I will be the first one to tell you that life isn't fair. My boys hear it from me all the time, and they argue that it could be fair, I just like to torture them. Not true. It's part of life. Things will not always go your way, and you can do absolutely nothing wrong, and totally deserve something, but not receive it.
That's N. Today. Seriously. And I'm fired up.
We got to the ball fields this morning, and met up with the other Giant who was subbing in for the Marlins. Apparently, two of the Reds were also subbing in for the Marlins, including the tournament coach's son. Awesome. He refused to make eye contact, and any respect that I'd had for him completely went down the tubes. I'm not hostile, I'm not mean. I'm polite. I don't agree with his choices, but I can make polite conversation with the best of them, even if (deep down) I think you're the biggest douchebag on the planet. I'm not saying I think that of anyone, necessarily, but chances are...if I thought that about you, you probably wouldn't know.
Anyway, because Coach Chris was so short on players, N spent one inning in the outfield, another at 2nd base, and the last inning at 1st. He promised me, prior to the game, that he was going to run everything out, and when I saw the other coach was there watching his own son, I told N to have a good attitude and play his heart out. And one of the great things I love about his old coach is that he's super encouraging. He's N's biggest fan...even when they are playing against each other. Although it was close for a while, we helped the Marlins to victory, then rushed over to the other field for our game against the Reds...and the tournament coach.
Since two of our boys had already played a game, they were pretty warm already, and everyone showed up for the game. It was the first time we had all been together since the tournament team was posted, and I had a lot of questions to field about why N didn't make the team. One of the boys on our team who did make it was allowed to try out by his mother. His father and stepmother had said they didn't want him to try out because they were going to be gone for the majority of June. They were upset that their kid had made it because he wasn't going to be available for most of the season and N hadn't...because he was available for the whole season. Like I said, life just isn't fair sometimes.
N had something to prove in that game. He had to prove to this coach that he had made a mistake, and he did...prove it, I mean. He was playing with an inexperienced pitcher, so he was trying to be both the catcher and the pitcher when he was trying to tag runners out at home. He ended up with gravel in his elbows on at least two occasions. But you know what? He didn't show an attitude or get angry. He looked hurt, but he brushed himself off, and got back in there.
And then, it happened. While our team was up to bat, the other team's catcher got mad while waiting for the ball to get thrown in from the outfield, and runners were scoring. And scoring. So what did he do? He took off his helmet. And threw it. Hard. He threw up his hands in disgust and was totally ugly. And the coach on his team? Well, he looked embarrassed. So much so, that I ran over to the dugout on our side and asked the coaches who the kid was. When they told me, I. Got. Pissed.
The kid who threw the temper tantrum, a bigger tantrum than I've EVER seen N throw...EVER, made the tournament team. And it was mentioned to the other coach, more than once during and after that game that kids make mistakes and get angry with themselves, but one instance shouldn't keep them from something they want so badly. Ahem, N. Again, it'll never happen because he has to keep some semblance of his male pride/ego, but he knows he was a jerk. And so does everyone else.
And for whatever reason he has for not wanting N on his team, I know for a fact the results would have been different if any other coach were coaching. So N isn't giving up. He's going to play hard and get better and show him he made a huge mistake.
In fact, he did. When a Reds player was trying to make it home, N clotheslined him with the ball and tagged him out. He was a big kid...bigger than N, and N dropped him to the ground. Our side of the stands went a little nuts, and it took complete restraint for the coaches to not cheer, too.
Because, biased or not, my kid's an awesome ball player. And I can be fired up and proud all at the same time.
Aubs
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