Writer Turns Coach For Daughter's T-Ball Team
PLUS: ALL-STAR FANS FIND AN ALL-STAR CITY IN SEATTLE
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Prospective free agent pitchers Framber Valdez (Astros) and Aaron Nola (Phillies) are unhappy with the contract extensions offered by their teams . . .
The trade of Mike Moustakas from the Rockies to the Angels allows him to play near his Southern California home for a club with a winning record . . .
Minnesota second baseman and leadoff man Edouard Julien, born and raised in French-speaking Quebec, spoke no English when he arrived at Auburn so just nodded in the affirmative to any question he was asked . . .
At 43, lefty starter Rich Hill is the oldest man in the game but is a likely trade chip for the Pittsburgh Pirates before the Aug. 1 deadline . . .
Kudos to Kansas City’s Jordan Lyles, who finally won a game to bring his 2023 record to 1-11 . . .
Cody Bellinger, enjoying a nice comeback season with the Cubs, could interest the Yankees, where his dad Clay won two World Series rings . . .
Looking to pare payroll, the disappointing Boston Red Sox could unload a pair of well-paid veterans: closer Kenley Jansen and outfielder Adam Duvall . . .
Don’t look now, but ex-Yankee catcher Gary Sanchez has finally found a home in San Diego, where his powerful bat has made the difference in several games . . .
Mets subs Daniel Vogelbach and Tommy Pham saved their varsity jobs when their slumbering bats awakened right after Memorial Day . . .
Minnesota caged the Tigers, 6-0, behind a three-hit, complete-game Joe Ryan shutout that was the first for the Twins in five years . . .
Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan, this season’s first 12-game winner, left his last start with tightness in his back.
Leading Off
A Spring on the Tee Ball Field
By Ray Kuhn
We spend so much time focusing on major league baseball, but it is easy to forget where it all begins.
And by that I am not talking about the minor leagues or even college ball. Yes, we did just see an exciting College World Series with Dylan Crews and company taking the country by storm, but that is too advanced for what we are talking about here.
Instead, let us go all the way to that very first season of playing Organized Baseball. That is something that regardless of whether your career ended after receiving that first trophy at the age of four or culminated in a Hall of Fame speech in Cooperstown is shared by each and every baseball player.
Everyone has a first. There is that that first uniform, the initial Opening Day parade, and everything else that goes along with it.
While the same can be said for every first experienced, it is something that, quite simply, cannot be duplicated. It is the basis upon which your baseball life is built, and at the risk of hyperbole, is truly a magical experience.
With this being my daughter’s first season in tee ball, I knew that I was setting myself up for quite the emotional and exciting ride. But I also could not possible have begun to understand how transcendent of experience it has been which was triggered by one overwhelmingly simple word.
“Yes.”
When I signed by daughter up for that first tee ball season, I could not wait to do so. There was that first glove, bat, and helmet to be purchased. We had countless hours of practice ahead of us, or so I thought, but truly never could have expected or fathomed what was coming.
And it all came because I checked one simple box upon registration and answered one question correctly.
I grew up playing and following baseball ever since I can remember and through playing softball and as a fan, my involvement and love of the game has only grown over the years. So of course, I wanted my daughter to play, and it should not come as a surprise that she wanted to play our great game.
With that being said, it was only natural to sign up to coach in knowing that I would want to be involved in my daughter’s baseball/softball journey. Little did I know how things would change when I was asked to manage her team in the fall. While that certainly went great and was enjoyable, it really was just the appetizer to our journey.
From Opening Day and the parade, to announcing my daughter’s name on Trophy Day, to giving her the All-Star Game medal and everything in between, it is difficult to truly put into words how amazing this journey has been.
Selfishly, coaching my daughter has been amazing, and I knew that would be the case, but what I did not see coming was the true attachment I would feel with my entire team and the relationships that would develop.
From meeting my team of eager of four and five-year-olds from that first practice through the end of the season has been simply amazing. Getting to know them has been a great experience, but what has been even better is watching their progress from the start of the season to the end. We do not keep score here, but it does not matter. It is all about learning how to play within a team and developing those skills, but most importantly it is about fun.
And that objective has been accomplished.
There is no bond like that of a team. With seven or eight more years left of Little League, we are all going to go through this together from the start as players, coaches, and parents. We all have a common threat that has brought us together and things are only going to grow from here.
To an extent though a large majority of us must part ways from the standpoint of being on the same team as my path will lead towards the softball side of things, but we will always have this season together. What I did not expect, though, is the emotions at the end of the season knowing that it would be the last time coaching the majority of these kids.
While it is not a goodbye, and we will certainly stay in touch and I will get to follow their progress, it will not be the same. With that being said, I will forever be grateful to be Coach Ray.
Beyond that, though, there is simply no way to put into words the emotions I felt when we were announced as a team for our last game on the main field under the lights. Having my daughter’s name called after mine and running out on the field with her and standing on the foul line for the national anthem was simply amazing.
If you take nothing else from this, though, let it be the message that you should always say YES when asked to coach. Anything that you can give to kids is always going to be less than what they give back to you in return.
Ray Kuhn can be found writing on Fantrax and Fantasy Alarm after previously covering the Houston Astros as part of the FanSided network at Climbing Tal’s Hill. Reach him at @ray_kuhn_28 or raykuhn57@gmail.com as he is always interested in talking or writing about our great game.
Cleaning Up
Seattle is a Spectacular All-Star Weekend Venue
By Dan Schlossberg
Now that confirmation of my All-Star Game credentials has arrived, I can’t wait to get back to Seattle, a city I haven’t seen since covering the 2001 All-Star Game at Safeco Field.
Now called T-Mobile Park, the stadium will take center stage for some 50,000 ticket-holders plus twice as many visitors planning to trek to the Pacific Northwest for the week-long festivities.
I personally promise that none of them will be sleepless.
While they’re in town, there’s a long list of activities to keep visitors busy. For example:
Since Seattle is surrounded by water, first on the must-do list is Argosy Cruises, a sightseeing mainstay for both locals and out-of-towners. Several times and choices are available but all promise to be friendly to camera buffs.
A photogenic paradise when the summer sun is shining, passengers can capture the skyline, the iconic Space Needle, several different ballparks, and maybe even Mt. Rainier, an active volcano that is stunningly beautiful with its mantle of snow even though it is one of five active volcanoes in the nearby Cascades (Mount St. Helens, which last erupted in 1980, is one of them).
Puget Sound and Elliott Bay are the focus of float-plane passengers, who glide along Lake Union before taking off to see the sights from above.
On land, a personal favorite is walking the waterfront, where vendors and restaurants offer fresh Pacific seafood, including clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.
Although the old riverfront trolley line was removed in 2005, Seattle’s two current streetcar lines (South Lake Union line and First Hill line) do not run along the waterfront. The South Lake Union line, though, does terminate next to Lake Union. The light-rail (or 1 line) is largely underground through downtown. It is above ground south of the stadiums and north of University of Washington. But patrons won’t see downtown at all while riding it.
The best way to start a sightseeing day is to fuel up with brunch at The George, signature restaurant of The Fairmont Olympic, one of many historic hotels in town.
Hop on the monorail — initially built for the 1962 World’s Fair — and see the work of muralist Brady Black on a community art project featuring baseball “stars of the game.” Seattle residents helped create his Black’s murals after several advance lessons with the artist himself. The results will be mounted on the monorail’s guideway columns.
Another way to experience The Emerald City — so named not only as Dorothy’s destination in The Wizard of Oz but also because of all the green spaces within the city limits — is to try a Climate Pledge arena tour. See the world’s first net-zero carbon arena and learn about its sustainability initiatives, its in-house music studio, and how it was built underneath the original roof of the Key Arena. The arena also hosts the Seattle Storm, four-time champions of the WNBA, plus concerts and events.
Next year’s sports calendar is will kick off on New Year’s Day when The Seattle Kraken, which just completed its second season, hosts the Vegas Golden Knights for the NHL Winter Classic after an icy topping transforms the surface of T-Mobile Park.
Finding an event to match the 93rd All-Star Game won’t be easy. There are just so many things going on, including a Baseball Exhibit at the Museum of History and Industry, on the shores of Lake Union. To celebrate the Midsummer Classic, it will unveil a new exhibit featuring memorabilia from such legends as Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Ichiro Suzuki, and Ken Griffey, Jr.
Also featured will be items from defunct teams called the Seattle Rainiers (Pacific Coast League) and Seattle Pilots (a 1969 American League expansion franchise that lasted a single season before moving to Milwaukee).
More baseball items — mainly those from Seattle’s former Negro Leagues team — are on display at Steelheads Alley, across the street from T-Mobile Park. The taproom features offerings from Metier Brewing Company, among the less than 1 per cent of craft breweries that are black-owned.
Along the Green Path from downtown to T-Mobile are tributes to female, minority, and LGBTQ+ businesses thriving in the city, which considers itself a fun, welcoming place filled with opportunity for all.
Starbucks got its start there, as did the hit CBS sitcom Frasier, which is bringing original star Kelsey Grammer back to the small screen in a reprise of the show.
Seattle loves its coffee, with Seattle’s Best Coffee (SBC to locals) an exceptional brew that offers a richer, more mellow taste than Starbucks.
As evening approaches, The Nest at Thompson Hotel offers perfect Puget Sound sunset shots.
For dinner with a view, try Aqua, a waterfront restaurant with West-facing views with vistas of Elliott Bay in the foreground and the Olympic Mountains in the background. Seattle itself is a city of hills, similar to San Francisco but not as daunting to walk.
Want to bring food back to the room? Pick up fresh fish and produce at Pike Place Market, where the All-Star Red Carpet show will originate before the game Tuesday.
As a baseball writer who goes on the road a lot, the three things to remember about places to stay are location, location, location.
That’s why the new Lotte Hotel Seattle, a luxury Korean brand in the Financial District, is a superb home-away-from-home. Open less than three years, it has only two U.S. locations: Seattle and New York. The plush property has just announced a residency with Seattle’s Teatro ZinZanni that will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Lotte Hotel Seattle’s Sanctuary.
Visit Seattle has been working on its All-Star bid since 2019 and the four-year effort has finally paid off. The city expects to realize at least $50 million from the main event and all its spin-offs. It won’t beat New York’s 2013 ASG record, more than triple that amount, but the payoff will be substantial for a city of its size (3,519,000 people live in the metro area).
Seattle first hosted an All-Star Game in 1977, at the Kingdome.
Most All-Star visitors will arrive by air. The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has many non-stops to the East Coast. I know: I’m taking one of them back home after the All-Star hoopla is over.
Former AP newsman Dan Schlossberg is the only U.S. journalist who covers baseball and travel exclusively. He is a national baseball writer for forbes.com and host of both TRAVEL THURSDAYS, in the Hartford market, and TRAVEL ITCH RADIO, a half-hour podcast with an interview format. E.mail him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
“For him to fill the shoes of a Cy Young Award candidate and a 20-game winner from last year, and for him to be succeeding is pretty deserving of [being] an All-Star, if you ask me.”
— Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud on right-handed starter Bryce Elder
Sportrac says the beleaguered Mets starting rotation, which has six Cy Young awards earned elsewhere, is making $128.6 million this year . . .
Roger Clemens, second among living pitchers with 354 wins, pitches batting practice for the Phillies now that son Kody is playing first base there . . .
Entering this season, struggling Mets right-hander Justin Verlander, now 40, needed three 17-win seasons to come within five wins of his stated goal of 300 . . .
Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, site of next week’s All-Star Game, will also play host to the 2024 NHL Winter Classic, an outdoor game scheduled for New Year’s Day . . .
During the days players had roommates, Hank Aaron shared with brother Tommie and fellow Braves teammates Rico Carty and Dusty Baker, among others.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.