H survives baseball paternity test

I have put H through his paces that last couple of days and he has come out strong. We played a simple game of wiffle ball - you know the game that's like baseball only you use a plastic bat and a plastic ball riddled with holes. For me this was a true test of my paternity. I spent 11 years of my life playing baseball from little league to high school and would have kept with the sport had I not damaged my rotary cuff as a senior. Nonetheless I had to see if H had my baseball genes.

Farm League Fields Hedgesville, WV (Photo: Bonnie Cameron)


Josh at High School Field with Little league field in the background Hedgesville, WV (Photo: Bonnie Cameron) The grass infield was not there when I played - it was dirt!


Our backyard is more of a paved turnaround/parking area than a nice grassy yard. Welcome to SW Medford which is more like Somerville or Cambridge. The homes are triple deckers and occupied by as many families/tenants. I started out tossing a ball to H to hit from about 6 feet away. I found this to be dangerously too close to a 4 year old holding a bat. I moved about 12 feet away and he managed to hit it a few times. Not bad. We then switched it up - H tossed and I hit. We need to work on throwing a bit. This was more like a game of cricket than wiffle ball.

So on day two we again started out about 12 feet apart and H hitting. He immediately began hitting balls around. After a few minutes he asked me to move back, so I went to other side of our yard a good 20-25 feet away. To my surprise he hit better from this distance. I decided to put H through his paces, the competetive father that I am. I threw the ball harder and he handled it just the same. I then threw a few curve balls - granted wiffle balls don't seem to curve as much as a baseball, but he hit those too. He wasn't perfect but hitting about .250 is respectable even for the majors.

I think the time for getting rid of the big red bat has come and H needs to move on to a more streamlined model. A glove may be in the works too. I think we have found something we both enjoy. We'll work our way through pitching and catching as the time comes. For now, I am happy to throw and watch MY son hit balls around our yard.