Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A hundred what?

My son's coach-pitch team is 4-4 heading into tonight's game that wraps up the first half. The last win's highlight was our first baseman belting the team's first over-the-fence home run of the season. Apparently, there were a pre-arranged deal between the kid and his parents that I didn't know about. After the homer, his excited mom came jumping around the dugout and told him, "Well, I guess you get your $100."

Wow! If I'd have known that was the deal, I'd have signed up to play coach-pitch. We tried something similar when Saylor was 4 and playing soccer, which he now thinks is some sort of torture devised during the Inquisition. Saylor hadn't scored a goal all year, perhaps because he spent most of his time on the field conversing with his imaginary friends while the ball rolled by. Anyway, we told him before the final game that we would buy him a Teen Titans toy (about $7 I think) if he scored a goal. So during the game while driving toward a goal, a quick kid came and stole the ball from him and Saylor broke down in tears, officially making us the worst parents ever. Needless to say, he got his Teen Titans toy anyway.

Flash forward to practice yesterday where his teammates' $100 reward is still a hot topic. Saylor plays outfield and makes sure no clouds get past center field (which explains why a fly ball nearly landed on his head yesterday). He bats pretty far down the lineup and hasn't exactly ripped the cover off the ball. We get pretty excited about infield hits and reaching on a fielder's choice. But during his practice game yesterday, he got a couple of infield hits and came around to score both times. (With about 6 defenders out there during a practice game, it's not that hard.)

Trying to be supportive, I yelled through the fence, "Way to go, Saylor! You've scored TWICE!"

His response, "So, do I get a hundred dollars?"

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