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| Bullying rookie-leaguers
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I used to play sandlot baseball with a bunch of kids who, like me, were mediocre ballplayers at best. However, there was one kid in the neighborhood -- Brian Young -- who could really rake. He played on travelling teams and in strange tournaments the likes of which we'd never heard of. Though he always had the chance to go and play with kids who were, you know, good, he always wanted to join our games too. We let him, with the caveat that he had to be an all-time hitter for both teams. It worked out pretty well for us, actually. Worked out pretty well for the Mariners' rookie league intrasquad game too, with Ichiro playing the part of Brian Young:
Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki was the leadoff hitter for both teams in a five-inning Rookie League intrasquad game on Thursday afternoon in Peoria, Ariz. He went 7-for-10 with two triples and one double.
Query: did they use ghost baserunners too? And if so, did they do what we did and assume that their ghost runners were all early-80s-vintage Rickey Henderson? Because that was always fun, especially when we claimed that our ghost man stole home and dared the other team to prove us wrong.
Anyway, better news for the Mariners than the fact that Ichiro continues to be leagues better than 19 year-olds is the fact that his stomach appears to be on the way back from acting like that of a 55 year-old. With any luck, Ichiro will be back in the lineup next week and the Mariners will finally be able to roll out that outfield defense everyone is so excited about.
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Ghost runners were never allowed to "steal" any bases in our games. They were only able to advance on a ball hit in play. And there was no such thing as a Ghost runner tagging on a fly ball.
Go Mariners! A new day. A new way!
It's gonna be so sick. Gutierrez is turning into my crush.
Yeah, that's definitely unfair.
Kids today don't play much sandlot baseball. If they play they are on an organized team. Hot box, step ball, and indian ball are relics from a bygone era when baseball was the foundation of summer. You played one of those baseball offshoots when you didn't have enough people to play, or you didn't have a bat, or it was too wet to play in the mud infields of most city parks. Most kids have never even heard of those games, as my grandson will attest.
The people who think it great that the game is achieving an international flavor, with players from all over the world making it to the majors, must be aware that, in the near future, the center of the baseball universe will be in Japan or the Caribbean. Expect fewer and fewer Smiths and Jones. Ichiro and Manny will be the twenty-first century's Babe and Hank.
I'm 35 and I played me a boatload of hot box. Some kids in my neighborhood play it too, and I'll have my boy doing it when he's old enough (he's 3 now, so maybe in a couple of weeks). So, yes, games like those are dying, but I'm not going to let them go gentle into that good night.
No, ghostrunners could never tag up. As a matter of fact ghost runners in my league were the same speed as you and if they got to the bag before you hit first base that was a force out. Also, a ghost runner could only advance the number of bases you got, it took a double to get a guy in from second. I certainly miss those days, now I just have to work.