Leave it to Americans to come up with a game like baseball. There is no clock, and in what is called a "perfect game" (27 straight outs in a nine-inning game) there is precious little activity. In no other sport does the defense control the ball.
Leave it to Americans to come up with a game like baseball. There is no clock, and in what is called a âperfect gameâ (27 straight outs in a nine-inning game) there is precious little activity. In no other sport does the defense control the ball. The foul lines, which theoretically go on forever, prescribe a field of play of limitless possibility.
The rest of the world doesnât really understand baseball. But here in Newtown, there is a group of 10-year-olds who understand the game so well that they have just won their eighth consecutive baseball tournament title and second consecutive New England Regional Championship.
The Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball 10-year-old All-Star team is headed to Vincennes, Ind., this week to compete in the Cal Ripken Baseball World Series. Their first game is on Friday. They are making the trip because they have spent countless hours fielding grounders, chasing line drives, and protecting the strike zone in practice. We all know that 10-year-olds can be a goofy lot, but put this particular group of kids on a baseball diamond, and they become focused, confident, and expert as they systematically out hit, out run, and out field their opponents. While their parents go wild on the sidelines, the team is all cool efficiency out on the field. They know what they are doing. Theyâve done it all before as 9-year-olds, when they won the New England Regional Championship the first time.
What is new this year is that they have a shot at a national World Series title in their age group. (Cal Ripkin Baseball does not have a World Series for 9-year-olds.) Before we start thinking of 10 as the golden age of summer, however, we should also mention that there are a couple of other pretty good all-star teams in town. The Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball 9-year-old All-Stars are heading off to their first New England Regional Championship, and the 11-year-old team will be playing in its third consecutive regional championship this weekend.
We wish for all three teams that every grounder bounces true, every bat finds the ball, and every drive down the line stays fair. And we thank them for reminding us that with hard work, practice, and determination, the possibilities in every field of work and play are limitless.