May 19, 1999

'Play ball': It's Little League opening day

By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
       Heels dug in and elbows out, the hitter crowds home plate poised to jump all over the 0-2 pitch. Before he can take a swing, however, he glances down and notices his shoelace has come untied. Luckily, the umpire knows how to tie a granny knot.
      Opening day of Little League is baseball at its most innocent and ideal. An annual rite of passage where children learn to run the bases counter-clockwise and that life has its moments of ground balls with eyes and called third strikes.
      Held under sunny skies Saturday, the Traverse City Little League began its season with eight teams from the East Division playing on the fields of Ballworld in East Bay Township. The first year of a East/West Division split, opening day schedule included T-Ball (six and seven-year olds), Coach Pitch (seven and eight-year-olds), Super Minor (nine and 10-year-olds) and Major (11 and 12-year-olds) games. The west division, which played at the Grawn Township fields, started its season on Monday.
      While each team took part in several practices before stepping on the field Saturday, players truly learn the game as they go. Often, opening day resembles more of an Abbott and Costello "who's on first" comedy routine than a baseball game. Runners frolic down the first base line and infielders throw towards the bag despite the lack of a baseman.
      "We spent three practices just running the bases and after we got all done they still forgot where to go after first base," joked Spartans T-Ball coach Rob Icard. "You have to remember they have absolutely no idea what is going to happen having never been in a game before they don't know what fair or foul balls are or even strikes."
      As a fellow T-Ball coach, Mark Martinek knows that the greatest challenge is not teaching his players to catch with two hands, throw with one or even hit the ball. Instead, it is the fundamental task of paying attention.
      "Their attention spans are pretty short and getting them to sit on the bench is as much as a challenge as getting them to hit the ball," said Martinek, who took his coaching position in part because of the fond memories of his own days playing T-Ball.
      Given the fact that many of his players need help dressing for the game, Martinek's coaching philosophy doesn't include batting hand signals or the finer points of executing a suicide squeeze. "It's just hit the ball and run - hopefully in the right direction," he noted.
      While you won't see many double plays turned, even the faintest plink of an aluminum bat gives the crowd reason to cheer. Base hit or bobbled ball, fans root just as hard for attempted failures as they do scores across home plate.
      "The most important lesson baseball teaches, beyond any doubt, is the ability to play with other kids," said East Bay Township resident Pat Pinto, whose three sons, Greg, John and Nick all play baseball in the Traverse City Little League.
      Growing up in the sport of baseball, East Bay Township resident Ben VanZale has learned not only how to control his pitching on hot, humid days but the importance of keeping your head both on and off the field.
      "If a ball gets past you while your playing shortstop and you don't make the play, just keep your head in the game," said the 12-year-old pitcher for the Jordan Exploration Major squad. "If you don't, then you'll probably have a bad game for the rest of the day."
      As a T-Ball coach, Icard also believes the lessons learned from the sport of baseball transcend beyond the boundaries of baselines and foul poles. It is a philosophy that might go down swinging, but isn't afraid to step up to the plate and take another cut - even at a curve ball or two.
      "If a kid strikes out and he looks down I tell them that's how life is and you'll hit em' next time. You can't hit em' every time," Icard noted.