And the crowd goes wild!

My 15-year-old grandson, quite an athlete, has been a basketball star since he was six (can you say three-pointers? wicked hook shot? six-foot-one and still growing?) and a football star since he was 11 (can you say pass interceptions? team captain? crutches?). A year ago he began playing baseball also. This spring, as a ninth-grader, he earned a spot on his high school’s JV (Junior Varsity) team.

Last Saturday, he hit his first home run ever and his team’s first home run of the season in the last inning of the first game of a double-header on a sunny but very windy afternoon! And he was credited with two RBIs to boot! Unfortunately, his team still lost 9-5, but it sure was exciting there for a minute or two!

He’s a lefty and the ball cleared the right field fence, at least 308 feet away according to the big sign in the corner. His little brother was quite impressed when I told him that was longer than a football field. Encouraged by a whisper from another player’s mom, little brother darted away and returned a few minutes later with the trophy ball for big brother’s room, making the moment even more special for Mom, Dad, and Grandpa.

This isn’t my grandson. It’s some other fellow. But he better watch out.

(2006 photo by Kevin Rushforth)