I wanted to share with you a great experience, it involves great coaches, great players, highs, lows and of course.. baseball.
My youngest ones team the Red Sox finished 1 game ahead of the 2nd place team and we won the division with the best record. We ended up with 8 All Star players (6 inter-division and 2- Jerry Barry). We even ended with the Home run derby winner (top 3 were our boys as well). It was a great season, but I wanted to write about the tournament.
Gabriel got selected to the Jerry Barry All Star team, he along with 11 other 7-8 year old kids would be representing San Lorenzo Little League against other Little Leagues in the area. At first we thought that it would be our Red Sox staff that would be the coaching staff, but they threw us a curve ball and wanted our staff to team up with the Cardinals staff (the 2nd place team) to coach the kids in the tournament.
I will be honest, I was not feeling that. My thought was that we won the division, we should be the coaches, but that was out of my hands. I heard about the selection process and how it was a bit unfair to some kids, but knowing my role, I accepted whatever was to come. There were 3 spots for coaches, I didn't expect to be one of them, but our manager wanted me to coach 3rd base and also wanted me to share the experience with Gabe.
Our first practice was a bit of a mess, the other staff tried to assert themselves with what they wanted, they listened to suggestions but at the same time it didn't seem that they cared too much about our 2 Red Sox kids. The 2nd practice we were able to take over and set the kids right. We had about 5 weeks to not only learn what the team can do, but also to learn how to work together as a coaching staff.
I pride myself on being able to adjust on the baseball field. My role is to coach 3rd base and to support the kids and the staff. So what was decided was that we would have 2 coaches from each staff. The first game Johnathan wasn't there so I would be riding solo for this one.
Game 1 was against Mt. Eden on 6/21/25, we started the tournament off really well. We scored some runs, but I felt that we should have been able to score more. Some of our kids looked afraid and overmatched in their at bats and struck out a lot. Gabe had a really good game, he went 2-3 with a 2B, 3 RBI and a strike out. He closed out the game with 1 inning pitched, his line was 1IP. 1H, 3 SO, 1 BB. We won the game 8-0.
Game 2 was on Monday 6/23/25 against Tennyson American. Our bats came alive for some of the kids, but not all. Some of the kids they said were big hitters were getting called out on strikes, it seemed that the moment was still too big for them. I tried to give them advice to help them out, but old habits die hard. Our offense was better this game. We won 11-2. Gabe went 0-1, scored 2 times, got 1 RBI and walked 2 times.
Game 3 took place on Wednesday 6/25/2025 against Castro Valley. Here is were we ran into a problem. I think the boys showed up with a bad vibe, I think the parents might have been talking to them about the game and made Castro Valley seem unbeatable and it messed with their heads. I tried to tell the kids that they are just a team and within the chalk lines, we can take on anyone. We took an early lead, but then things fell apart, one mistake after another snowballed into a loss. The score was 9-3. Because of this loss we had to try and win the hard way. Gabe's stat lines 1-3, 2 SO. He pitched 1IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB.
Game 4 took place on Friday 6/27/2025 against Union City. Before the game I told the boys that I wanted to coach until Sunday so we had to win. It was now or never. Now, when I tell you that this was one of the best games I've been a part of, it is the truth. It was back and forth, we were down by 2 in the bottom of the 6th, tied it up. Went to extras and they scored, we tied it and had to stop the game and come back the next day.
Game 4 continued on 6/28/2025. We held them in the top of the 8 and we won on a walk off walk in the bottom of the 8th. We won 9-8. Gabe's stat line 2-2, 3 R, 1 2B, HBP.
Game 5 took place right after game 4 against Castro Valley, if we won we would play Sunday, if we lost, tournament is over. We got down early 5-0 and started to chip away, we scored 1 in the bottom of the inning and they cam back and scored. we were down 6-2 when we got 5 runs and went up 7-6. They went up 1 and we almost held them, but on a comebacker our pitcher over threw the 1st basemen and they scored an extra run. We only were able to get 1 in our last turn and lost 9-8. Gabe's stat line : 2-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SO, 1 2B.
The boys were exhausted and they played great. I could not have asked for a better effort from them. Even with the questionable calls we were almost able to make it to Sunday. These boys should be proud of what they did. They took the other team to the limit, without extra help. This for sure has been one of the best coaching experiences I have ever had and I'm glad that I shared it with Gabe.
Gabe's final Stats:
Pitching:
2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 SO, 2 BB
Hitting:
12 AB, 7 R, 7 H, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SO, 2 2B, 1 HBP
