the impossible

xander never ceases to amaze.

(if you are one of those that doesn't enjoy reading blogs bragging about someones' kids then you can tune out now, cause it is all about bragging tonight!)

tonight's game was sure to be called due to inclement weather...but as we sat in our cars at 7:20 for a 7:25 start, and watched the rain continue to fall we were amazed that the league had not done just that. they let these 5-6 yr old boys play out in the cold wet weather.
so, we get out to the field. get the boys in the dug out. i'm toting an umbrella and cassidy, todd is toting an umbrella, the snack bag and a packing blanket and we are standing watching the stalwart, brave, and wet little boys as they play the game they love. xander was still so excited he was jumping around in the dug out and slipped and fell twice. his pants were muddy, his socks and even his sweatshirt.

the team we played against was coached by our fall season coach and we knew his son, who was also on the team with xander in the fall.

so our team bats first. no outs, well hit balls, five runs....now we take the field. (x would have batted next, so he was geared up to go, more on that later)

coach baillie gives the field positions and xander lets out a "YES" with a little leap when he is told he is playing circle. (circle is where the pitcher would stand, but for t-ball one player stands there with the coach from the other team while he pitches. "time" is called when the ball gets back to the player in the circle. all motion on the field stops. very important position)

so last season when xander was in the circle he did a whole lot of dancing and even some pirouettes for us. i was worried. i knew he was already excited about the game and playing in the rain and now the circle...

but like i said, he amazes. he was baseball ready.so cute standing there with his hands on his knees chewnig a piece of gum. he ran down the few balls that were hit, scooped up a ground ball and tried running down the batter to first, was there when the other players needed to get the ball back to him and end the play. he was doing really well.

so now runners are on first and second. then the other coach's son was up to bat. he was a good little player, natural talents. his dad pitches, he connects and the ball is a line drive heading toward third/short stop, going right outside the circle where xander was standing. he jumped as the ball was hit and leaned out to the right (with his left hand, glove hand) and caught the ball. we were all so amazed at the catch...but it didn't stop there.

for whatever reason the other team's coaches' didn't send their runners back to their bases (or maybe they were just moving really slow) but x's coaches told him to run and tag second, so he did, and once there they told him to run and tag first (they knew what was going on even if no one else did, thanks goodness!) so he tagged first.... unassisted triple play!

todd was astounded, i was still trying to figure out what had just happened and xander didn't even realize what he had done. his coaches were cheering for the "x-man" and his teammates chnated "triple play, triple play".

so it was raining, no cameras, no video, nothing to document this impossible feat except to write it down.

that ended the inning, by then the rain had not let up at all and it was getting colder. there was no way for the other team to catch up to us (each team is only allowed 5 runs per inning) so the officials called the game. crazy! the team lined up, shook hands and then decided to keep on batting. they let the rest of the lineup bat through starting with xander. the boys were wet, but i didn't think they even noticed the cold. i know xander didn't. he was having way too much fun.

so our little ball player amazes us once again.