Winter Haven Senior Softball

Friday, March 9th

A Child Shall Lead Them

Previously we looked at the game through mom’s quotes, then dad’s quotes, it’s only fair to include the kids/grandkids. The boys of summer are deep into spring training, they are getting ready for their season. Meanwhile, the old men of winter are just about ready to conclude their softball season. Maybe we are not so old. We still play a young man’s game and we play it well.  You are only as old as you allow yourself to be. If you don’t mind the years, it won’t matter. Health is one of the key factors in staying young, so is attitude. Here’s a quote from Jackson, a nine-year-old. “In my heart I am still little”. Stay young at heart all you 55+ year old ballplayers.

The Tigers and A’s had two whole teams full of guys who are young at heart and we came together to play a game on 3/9.

Tigers: Witmer, Hamilton, Held, LaPinnet, Keller, Watson, Stier, Scarbrough, Murphy, Knox, D’Herin and Pinnick.

A’s: Shirer, Vanderhyde, Doerbaum, Duff, Matta, Wiltshirer, Pep, Zelazny, Crowell, Deemie and Gazarek.

One day a dad called home and his six your old ran to the phone and answered it. Dad said, “son, you sound out of breath.” The boy replied, “No, I have more.”

The Tigers and A’s were out of breath after the game we played. The combined score for both teams was 45 runs and we had 63 hits in the game. The Tigers sprung out of the cage fast, scoring 3 runs in the first. Witmer smashed a triple, Hamilton singled him in and then Held doubled in Hamilton. LaPinnet singled and moved Held to third. With runners on the corners, the A’s turned a DP at 2^nd and 1st, while the third run scored. After one inning the Tigers lead 3-0.

A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd put his hands up like claws, and roar. Step, step, ROAR, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. When asked what he was doing, the child said, "I was being the Ring Bear."

The Tigers roared a little in the 2^nd inning, scoring a pair of runs. Murphy, Knox, D’Herin and Witmer were the ring bears who caused a minor uproar. “When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.”  Rodney Dangerfield. The A’s found their grove in the 2^nd and they found a way to draw even with the Tigers on the scoreboard. We tied the game, 5 -5.  Hits by Duff, Matta, Wiltshire and Pep started the rally. It was a homerun, by Zelazny, that sealed the inning. Like Dangerfield, Bobby Z was just trying to earn a little respect. He got my attention and respect.

Greta, age 4;” I better go to bed now, I have a dream in my heart that I want to let out.” The A’s had a dream of scoring more runs, it could not be accomplished by taking a nap. Instead we pounded the ball again in the 3^rd inning, for another nickel. Crowell, Deemie, Gazarek, Shirer, Doerbaum, Duff and Matta all contributed to the dream inning. After 3 innings the score was Tigers: 6 – A’s: 10.

Royal, age 4; “Are we taking the stairs or the alligator?”  While the Tigers were taking the stairs to victory, the A’s were riding up the escalator. By the end of the 8^th inning the score was Tigers: 15- A’s 25. The Tigers came up in the 9^th hoping to have a big inning. While at the pool the little girl asked, “how does that rope stop the deep water from going into the shallow water?” The Tigers started the 9^th inning in deep water, by the time they finished the inning they were in shallow water. They scored 5 runs to make the final score close, 20-25. It was a good game and a good effort by both teams. I am sure many of the players in our softball game feel like little Greg, age 8. “Love is one of the most important things in the world, but baseball is pretty good too.”

 A mother’s story concerning her daughter. I try to make it a point to take about 10 min at the end of each evening to help my daughter straighten up her room.After a particularly rough day, I sat down on the floor of her room to help her sort thru her dolls and I had muttered “I really don’t have the juice for this tonight…”My daughter left the room and returned a few minutes later with a cup of apple juice for me.

These are the Tiger’s players who had the juice today:

Witmer: 3/5 with two triples.

Hamilton: 4/5.

Held: 4/5 with a double.

LaPinnet: 3/5.

Keller: 4/4 with a SF and a double.

Watson: 3/5.

Scarbrough: 3/5.

Murphy: 3/5.

D’Herin: 3/4.

A’s players with the juice:

Shirer: 3/5 with two doubles.

Vanderhyde: 3/5.

Doerbaum: 4/5 with three doubles.

Duff: 5/5 with a double.

Matta: 4/5.

Wiltshirer: 3/5.

Zelazny: 4/5 with a HR.

Deemie: 3/ 4.

Gazarek: 3/ 4 with a triple.

One last story, a kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of kids while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, “I'm drawing God.”

The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.”

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, “They will in a minute.” (TeacherLaughs: Quips, Quotes, and Anecdotes about the Classroom).

Written by Nick Matta.