It's the little things

Had the privilege of working the VTech/Radford Showcase and the best story of the weekend came on the very last day.

I'm not sure of the age groups but Blasters Baseball and The Hitters Wearhouse were featured in the last game. THW had a young man named Nick Wittman pitching. The Blasters came out in the first inning and scored 10 or 11 runs and were really hitting the ball well. As is sometimes the case, I was standing out in the middle wondering how such a lopsided game was shaping up. The purpose of showcase baseball is relative to whatever bias you have but I see it as a way to "showcase" young talent and for myself, as an umpire, to work on my mechanics. Usually when a kid is on the hump and getting his brains beat in they tend to get defensive and start blaming people. Not Nick Wittman. His catcher dropped a pop up in foul territory with 2 outs that allowed the inning to continue. The SS kicked a couple of groundballs. The OF's misjudged a few flyballs. The runs keep scoring and young Nick Wittman stands on the mound composed...never complaining one time. He gets the ball back and keeps making pitches. I was absolutely amazed at the maturity and composure of this 14 yr old who was out there competing. I will admit I'm old school. My BS tolerance level is low. I'm tough on young kids because I think you need to be to shape them to be the future of our society. I don't put up with mouthy, smartass teenagers who don't understand the game and think they know everything. That said, I wanted to take a minute to heap some praise on a young man who showed that character and a good attitude can make an impression and and stand out as much as 10 K's or a no hitter. You are a good kid Nick Wittman. I wish you the best of luck......it's the little things.

 

Great post Mous. I agree that kid was very special! The kind of kid I'd like to meet.