Following a short night — which included some late night uniform cleaning — the Marlins were back at the park early this morning for picture day.  The photos were taken outdoors in the middle of a one-day heat wave, but fortunately the boys didn’t have to wait in line very long.

The Highland Heights Mighty Mites baseball season started off with bang tonight!

In the field, Alan — wearing #3 for this 3rd year as a pro — played two innings in right field and two innings in center field.

At the plate, Alan provided a spark for the Marlins, going 2-for-2 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored.  In his second at-bat, he recorded the first double of his career on an RBI hit down the left field line! (pictured below).  The clutch performance earned Alan the game ball!

Alan was presented with the game ball during a meeting on the bench.  He later said he was not expecting to be the first recipient, but he’ll gladly take the honor.  The Cardinals may have defeated the Marlins, but it was definitely an Opening Night to remember.  We were both incredibly proud of Alan’s performance!

Note:  This year I’m the bench coach.  I’ll be keeping score for the Marlins at-bats in a scorebook, even though the games are considered exhibitions until the playoffs start in July.

5/25/19 update: Alan showed off the game ball to Tata, Papa, Robbie, Jill, Debbie, Papa, Bobby, Tyler, and Carleigh today as the ball came along with us on our Saturday stops.

Tonight Alan, Xavier, and the rest of the 2018 Mighty Mites Yankees attended the annual Mayfield Boys Baseball League banquet at La Vera Party Center.  Champions from all MBBL age groups were honored and prizes were raffled off.

Alan and Xavier didn’t win a prize, but they entertained themselves all evening by following the Indians-Orioles play-by-play on ESPN Gamecast (Indians won 2-1).  We didn’t know about this event last year, but we’re glad we found out this year and got to be together as a team one more time!

On 6/19/18, Alan had his first career 3-hit game!  He went 3-for-3 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored (career high) in a win over the Red Sox.  Alan also caught three innings for the second straight night and played three more in LF.  He was disappointed that he didn’t get a game ball after the game — that went to a player who broke a 9-9 tie with a 3-run double in the bottom of the 5th — but it made him appreciate last night’s honor even more.  Grandma Debbie, Papa, and Lulu(!) were there to see the Yankees earn their first winning streak of the season.  Alan proudly told his teammates that Lulu was his dog. 🙂

On 6/25/18, Alan went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs (career high) and 1 run scored in a win over the Marlins.  He also caught all 6 innings!  The Yankees spotted the Marlins 5 runs before coming back to win 15-13.  It was a great end to the regular season, made even better by the fact that Tyler, Carleigh, Grandma Debbie, and Papa came for the third straight Monday night.  Alan LOVED having them come this season!

Alan’s cumulative season stat line reads as follows:  17-for-33 (.515) with 8 RBIs and 8 runs scored.  He closed the year on an impressive 10-game hit streak and had multiple hits in six of those 10.

As a team, the Yankees closed the year with three straight victories to end the regular season at 5-6.  That’s good for a third place finish out of five teams.  The order of finish was Dodgers-Red Sox-Yankees-Marlins-Giants.  The Yankees will open the playoffs with a 1-game showdown vs. the Red Sox.  The winner will play a best of three series vs. the winner of Dodgers vs. Marlins/Giants.

The Mayfield Mighty Mites baseball season is officially underway!  Alan’s team — the Yankees — played through a rain-soaked and shortened opener on 5/12/18.  Then they were rained out completely on 5/14/18.  So today’s game (5/21/18) felt more like the true kick-off to the season.

Updates and stats will be shared here all season long.  Here’s the breakdown so far:

On 5/12/18, Alan put two balls in play but was retired on great plays by fielders.  In the field, he played RF and pitcher’s helper, as the coach likes his ability to field ground balls.  The result of the game was a loss to the Giants.

Today, 5/21/18, Alan went 2-for-3 with two singles and a fielder’s choice ground-out.  He was excited to run the bases three times, and even scored from 2nd on a single for his first run scored of the season.  I coached third and waved him home!  In the field, he played RF and LF and got the ball into the infield quickly on a couple hits.  The result of the game was a loss to the Red Sox.

Note: Alan is wearing #2 for the Yankees this year, which he wanted because it’s his second year playing in an organized baseball league.  He wore #1 last year.

This weekend was the first weekend of spring with warm weather and no rain, and Alan took full advantage.  He practiced hitting at the community park on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, with a Saturday morning team practice mixed in between.  After practicing hitting, Alan played at the nearby playground – one of this favorites – each time.

Also, on Saturday night, Alan played outside by Grandma Debbie’s pond with Tyler and Carleigh.  Alan’s favorite part was throwing rocks into the pond.  Alan found it funny when one of Tyler’s throws didn’t go far enough and splashed them both with mud.

It won’t be long until Alan will get to play outside every weekend!

Alan kicked off year 2 of his Mayfield Boys Baseball League (MBBL) career today at the Wildcat Fitness Center.  This season Alan has moved up to the Mighty Mite division (7-8 year olds), after playing in the Instructional division (5-6 year olds) last season.  It’s still a coach-pitch division, but it’s a step up in competition.

Today Alan came in for a talent evaluation.  He started off by fielding grounders, throwing to a coach, and catching pop-ups.

Afterwards, Alan took some batting practice in the batting cages.  He did pretty well for his first swings of the season.

Alan was thrilled to see first grade classmates Logan and Jonah at the Fitness Center.  He also saw two teammates from last season – Chris and Connor.  It figures to be another fun summer on the diamond!

Alan has wrapped-up his rookie year in the Mayfield Boys’ Baseball League.  Here’s a recap of the second half of the season:

6/9 – Alan goes 3-for-3 and plays 3B and P.  He makes his mark fielding from the pitcher position, and is established as a regular there – a prime fielding position for this league.

6/16 – Alan goes 3-for-3 and plays 2B and P.  After the game, Alan discovers that I’m the one who has been bringing the marker board for the lineup to each game.  He proceeds to borrow it and write notes — including his own version of the team’s batting order. 🙂

6/23 – Game rained out.

6/30 – Alan goes 1-for-1 and plays 2B before the rain comes and postpones the game after one inning played.  Alan finishes the season batting 1.000!

It was a great debut season for Alan in MBBL play.  I loved coaching third, managing the lineup for the kids, and standing in the field with Alan.  Next summer Alan will move up to the league for 7 & 8 year-olds.  He’s ready!

We’ve reached the midpoint in Alan’s rookie year in the Mayfield Boys’ Baseball League.  Here’s a recap of the games to date:

5/13 – Alan goes 2-for-2 and plays 2B.  He gets a big kick out of me waving him home for the first time (it was the first time he’s seen the motion of a 3B coach).

5/19 – Alan goes 3-for-3 and plays 2B and 3B.  At 2B, he fields a hot shot grounded on a real nice play.

5/26 – Game rained out.

6/2 – Alan bats leadoff and goes 4-for-4 with his whole family in attendance.  He plays SS and P, where the ball finds him on several occasions.  Alan continues to field the routine grounders.  He’s also commended for helping up players off the ground, including his new buddy and teammate, Tommy.

Alan made his Mayfield Instructional League debut today in the 5 and 6 year-olds “coach-pitch” division.  He played great, getting two solid hits to left field and splitting time at pitcher’s helper and second base in the field.  Alan was excited to receive quite a few grounders from the pitcher’s helper position.  And he encountered best friend Grady while covering second.

Alan plays for the Village Vet Clinic team and the opener was against the Mo Vaughn Trucking team.  Yes, that Mo Vaughn – the former Red Sox, Angel, and Met first baseman who slugged 328 home runs between 1991 and 2003.  Alan and I both shook his hand in the handshake line following the game.

Final score:  A 16-16 tie.