Working in the Score Booth
After the Santa Cruz Little League Closing Ceremonies (see previous post), Ben and I stuck around to score keep the AA Championship game. The game would not start for another 30 minutes to give us a chance to clear the field and for the teams to warm up before the game.
It was a beautiful day and I was just hanging around before the game started. Relaxing, daydreaming and enjoying the sunshine. Then John gets on the PA system and makes an announcement, "Ben and Steve, please report to the pitcher's mound!" Hunh? I did not know there was another Ben and Steve in Little League. I look at John, he points at me, "That's you!" HUNH? So Ben and I walk out to the pitchers mound. I am thinking, "I sure hope they are not going to make me sing." In the background, John is saying something about me, but I am in such a state of shock that I don't hear much of it. I hope he said something nice.
As we arrive on the field, Jim gives us baseball gloves and tells me that I am going to throw out the first pitch to Ben! Uh-oh! Now you should realize that I have not thrown a baseball in about 5 years. No telling what is going to happen. I walk to a position about half way between the mound and home plate. I figure that the shorter the throw, the less tragic the results. Jim goes, "No, No, you need to throw from the pitcher's mound." Ohhh, man. So I march ALL the way back to the pitcher's mound. Did I mention that it is a brand new ball and that it is really slick? I'm sure you know how hard it is to get a good grip on a new ball. Anyway, as I start my throw, I am muttering, "I sure hope that nobody gets hurt from this." To everyone's amazement, the ball goes straight to Ben. Ok, Ok, it took about 17 bounces but the throw was straight as an arrow! After realizing that no damage was done, a huge smile of relief come across my face!
In all seriousness, I was very touched by this event. I feel extremely honored. I greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness of John, Jim and Ben to put this together. Afterwards I got a nice round of applause from the crowd in the stands. This will be one of those special memories that I will remember for a long time. My only regret is that I did not hand my camera to someone else so I could have gotten a picture of it. 20/20 Hindsight.
The scorekeeping booth is in the second floor of this building. The
first floor is the snack shack. For the last several years, Ben and I have been running the score booth for the Little League tournaments that run in June and July. Each year, it runs anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks. This year it runs from June 18th to the end of July. Therefore, we will be in the 2nd floor of this building almost every night for the next 6 weeks. There are people around who can substitute for us, so each of will take a night off every now and then.
Here is a picture of Ben keeping score of a game. Actually, he is
glaring at the camera, but he is supposed to be keeping score. When he isn't glaring at me, he keeps score and announces the game. I usually run the scoreboard and let him know when he makes a mistake. :-)
We have always had alot of fun working these tournaments. Year after year, some of the same people volunteer for other jobs around the tournament as well. Over time they have become good friends and we look forward to working with them each year.
You will also note the cheeseburger, fries and a drink in the picture. While we are working the tournament, we end up eating many meals from the snack shack. The Little League Snack Shack is pretty good. They have a wide variety of food available, from Corrolitos sausages to Tri-Tip Sandwiches to Burgers to Chicken Salads. Plus, you cannot beat the price. You can get a good Tri-Tip Sandwich, fries and a drink for $6. You can get a nice dinner plate-sized salad for $3.50. You can also get baked potatoes with chili and cheese. And of course they have candy, peanuts, popcorn, chewing gum, slushies, etc.
A few more pictures can be found here.
It was a beautiful day and I was just hanging around before the game started. Relaxing, daydreaming and enjoying the sunshine. Then John gets on the PA system and makes an announcement, "Ben and Steve, please report to the pitcher's mound!" Hunh? I did not know there was another Ben and Steve in Little League. I look at John, he points at me, "That's you!" HUNH? So Ben and I walk out to the pitchers mound. I am thinking, "I sure hope they are not going to make me sing." In the background, John is saying something about me, but I am in such a state of shock that I don't hear much of it. I hope he said something nice.
As we arrive on the field, Jim gives us baseball gloves and tells me that I am going to throw out the first pitch to Ben! Uh-oh! Now you should realize that I have not thrown a baseball in about 5 years. No telling what is going to happen. I walk to a position about half way between the mound and home plate. I figure that the shorter the throw, the less tragic the results. Jim goes, "No, No, you need to throw from the pitcher's mound." Ohhh, man. So I march ALL the way back to the pitcher's mound. Did I mention that it is a brand new ball and that it is really slick? I'm sure you know how hard it is to get a good grip on a new ball. Anyway, as I start my throw, I am muttering, "I sure hope that nobody gets hurt from this." To everyone's amazement, the ball goes straight to Ben. Ok, Ok, it took about 17 bounces but the throw was straight as an arrow! After realizing that no damage was done, a huge smile of relief come across my face!
In all seriousness, I was very touched by this event. I feel extremely honored. I greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness of John, Jim and Ben to put this together. Afterwards I got a nice round of applause from the crowd in the stands. This will be one of those special memories that I will remember for a long time. My only regret is that I did not hand my camera to someone else so I could have gotten a picture of it. 20/20 Hindsight.
The scorekeeping booth is in the second floor of this building. The
first floor is the snack shack. For the last several years, Ben and I have been running the score booth for the Little League tournaments that run in June and July. Each year, it runs anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks. This year it runs from June 18th to the end of July. Therefore, we will be in the 2nd floor of this building almost every night for the next 6 weeks. There are people around who can substitute for us, so each of will take a night off every now and then.Here is a picture of Ben keeping score of a game. Actually, he is
glaring at the camera, but he is supposed to be keeping score. When he isn't glaring at me, he keeps score and announces the game. I usually run the scoreboard and let him know when he makes a mistake. :-)We have always had alot of fun working these tournaments. Year after year, some of the same people volunteer for other jobs around the tournament as well. Over time they have become good friends and we look forward to working with them each year.
You will also note the cheeseburger, fries and a drink in the picture. While we are working the tournament, we end up eating many meals from the snack shack. The Little League Snack Shack is pretty good. They have a wide variety of food available, from Corrolitos sausages to Tri-Tip Sandwiches to Burgers to Chicken Salads. Plus, you cannot beat the price. You can get a good Tri-Tip Sandwich, fries and a drink for $6. You can get a nice dinner plate-sized salad for $3.50. You can also get baked potatoes with chili and cheese. And of course they have candy, peanuts, popcorn, chewing gum, slushies, etc.
A few more pictures can be found here.
posted by Steve @ 6:44 AM
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