July 12, 2007

Runners sat on first and third base Tuesday afternoon at Halls Ferry Park. The Vicksburg Red Sox trailed by one run and Brock Barnes was in the most unenviable position imaginable for any young baseball player.

Someone always has to be the one to make the last out of a game, or in this case a tournament. It always happens. (It happened to me more times than I wish to recall.)

When a fastball much harder than I can remember ever facing as a 10-year-old registered for strike three, the Red Sox found themselves eliminated from the Cal Ripken state tournament. Oak Grove and Bay St. Louis played Wednesday on the Gulf Coast to decide a champion.

After the strikeout, though, is when the positive happened. Not one player from the Red Sox (and it pains me to talk good about any team named the Red Sox considering my Yankee pedigree) threw a helmet, kicked a bat, tossed a water cooler or used language common at those other Yankees-Red Sox games.

The Sox patted one another on the back, got in line and shook hands with the winners. Every player and each coach shook hands.

After the handshakes, the team gathered in the outfield for some final words, then dispersed into a gaggle of parents and well-wishers.

The Sox learned a valuable lesson, and one that we seldom like to learn – losing is a part of life and certainly it will happen again. It’s how one conducts him or herself after a bitter defeat that leaves the lasting impression.

As a 10-year-old budding baseball star myself, nothing mattered more than a baseball game. Bills, car payments and work hassles had yet to creep into my vernacular. The only thing that mattered to me was winning baseball games.

That same desire was evident in every one of those players from Oak Grove and Vicksburg on the field Tuesday. The teams played brilliantly, turning double plays with major league precision, diving for foul balls and making game-saving throws from center field.

None of them jawed at an umpire. For that matter, neither did their parents. Through three games at the Ripken tournament, no bickering could be heard. That, in itself, is nearly as amazing as the level of baseball at which these youngsters play.

When is the last time you have gone to a youth sporting event without zealous parents lambasting officials, other parents or their own players? Rare indeed.

Other teams from Vicksburg traveled cross-state to play in various state tournaments, and all had varying degrees of success. I have not been to those away games, so it would be impossible to comment on the actions of other teams and parents.

The Red Sox, though, proved plenty. They played the game like it’s supposed to be played. Parents acted like they are supposed to act. When the game ended, it was hard to tell which team lost.

The Red Sox didn’t play like grownups. They showed a lot more class than that.