Opening Ceremonies 2009

Well, it's official! Baseball season is underway! Every year there is an opening ceremonies event held to kick off the season where players get all dressed up in their snazzy new uniforms and are recongized by team & league on the playing field. There is also prayer and the singing of the national anthem, and I am proud to be in a community that still puts God & country first.

I must admit, that I am just as excited as the boys are about baseball season! Playing ball (softball for me) as a kid holds so many great memories for me and was definitely one of the highlights of my childhood. It is still a passion for me and I play recreationally every chance I get.

Now, I definitely have pictures for you, but we also got an unexpected bonus this time around. Every year, one child from each league (Weiner, T-ball, Rookie, Minor, and Major) gets to throw out a ceremonious first pitch of the season, and Grant was randomly selected from his league (Weiner). Now, for those of you who know Grant, you just have to laugh when you hear that and can understand my initial amusing thought: "Of all kids...LOL" Grant has an attention span of about 2 nanoseconds and his ambitions are centered around entertaining people with his antics. However, he is not shy about talking to people and to my pleasant surprise he did very well with the mini-interview and, of course, the actual pitch! I was laughing and videoing and swelling with pride for my little jester.

I only had my digital camera with me, so the video resolution is not that great, but here is Grant's "big moment" broken up into two short clips. I am going to caption the conversation below since it may be difficult to hear.

Man: Do you like baseball?

Grant: Yes, I do.

Man: Who do you play for?

Grant: Um... uh, a ball. (And then something else I can't make out)

Man: What's your name?

Grant: Gra-uhnt.

Man: Well, Grant it's nice to have you throw our first pitch. Would you mind throwing a pitch to that fella right there?





And here is a slideshow of pics!