Legacy 10U Fall Ball Season Finale

James hit an inside the parker on the left side in his championship game in the Fall Pony 10U season. He led off the game by getting on top of a pitch

and bounced it up the middle that the shortstop almost but didn't quite stop with his face (and I was happy for both James and him)

and it rolled past the centerfielder

and went with the slope all the way to the wall,

But then the umpire came walking out, and I had worried he would call interference on me and take my son's home run because I had just evacuated the very spot where the ball came to rest...

But fortunately he just came out for a look and said nothing and a split second later my son crossed the plate

and then his teammates came out to mob him...

and for good measure he drove a pitch into left field his second time up for a single...

The team lost, but when a 10U team plays a team that is (or looks like) a 12U team, there's not much you can do.

After the game, the umpire came up to us to let us know he talked to James during the game. He told him that he needs to not be so cocky, as he's still learning and doesn't know much. James is a darn good ball player, he told us, but needs to be teachable to improve.

Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero Paperback 2011 by Tom Clavin (Author), Danny Peary

This is the biography of Yankee Slugger, Roger Maris, one half of the M&M boys.  His claim to fame is hitting 61 home runs in '61.  The story focuses on his battles with the press during that year and after. 

the book helped me to build up my database on mid 20th Century pro baseball, which my son is really into. I can educate and prod him a little.

The SUBstiution Order by Martin Clark (2019)

This is a legal thriller by a judge in Virginia.  Writing is more interesting than Grisham but the end is unsatisfying, a little shallow.  This judge has potential.

The Meritocracy Trap by Daniel Markovitz (2019)

Yale Law Professor Daniel Markovitz breaks down on Meritocracy, which is the successor to the old Aristocracy.  It sounds better, but it's just as bad-- a small group of people controlling the rest.  His writing is a bit dense and he tends to repeat himself but it's an important subject and worth the read.

Mickey Mantle: America's Prodigal Son by Tony Castro 2002

This is a biography of the great Yankees switch hitting slugger. It tells something of the times he played and afterward but mostly it is about the great game of baseball and one of the best to have ever played the sport.

The MVP Machine: How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players by Travis Sawchik, Ben Lindbergh 2019

This is another great bit of sports journalist. These authors take on the subject of latest trends in player development in baseball. There's lots of good info here I can use to help the youngster, and this book really helps to explain what's going on in Major League Baseball. More home runs, more strike outs, better players, and a more boring game.  What makes sense for a team is bad for the sport generally.

Losing Earth: A Recent History by Nathaniel Rich 2018

This is a good bit of reporting about the politics of climate change from 1979-1989.  There was an awareness of the problem then that is just as clear as now.  It seemed the US was about the address the issue, and then the oil and gas people confused people on the science.

Looking back to 1979 provides an interesting perspective on the thing.  It may be that people don't respond to an emergency until they're nearly dead.