Mom's: Do you really love baseball?

Valentines for mom's who love baseball

If you have a mom who really loves baseball guys, with valentine's day right around the corner, you need to check out your local Hallmark store. I was in the other day and our local one had a baseball with red stitching in the shape of a heart on either side. Bought one for my wife for son to give her. Neat sports mantle piece that even a mom can love!

 

I love baseball as a sport, but more what it can do for families and relationships!

I was raised in a home with a dad who was a great baseball player and a brother who loved all sports as a spectator and not a player. My dad was the Chaplain for our local high school and so I grew up going to every high school game in almost every sport. If we weren't at a game or at church, we were watching a game on tv. My sister and mom usually found other things to do, but I always hung out with the guys. Because of that my husband had to deal with some pretty bad cooking early. He didn't always have the best food in the early days, but he had a wife/friend who watched him play, who could keep a mean scorebook, who could relive every detail of the game with him, or just simply watch games with him on tv.

A few years later, we had a daughter who never wanted to play organized sports, but always enjoyed watching them. We then had a son who never met a ball he didn't like.

I cherish every second that we have spent together as a family at a field, having conversation about games, volunteering to do whatever it takes to make him know that he and his team were a priority to us. Just last night, he had his 'senior night' in basketball. All the other moms were dressed up with their hair done and fancy clothes. I was in my jeans because I had been organizing the night and working in the concession stand for the girls game. I hope that I am helping him to know that the women that love you can show their love in ways other than by 'looking good'.

The game of baseball (and other sports too) have allowed me to get to know his friends and be a part of that inner circle and it has allowed us the opportunity to reinforce so many life lessons. Hard work, loyalty, commitment, perserverence, dedication, communication, teamwork, time management are just a few. I know there are so many more. Sports has allowed him the opportunity to be surrounded by many wonderful male role models and helped him to learn to work with others who may be totally different from him.

I have kept a scrapbook of his team and him of his high school years. When I finished last season, the sadness sat in that high school ball would only be around for 1 more year. We look forward to this last year, but know that our scrapbook houses every detail of a time in his life that was so precious to our entire family, Heck, his married sister and husband moved back to town this year to be able to be at all his games for a year such as this.

Do I love baseball...yes, but more than that I love that God has used it in his life as a tool for him to become a better man of God!

 

It has also allowed them to get to know you. You are the kind of parent that will always remember and be there for any of these kids the rest of their lives.

 

Moms Know Alot More These Days

I am an avid baseball fan - love it all - from going and watching my nephew play t-ball, to going by the local middle school to check that age group out - to running back and forth between high school and college games. I have had my years of "stressing" over the little things, but wouldn't trade anything for it. Now, I have learned to sit back and take it all in - knowing it won't last forever. I still get nervous for my sons, but I relish in the moment. Every road trip in the summer, is another memory that I will take with me forever - regardless of the outcome of the games. Sure, I love to win - and I am fiercly competitive and extremely loyal (something I am proud to say my boys got from me) - but I see what the sport has done for my sons, and I am so thankful. Baseball has kept my sons out of trouble, taught them many of lives "hard" lessons....that life isn't always fair. But it has also taught them to endure, to keep working and not to give up for what they love! I know the game pretty well. so I can carry on a conversation about the strategies, the calls, etc with the best of them, but I also know that no matter how much of the game I know, it is the "being a baseball mom" part I know the best. Thanks to my sons for the great memories aNd those still yet to come, and always knowing that I love "the game", but I love "them" more.

 

Mom knows best

My kind of Mom!!!!! Good luck to your boys.

 

Yep...she is great. She knows more than most coaches, much less a parent.
But I do take one exception to a sentence she typed. Her boys would have never gotten into trouble no matter if they played baseball or not....they knew the consequences of facing the wrath of redbirdfan

 

We love this game, but more than that, we just love watching our kids play sports. I have friends whose children don't play any sports, much less travel sports, and they think we're crazy for packing up on the weekends or spending vacations in a hotel for a tournament (baseball for our son, soccer for our daughter). But I learned a long time ago why we do what we do.

We know where our children are and who they are with and what they are doing. It's not sitting in front of a computer doing lord knows what, roaming the streets with lord knows who, or watching heaven knows what on television when we aren't home to see. The families we've spent this time with are like-minded as us - keep your kids active and keep them out of trouble. We've made friends with people that we might not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise, and these people will be friends long after our children leave the playing field.

Our kids have learned to manage their time. They have learned to be gracious, both in victory and in defeat. They have learned that the team is more important than the individual and they've learned to lift each other up in defeat and to congratulate each other in victory. They've learned to set goals, to work hard, and to not quit.

The rides home from games have given us the opportunities to have conversations with our children that we might not have had otherwise. We've met their best friends and their families, and our children talk to us, confide in us.

I love this game. I get the typical pitcher's mom's butterflies, hanging on every call of the plate umpire, dying over every ping of the bat. My son and I have our pre-game rituals and they make both of us feel good. Typically I park my chair in some out of the way spot down one of the base lines, but never sit in it, choosing instead to pace the baseline or watch from the outfield. Whether it's my child or someone else's playing, I love the thrill of the game, cheering hard for your team and the emotion of the victory (or defeat). I can't wait for the 2008 season to start!

 

Well said, pitchersmom!! my sentiments exactly.... our baseball player does all 3 - pitching, hitting, fielding - so the butterflies are three-fold!

pre-son - didn't like baseball much at all
post-son - well, "for love of the game" and, believe me, thats the road its been - he loves the game and i've learned to love the game because of him.

best of luck to all you moms this year as your boys hit the field!

 

I gotta say this--Our TBR Mom's make me proud. Not just because they are mom's and support their sons, but they understand the game, the emotions and what is important better than most dads.

They bring a perspective to sports that many either forgot or never knew. That's why when I am at a game, most of my baseball conversations are with the mom's....... I learn so much more.

Let me give you an example. I'll walk up in the middle of the game and I'll ask dad,
"Hey, how is johnny doing?"
"Great, he is 2-3 with two doubles"

I'll go up to mom and ask, 'Hey, how is johnny doing"
"Braves, I'm on pins and needles. Johnny's GF broke up with him. His little brother accidentally broke out one of his car windows. His uniform pants are snapped together by a safety pin and he is afraid that his pants will fall down while running....and after all this, he has been running a fever all day.

He has hit 2 doubles, but he struck out his 1st at bat, but it looked like his pants were falling down, so he probably wanted to hurry up and get back to the dugout.

By the way Braves, you want some homemade cookies?"

Yep...the information I get from the mom's is so much better

 

That is so true about knowing where the kids are and making unbelievable friends along the way!

This is my sons senior year and there are 11 seniors that will be on the team. Nine of them have played together since the 7th grade. We are already discussing next year and having a weekly dinner and going to catch a game together as a 'baseball family'. We can go see one of our kids who are playing in college or go support the local high school team.

I was really hoping someone would go to University of Hawaii, but so far, that hasn't happened!

Glad to see some of the moms coming out and posting!

Just to add...I really feel sorry for the pitchers moms and glad that my son doesn't pitch. A good friend of mine whose son pitches says that only orphans should pitch or be soccer goalies. I really admire you all!