A break from the basement: a softbaLL story

On a perfect, sunny, Seattle summer afternoon, a herd of internet acquaintances gathered at Lower Woodlands Field #3 to test their latent athleticism and sunscreen strength. Decorative bunting hung from the fences of the surrounding fields, in honor of the local Little League championships, but there was certainly no bunting, decorative or otherwise, on Field #3. (There also weren’t any dingers, but Field #3 also seemed to have pre bring-in-the-fences-at-Safeco dimensions).

Teams were split based on the utterly scientific “count off by twos” method, and the visiting Lookouts hung six runs on the Landers in the top half of the first inning. And then...

...Dang it, okay, I wanted to make this a full recap but, due to pitching a complete game (my shoulder is shamefully sore) and having way too much fun, I cannot recall the specifics of the game itself. Instead, I’ll leave some of my memories of the day, and let everyone else who was there chime in in the comments below. For those of you who told me that you read the site daily but rarely commented, now’s your chance.

There were cupcakes (infinite blessings to Kenner), watermelon slices, and a cooler full of beer that changed dugouts nearly as often as bandwagon Cubs fans changed their fandom this season. Eric (Sanford_and_Son), resplendent in his Jeff Gray jersey, had a somewhat Rizzo-esque slide into home plate, but Connor (kennerdoloman) held onto the ball and Eric was decisively ruled out by mighty umpire Andrew Rice. Daniel (Two Rs and Two Ls) created his own Heredia-esque highlight reel in left field, and at any given point there were four to nine people standing in the outfield, and one person sleeping.

Jake (jakerep) and Oliver (age 10), were my favorite and least favorite people to pitch to, respectively, due to strike zone sizes. Jake also hit a ball that likely traveled higher and further than any ball hit by his jersey’s namesake. Edmund (age 4, product of Britney Bush) was the game’s Ben Gamel, with an astounding 1.000 OBP and corresponding 1.000 BABIP. Andrew (Drunk Viking) tore a hole in his pants, and skin, within the first inning, the infamously cantankerous Pacific Northwest Vagabond (Ron) smiled and laughed along with the rest of us, and Toby (Leonard’s co-pilot) gallivanted joyfully around the field.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I am so grateful for this site, and its amazing community. Assuming there’s interest, I’d love to organize another game- likely some time in August, when the Mariners become the Eternal Road Team. In the meantime, if you’re hankering for some more LL time, there are still spots open to register for the Refuse to Abuse 5K at Safeco Field. The event is open to everyone, and you can run, walk, or hitch Toby to a cart and have him pull you around the course. Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

P.S. Thank you to all who paid me back and ensured that I was able to pay my utilities for the month!