Play Ball: Benjamin

Benjamin is in the machine-pitch league this baseball season. He is not into the sport as much as Nathan is, but from what I can tell he is enjoying it. (Nathan wasn't excited about baseball when he was in this league, so I guess I shouldn't compare them.)

He does really well with his fielding. He knows what to do with the ball when he gets it. He is a funny baseman, though, because he talks to the runner. In his stern "Benjamin voice" he tells them that they better not step off the base until the ball is hit!

This is the first year the city has done machine-pitch. It used to be coach pitch. I appreciate that the coaches are not busy pitching and can be there to help their team. But there are still a lot of things to work out with the machines! You would think that as long as no one changed any settings, they would be fairly consistent from one pitch to the next. Unfortunately for the kids, sometimes the ball is pitched too short, sometimes too long, and once in a while it will be right to them. The rule is that they get 5 pitches -- no matter the quality of those pitches! So Benjamin has been frustrated that he has struck out a lot so far this season. But as you can see, he sure tries his hardest to hit the ball!