-Middle East Region (still officially referred to as ASPAC) is an entirely different animal than our former region, the now-defunct Africa-Middle East Region.  Of course, we knew this, but hope reigns eternal in the hearts and minds of anyone strapping in for such an adventure!

*       *       * 

First up for us was Chinese Taipei.  These guys ended up winning the tournament and will represent  ASPAC in Williamsport in August.  They are a great team!

The boys meet Chinese Taipei before the game.

You have to play perfect ball against CT, and we got off to a little bit of a shaky start.  A dropped third strike on the leadoff batter, an error, a hit batsman, and a clean single allowed them to score two runs against us in the top of the first.


Alex G. immediately singled up the middle to begin the bottom of one, but a crisp 4-6-3 double play signaled the end of our offense for the day.  CT methodically tacked on a seven more runs over the course of the next five innings, and we lost 9-0.  Nathan and Chris pitched particularly well, allowing no walks and surrendering just two earned runs over the final 3 1/3 innings.

Alex G. whacked this pitch to center field for a clean single to lead off the bottom of the first against CT.

Thailand was up next.  This was another excellent ball team.  They began the game with a triple and a double.  We slowed the bleeding as the pitching settled in and also with the aid of some fine defense.  Nick A. scored our first run of the tournament, too.

After two innings Thailand was up 4-1.  They broke it open in the third with a home run, two singles, a hit batsman, and a fielding error.  The game ended after four innings with a score of 12-1.  Highlights for us included Andrew's two hard, line-drive singles

CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) brought their bats to our next game.  Our bats awoke a little bit, too, but CNMI pounded us 21-6 in a forgettable affair.  One of their players hit two home runs in the first inning!  On our side, Andrew had another hit (single), Marcus had a single and a double, and Alex S. smashed his first hit of the tourney, a single.

Heading back to the players' villas in a jeepney after one of our games.

Our offense continued its resurgence in our next game, vs. New Zealand.  This was an exciting back-and-forth game!  NZ went up 3-0, then we were up 4-3, 5-3, 6-3, and 7-5 before they rebounded to go up 9-7 entering the bottom of the last inning, the sixth.

Alex G. led off our sixth with his second hit of the day, a liner into right field.  Marcus doubled him home, and then the hot-hitting Andrew doubled home Marcus.  Andrew's hit appeared to have a chance to leave the park for a walk-off home run, but it fell just short, nicking the bottom of the center field fence on its descent.  The crowd gasped, and the game continued, now tied.

Shea smacked a hard, two-out single to right field, his third hit of the game, but Andrew was tagged out on the play as he rounded third, and the game went to extra innings.

Alex S. pitched shut-out ball the last four innings of the game, and we finally came through in the bottom of the ninth when Chris hit a roller toward third that scored Shea, who was pinch running for Will who had gotten aboard with a walk to lead off the inning.  Final score:  10-9 Saudi Arabia!

Marcus had four hits, including three doubles.  Alex. S. also had three hits on the day--a great overall game for him especially!

After feeling so overwhelmed at the tournament up until that point, we all exhaled.  What a relief to get that first win!

The huge former drill field where all of the ball fields were set up for the tournament.  Most of the fields were temporary fields.  Around the fields were many restaurants, and farther in the distance mountains ringed the area, including Mt. Pinatubo, an active volcano.

The next day it was back to the reality of ASPAC.  Korea, the eventual tournament runner-up, pasted us, 12-0.  We did not get a hit, and nine of our 12 batters were struck out.  Ouch.

Here is a snapshot of the action in the championship game between Chinese Taipei and Korea.  CT beat Korea and will advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.

Our consolation game was against Singapore, a team we appeared to match up with quite well.  We fell behind early, though, by a score of 5-1, before battling back to grab a 6-5 lead in the fourth inning, a rally during which Luke blasted a long run-scoring single to right field for his first hit of the tournament.

Many of our younger guys were playing, and they were playing well!  Nic W. made some smooth fielding plays, Aziz got on base, and Trace pitched great, allowing one unearned run in three innings, striking out two and allowing no walks, before running out of gas in the sixth.  

Singapore tied it in the top of the fifth, but we regained the lead when Ziyad, after getting aboard on a perfectly-placed bunt, raced around on some sloppy fielding to make the score 7-6 in our favor heading into the top of the sixth inning.  Three more outs, and we would have our second win of the tournament.  Unfortunately, our pitching was drained, due in large part to the recent nine-inning barn burner vs. New Zealand...

Singapore's first five batters in the top of the sixth rapped out four hits, including a bases-loaded triple (the other batter had reached via error). 

We couldn't muster a rally to match them in our half of the inning and went down in defeat, 16-7.

Nathan had two hits, including a double, and Marcus had his second four-hit game of the tournament. 

*       *       * 

In the final analysis, the ASPAC Tournament is our new Williamsport.  The competition is awesome.  There are a few teams in the region with which we can compete evenly, but most teams are stocked with 65 mph arms and many talented athletes. 

My wife thinks we're crazy, but those of us whose kids will still be of age next year are already excited to return to Clark!   Our young and inexperienced team gave it their all this year, and now we have a solid core of veterans returning and some very good ball players coming into the fold in September.

Thank you, Coaches!  We will always have great memories of our travel team experience!

See you in the fall!

Tournament Time!

Tomorrow is day one of what promises to be a super-challenging week for our boys.  Here is the tournament schedule for the Little League Division:  (click to enlarge)

The Philippines is five hours ahead of Saudi, 15 hours ahead of USA west coast time, 14 hours ahead of US mountain time, 13 hours ahead of US central time, and 12 hours ahead of US east coast time.  Note the typo on the schedule above--12 am should read 12 pm.

In addition, the tournament has a website that includes a live streaming page, so you will even have a chance to watch our boys live!  Very cool.  The games on the left-hand side of the schedule above will be available via live streaming.

http://aspac13littleleague.org/

That's all for now.  Wish us luck!!

Baseball Is Life

Tom Hanks' character in A League of Their Own famously said about baseball, "The hard is what makes it great."

That is definitely one of the things that makes baseball great, kind of like why chess is superior to checkers--one is more challenging, and thus more rewarding than the other.  Baseball is a very challenging game, and so the success is incredibly sweet.

Smitty prepares to fire one home.

My dad says that golf is the toughest sport and that baseball is the second toughest.  I see where he's coming from to an extent.  Baseball and golf do have their similarities, for sure.  For instance, there are multiple facets of each game that every player must master:  catching, throwing, hitting, putting, driving, chipping, etc.  Generally speaking, physique has less to do with ability than in most other sports.  Each game includes individual moments in the tee box or the batter's box.  The playing fields of each are aesthetically pleasing, and there is no clock.

But baseball is a team sport, and there's something to that in its appeal.

Baseball exemplifies a tension in the American mind, the constant pull between our atomistic individualism and our yearning for community.

GEORGE F. WILL, Men at Work

Nathan takes a rip at a belt-high fastball from Marcus in the team's final game here in Saudi.

Imagine if golf were a team sport.  You hit a terrific drive, then the next guy has to lay up, the next guy must chip it onto the green, and the next guy would have to putt the ball into the cup.  Up and down the course and up and down your lineup you go.

If you personally are "on" in golf, you will be successful that day.  As a team sport, though, it would be a bit more complicated than that.

If you personally are "on" in baseball one day, well, if your pitcher is wild, or your clean-up hitter is slumping, or your relief core is throwing meatballs, dude, you're in trouble.

Andrew on the mound, Ziyad at 2b.

Ultimately, though, it's baseball's connection to the seasons which gives the sport a mystical edge on all other games we play.

There's something about baseball that is in tune with the rhythm of life itself:  born in the spring, flourishing in the summer, dying in the fall, and dead in the winter--surely it's not just the English teachers who feel like baseball is a metaphor, on many levels, for life itself, is it?!  

A former commissioner of Major League Baseball (and former literature professor) got it, even going so far as to perhaps suggest that baseball is summertime:

The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops ... And summer is gone.

A. BARTLETT GIAMATTI

Lucky us--here we are in the midst of summer.  Soak it in!

Nathan pitches to Chris.

Marcus and one of our fighter pilot friends.

Nic W. drops down a perfect bunt, and Shea reacts to try to make a play on it.

Ziyad takes a healthy cut!

Cryin'

Nathan  apparently was the first in line for the blonding, a 10+ year tradition that ensures good luck for the Saudi team.

 *       *       *

The travel team experience is kind of like the holiday season experience.  You look forward to it, you get all revved up for it, you love seeing your kid(s) so happy about it, but there's a price to pay.  And you know you'll also be happy when it's over.

You've got the stress, the extra stuff to do, and the extra family members to deal with.  In addition, money seems to shoot from your wallet about as regularly as Old Faithful spouts in Yellowstone.  Ooo, aaah!

Several home runs were recently hit at Canyon Yards, so the boys got together at the end of the last practice to move the outfield fence back a little bit.

*       *       *

This year's travel team experience comes to a climax next week.  Whether it's the central climax or not has yet to be determined.

Coach Matt spent a weekend at the beach taking in the spectacular technicolor view of home plate.  That's the Arabian (Persian) Gulf behind him.

*       *       *

"There's no crying in baseball," said Tom Hanks' character so famously in the movie A League of Their Own, but there's a lot of crying in Little League baseball, even on the travel team.

Naturally, there are the strikeouts and errors, but there are also personality clashes, unmet expectations, and miscommunications, which means that everyone involved is strapped into the proverbial emotional roller coaster.  Still, I defer to Mr. Hanks:

 *       *       *

I spent time last night writing "#19" and "#14" on a bunch of underwear and socks.  At this point, stuff like that makes you feel like crying.  You're sending them off on their own,  plus, at the other end of the spectrum, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  What's really causing the tears--are they tears of joy or tears of sadness?

*       *       *

Being a part of the travel team family is a challenge, as is being a member of any family.

Going back to the holiday season analogy, you sit down at a table with a beautifully-browned turkey sweetly steaming and surrounded by an array of tasty dishes, but the adults are all peeking at the cousins who don't get along.  Also, you can literally feel, it seems, your mom's annoyance with your father, and you all know it's just a matter of time before Uncle Bobby goes off on his annual rant about "dogs pooping on the beach."

But the only thing the kids at the table remember is Aunt Laura's awesome stuffing and Grandpa's silly faces.  Then they go play and eventually fall happily asleep in your lap during round 12 of the age-old  argument pitting the "good ol' days" vs. the present...

*       *       *

We're part of the travel team family now.  It hasn't always easy, but we got it done--and the kids are happy as heck.  Mission accomplished.

*       *       *

Today we saw the boys off.  (No cryin'.)

Moments before they left for the airport to head to the regional tournament in the Philippines...  A few guys were missing at this moment, but rest assured, Aziz, Nic, and Ziyad were scheduled to meet the team at the airport!

Ain't No Dream

-->

This is a metaphor.  It is not really Will.

Open a big duffle bag wide

And throw in your hat, your glove, and your cleats;

Grab a towel, a couple of extra tees,

Two pairs of socks,

Those cheap sunglasses,

Your baseball pants,

That dirty old sports necklace,

A toothbrush, some toothpaste,

And deodorant (if you’re there yet),

A pair of shorts, pj’s, some skivvies,

A black belt and two jerseys…

Zip her up, dude

Get in the car, star

Going to Qatar,

Also Bahrain, RT,

DXB, and Kuwait City

On the road for some fun.

Travelling has its pitfalls, like this flat tire.

Grab a blanket and a pillow, too—

But don’t count on many z’s;

That check for room service?  Just sign “Aziz.”

Be at the field at 7; be in the pool by 2…

A bag of chips, some Twizzlers,

And a granola bar for lunch will do;

Double header at 4:30 today

Followed by shwarmas or Subway

Cling to the fence as your teammates bat

And all game long keep up the chat

“You’ll get ‘em next time,” “Nice cut!” and “G’d eye”

“Don’t worry about it” you say to the guy

Who’s a little bit down

All the while the cameras click

And dads hang over fences to yell encouragement

And by the end your throat feels like gravel

You’ve been drinking water-fountain water

And eating sunflower seeds and spitting,

Springing, jogging, throwing, screaming…

The natives

Now this game is over and it’s all done

And the post-game talk is going on;

The field lights are dimming

And someone’s on the mound raking

The team bus is revving up in the lot

You’re going home...

To the hotel.

In minutes the games are ancient history

As you sing on the way,

Cracking jokes and going all Gangnam Style

And around a curve someone falls into the aisle

No surprise

From left to right:  Weirdo #1, Weirdo #2, and Weirdo #3.

You’re dirty, you’re so tired;

And you find yourself soon enough in bed in a room

Settling down, lights clicking off, toilets flushing

And the sounds of that deep sleep breathing—

A coach is snoring—

But in an instant you’re sleeping, too,

And you’re dreaming

Up there in some glass tower in a far away city

(Your parents are thinking about you.)

Cozy vs. luxurious...  They don't know the difference.

And then it’s morning, and it’s actually all real

You made the travel team—so

Get dressed, pack your bag, be downstairs in five!

Look alive—game at nine!

A weekend in RT.

Real Ball

When the pitchers are "on," and the defense is solid, that's when Little League baseball is such a fun game to watch.  Tension hovers around each at bat, and then even each pitch as the game rides toward the 6th.

They're playing like pros, you tell yourself.  This is a real game!  your mind shouts.  They have come a long way, and this is some darn good fruit for our collective labors.

And someone blasts a solo home run, and the other team scratches back with a seeing-eye grounder, a walk, and a bloop, and the scoreboard says we're in the bottom of the last in an hour-and-a-half with men on base and one out to go.

You don't know if the rally will die or extend; this how a great game ends.  Sometimes you win it and sometimes you don't, but what a fight--it's brought out the best in every single player.

They're shaking hands on the field.  Time to go home.  Who wants to go home?  Let's play again!

Takin' Off?

I have been wondering about the mental make-up of our team.  We have risen to the occasion in the recent past, and I see a calm determination underlying everything the boys do.  I'm excited about the possibilities for this group of boys.

With only three weeks or so to go until the regional tournament, we parents are on the edge of our seats! 

Calm down, everyone, and drink in some shots of some recent local action:

Marcus fires one in toward the mighty Ziyad.

Marcus reads the catcher's signs.

Coach Kraynyk tries to gain some points with Mr. Somogye and Mr. McKissack.  Every little bit counts!

Aziz loads up for the incoming pitch as Nick awaits.

Luke wears his game face well!

Trace prepares to tag an incoming runner.

Alex G. drives a low liner.

Trace sometimes sheds the "tools of ignorance" for some fresh air on the mound!

Andrew laces one toward left field.

Chris prepares a two-seamer for delivery!

In Control

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As we glide through this travel team season, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's trying to enjoy watching my kids as much as possible.  We always enjoy watching our kids, but this is special and so we're trying to really soak it in and appreciate it.

Coach Dan addresses the troops.

One thing in particular to appreciate is how patient our coaches are.  They exude confidence in the program that they are pushing our kids through, which lends a sense of calm as tournament time creeps closer.  30 days and counting... So many reps, an extra inning for this pitcher, an advanced technique here, a subtle adjustment there.  Holding expectations steady, reinforcing habits, mixing in some fun...  30 days and counting.

Coach Matt grimaces as he crunches a Saudi sunflower seed. (Been there.)

*     *     *

Since the coaches are in control, the parents can simply relax, right?  Not exactly!  Plenty of things going on off the field to wear us out, from fundraisers to team meals and sleepovers to bushels of emails and a steady diet of meetings to manage this behemoth that is The Travel Team Experience. 

The final leg of this journey, the regional tournament in the Philippines, is going to feel like a vacation.  All of the work will be done, and we will finally just be watching some baseball.  It will be nerve-wracking baseball watching, yes, but it should be just baseball.

And so, when you take your seat at our first tournament game, don't be surprised if you hear some nut job shouting out "Hallelujah!" as he takes his seat way up in the top row.

Coach Kraynyk takes some time to listen to and talk with the boys.

Our boys

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Just Off the Plate

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I spent a game in the dugout when the strike zone seemed small, spitting sunflower seed shells at my sneakers, trying to convince myself that, despite the agony, there’s no place I’d rather be than in a baseball dugout watching a ballgame on a beautiful evening, stars twinkling somewhere out there beyond the bugs and bats darting in and out of the field lights.  It was warm, and the grass was smooth and green.

“Ball four!”

I stepped over to the water fountain.  I popped a few more seeds.

“Ball one.”

After the game there would be food for the players and coaches, so that was a happy thought.  Parents have stepped up and volunteered to prepare post-game meals once a week, and I momentarily thought about biting into a warm a sloppy joe and sipping a cold Coke.

A post-game meal

“Take your base.”

I drifted back to Poland when Jordan hit the late, two-run homer to beat Uganda, and my mind’s eye once again watched the ball disappear into the tall trees beyond the centerfield fence.

I thought about the Mets game when my dad bought me my first real hat.

I remembered the first time I signed my kids up for baseball in the mail center.  A guy with a sort of surfer dude inflection and wire-rimmed glasses enthusiastically engaged me in conversation when I told him that I had two boys to sign up.  I think it was Kinney.

“Ball one!”

Ugh.  In a desperate attempt to get the elusive third out, I gave the sign for a pick-off play at first base.  Wild pitch.  The runners moved up; the pick-off option was dead.

Nick and Chris meet to discuss the pitching plan.

“Ball two!”

Changing gears, I popped some pumpkins seeds.  Stale.

“Ball three!”

I organized the bats from longest to shortest in the bat rack.  I neatened the helmets on the shelf.  A dog barked in the distance.

“Ball four!”

I bit a nail, I stood up, and then I started killing the ants that had been swarming around someone’s spilled Gatorade.

I spent a game in the dugout when the strike zone seemed small.  Not easy at all.

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Pitching

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Nathan ready to fire.

Good pitching is the key to good baseball.  There are many things the boys are working on, but the development of the pitchers is the main thing going on behind it all.

During this time of year, the pitchers must develop more consistency in their deliveries, become more accurate in hitting their spots, and become more skilled with their off-speed pitches.  Along the way, their velocity increases, which is a natural thing since they are still growing boys who are becoming bigger and stronger right before our eyes.  Certainly, fielding the position is another area of focus.

That's the physical side.  Mentally, the pitchers also must improve.  How do you respond to an error behind you?  Will you become distracted from the task at hand by an iffy call behind the plate?  Can you battle back from a 3-0 count?  What if your off-speed pitch is not working so well--can you survive until you get the feel for it back?

All of these things are happening right now at Canyon Yards, and it's a fun process to watch.

Coach Matt talks pitching with Marcus and Andrew.

Batters who haven't struck out much now occasionally are caught looking at called third strikes.  Pitchers who couldn't get through an inning a couple of months ago are now getting through two innings, or more.  There are fewer past balls, and five or six innings are passing before time's up.

So good pitching has a huge impact on the game.  It forces our hitters to become better batters, it lessens a catcher's burden, it speeds up the game, and even the fielding is beginning to improve because with more strikes comes more contact and more fielding plays--you'd better be on your toes! 

Trace catches some smoke.

Keep it up, boys, keep it up!

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Saudi Seeds

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Here in Saudi, grocery stores have spice/nuts/dried fruits counters in addition to seafood, bakery, and deli counters.  So you'd think it would be easy to get some decent sunflower seeds here.  But you'd be wrong.

There are several issues with the local sunflower seeds.

1.)  They are too big. 

Foreground:  Saudi.  Background:  Normal.

When you grab a handful of these sunflower seeds and pop them into your mouth to enjoy for half an inning, well, that handful you grabbed?  Um, that was about five seeds, and it doesn't take too long to crack them open, chew the seeds, and spit out the shells.  Then there's only one out in the inning and you are stranded in the third-base coach's box with nothing but dry mouth.

Once when a player was rounding third and I was getting all excited in the coach's box, one of the giant seed halves flew from my mouth and banged into the kid's helmet, and the kid actually went down.  It was only a mild concussion, but still.  You just don't see that scenario play out in Little League games in other parts of the world.

Coach Matt hits pregame infield to the team with Andrew catching.

2.)  Saudi seeds are far too brittle.  Position a Saudi seed between your upper and lower teeth, gently press down to snap the shell open to release the seed, and KABOOM!   All too often, it's shrapnel city all over your tongue.  Try spitting that out with any kind of expert zing on a crowded dugout bench.  It comes out more like projectile vomit after a meal of toothpicks, and the cool factor of seed chewing is gone, man.

Nick comes in on a ground ball during warmups.

3.)  You have to buy them from a guy with whom it is impossible to communicate.

Many, many, if not most people one encounters in retail establishments here in Saudi, speak English.  And the ones who don't, well they understand inflections and gestures just fine.  But not the grocery-store nut guy.   

The thing is, there are lots of seeds and nuts on display, and some are salted, some are not, some are "lemon salt," etc.  Not much is labeled, either, so good luck finding exactly what you want.  It once took me ten minutes to find out if the guy had flax seeds, for crying out loud!  Oh, the hardships we face here.

Shea shows good form on a grounder during pregame warmups.

4.)  If for some reason a good batch of sunflower seeds does come in, they are gone quickly, and they will not be re-stocked for about a year.

Why won't something that's sold out get quickly restocked?  I recently got an answer to this question when, after I could not find the tuna pate my kids like, I asked an employee if there was any tuna pate in the back.  The employee said, "Yes!" and quickly walked to the back of the store.

When he returned a couple of minutes later with a stack of tuna pate cans, I laughed.  "Why don't you put these out?" I said.

The store employee responded with his own laugh, "If we put all of them out, they will sell out (you dummy)!"

Luke tries to extricate an unfathomably large Saudi sunflower shell.

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From the Press Box

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Watching the game from the press box behind home plate has its advantages.  It's a unique view of the field, for one.  You can totally concentrate on the game at hand as well.

It's pretty boring though.

You play music between innings, spit seed shells out the window, keep score in a score book, and that's about it.  You definitely need a partner up there, some kind of windbag would be perfect.  Otherwise, it's kind of lonely.  I understand now why we've hardly ever had anyone up there during the season.

Ho hum.

Shaumik pitches to Ziyad.  From third to first, it's Will, Brandon, Nic, and Jordan.  In the outfield from left to right it's Cody, Patrick, and Aziz.  Trace is behind the plate.

Alex G. lines one to right field as Chris takes off from second base.

Field level is where the action is.

Trace bats; Nick catches.

Coach Kraynyk tells Marcus to "turn and look!"  Over at third, Coach Gieson gives the "hold" sign.

 At field level between innings:

Andrew pitches to Trace.  What a beautiful game!

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