Jarod is playing T-Ball this Spring. His team is the NY Mets. He is in a league for kids who are either 5 or 6 years old. It is basically a league for the youngsters to learn the fundamentals of the game and for them to have some fun. During games, each side is retired at either 3 outs or 5 runs, whichever comes first. Score is not kept, except to enforce the 5 run rule.
Game 1
Jarod's first game was held on Saturday, March 6th. Their opponents were the Orioles. After watching these guys during practice and seeing how easily they can become distracted, it was amazing to see the transformation that came over them for an actual game. They were all very well focused and played well.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Orioles head coach was Val Yanez, a friend and former co-worker. He has a son that is Jarod's age with whom he plays occasionally. While the teams to do not keep score, I can say that the Mets retired the Orioles in the first two two innings with 3 outs, allowing only 2 runs. The other two innings were called due to the 5 run rule. The Mets only had a handful of outs the entire game, but managed to make the maximum 5 runs every inning. (Unfortunately, Jarod was two of the outs. He did get on base once, but the inning was called before he could get home.)
If you'd like to see some pictures I took of Jarod and his teammates, go here. I tried to get a picture of each boy both in the field and at bat. I know I missed a couple of boys at bat but will try to get them in a later game.
Game 2
Jarod's second game was held on March 22 after a long hiatus for the Spring Break week. The team had only had a couple of interveening practices and it showed. The team still managed to hit the 5 run rule each game, but did have a few more outs each inning. Their opponents were the Pirates, and the boys only managed to get 3 outs once. Jarod managed to get on base all three times at bat and actually scored two runs. (That mid-week bat-then-RUN practice paid off!)
Overall, the kids on both teams seemed to be suffering from bouts of confusion and a general lack of focus, probably attributable to the long break and the fact that it was an evening game. It was pretty apparent that some of the kids had already had a long day. All-in-all though, it appeared that a good time was had by all.
Game 3
Jarod's third game should have been held on March 27, but due to a last minute schedule change, he was unable to attend. The new time conflicted with the time set for the party to celebrate his 5th birthday. Later reports say that the Mets tied the Red Sox with each team hitting the 5 run rule every inning.