Baseball

Baseball is finally wrapping up this week. Not sure if it's the added activity of the Icebox, the extreme heat, or all my medication, but this season has seemed long. This week we've gone to Stockton every night except Monday. Stockton is a long drive for us, close to an hour from the time we leave our house. It seems so far away! Especially when you play a 6:00 pm game so the whole drive you already dreading the heat that you are going to be sitting in. Tuesday night we played at 6. I've never seen so many red faced sweaty children in all my life. We pulled a win out, but it was close. Last night we got beat but there is still a chance we could be in the championship. BUT we have to win both games tonight. At least it's not nearly as humid as it was Tuesday so maybe the kids will do better?

I can't think of any good stories from this season. You can tell the kids have matured since we started this the year before they went into 1^st grade. We didn't have anyone pee on the base during practice, Cade isn't hounding us before during and after the game for a ring pop, there hasn't been a lady with a shiny pail full of gumballs, etc. They are older and more into the game and honestly it's not nearly as entertaining! I kind of miss those days of it being utterly chaotic. I don't think the bench coach has nearly the time Jay had the year he did it. The kids actually know when they are up to bat now.  Also, the kids who used to annoy me don't any more.  I think maybe they are growing up.  That even makes me a little sad....well not that sad.

Cade has really improved this year, so that's been fun to watch. He is so serious when he's on base. He looks like a real baseball player. I've got pictures that I need to post. He looks pretty handsome in his official pictures. And he looks grown up. Makes me a little teary….oh wait, that's the hormones.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame....

But only if it's warmer than it was last night!!!

Last night started our 3rd and final year in Coaches Pitch Baseball.  We've had so much fun since Cade started playing baseball.  Even though we all like to win games, our coaches have been great about realizing it's about fun and gaining experience at this age.  Last nights game took place in Walnut Grove, Mo.  I had never been to Walnut Grove in my life.  I had to mapquest it yesterday to find out exactly where it was at.  We get to go back to Walnut Grove Thursday night.  We are going twice in one week to a town we had never been in before.  That's baseball for you!

Our game was supposed to start at 8pm.  We walked up to the field and were informed our game wouldn't start for at least another hour.  The 6pm game wasn't done so the 7pm game hadn't even started.  Did I mention it was freezing last night?  So not getting our game started until 8:45 meant it went until almost 10 pm...out in the cold.  I saw someone with a video camera and asked Jay why we didn't think about bringing ours.  It wouldn't have mattered...I was shivering so hard the film would've looked terrible.  I'll save it for one of those nights in a couple of weeks where it's so hot the sweat causes your shirt to stick to your back. 

Cade is 8 and too "cool" for mom to take a picture of...but snapping one on my iPhone was acceptable.  Oh the thought processes of an 8 year old boy.  Here is our Cardinal this year.  He looks so grown up.  Notice the red cleats.  Those were a priority for him this year.  We found a pair in his size and didn't cost $1M (you parents know what I mean, sometime they might as well say that will be $1M when they ring your stuff up at the register).  Last night I had him wear his regular shoes and change into the cleats so he wouldn't be scrapping them all along the backs of my car seats.  For some reason he got it in his head he didn't want to wear them last night.  I asked him why and that started a whole fussing fit at the gas station where we stopped to get a Gatorade.  When we got in the car I asked him again why he didn't want to wear them and he said "It's in the past, lets just move on and forget about it."  "That's what Mrs. H tells us to do".  What man doesn't cling to that advice as the gospel??  Again...the thought processes of an 8 year old.  I'm still really curious about why he didn't want to wear them, but I was outnumbered on letting it go vs. making him tell me why...so thanks for the advice Mrs. H.  I had to let it go.


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Baseball

Our last year in Coach's Pitch Baseball got underway officially last night with their first practice.  Thankfully Jay is not the head coach this year - he's just assisting.  We got the phone call Monday night about practice and that seemed to light a fire under Cade.  He wanted to go outside right then and practice.  Even though it was 8 pm we headed out and played a little before it got too dark.  He really seemed to be in to it so I hope that continues for the rest of the season.

Trying to get Cade to do things sometimes is a struggle.  I'm not sure if it's because he's stubborn or if he knows he may not have the skills yet to master what ever it is that we want him to do.  No matter how much we work on things or try things he is never successful until he makes up his mind that's what he's going to do.  It all started with potty training and I see it continuing with other things that take a little bit of skill to master....tying his shoes, riding a bike and now baseball.  I think his body has finally gotten to where he's got more coordination so maybe that makes it more fun for him to play now???  Whatever the reason I'm just thankful practice didn't go like his very first practice.  It's always a good feeling when as a parent you don't want to pretend like you don't know who that child belongs to. 

I guess though if we're talking about progress I should also say that I've progressed quite a bit from that first year.  I didn't know a single other parent on our team so at practice I'd stand on the sidelines by myself.  Last night I sat by another mother and we talked through the whole thing.  Maybe I just developed the skills I needed to interact with other parents Ha Ha.  Maybe Cade gets that stubborn/skill thing from me?

A (Long) Baseball Story

Friday was one of those days that when I woke up I was already exhausted just thinking about everything I had to do. It was a day full of driving and making connections to get to the next thing on my to do list. I went into work for a couple of hours to finish up some closing papers, left at 10 to head to Joplin for a doctors appointment at 11, had to find a new swimsuit (that alone is enough to exhaust a person), had to find a shirt just the right shade to match a pair of camouflage shorts, had to pick Jay and Cade up at 3:15 (after summer school) and then make it to Springfield by 3:45 for Cade’s 4 o’clock ENT appointment, had to schedule a tonsillectomy and had to be in Greenfield by 6:30 for a make-up ballgame.

I haven’t had too many baseball stories because 1. There haven’t been that many. This is most of the kids 2nd year so they are doing pretty good. 2. I have switched keeping the score book with another mother so I’ve had my own issues during the games. I haven’t had as much time to focus on the bench…until Friday….It was a full day and by the time we got to the baseball game I was tired. It was not the best night to then be short a coach. I had to be the bench coach, which, if you remember, was Jay’s job last year. The job itself wouldn’t have been nearly as bad if the kids hadn’t behaved like circus animals. It was like Barnum and Bailey opened up the doors on a truck and turned them loose. I don’t know if it was the weather, the fact we were playing on a Friday, or if it was just a bad night for all of them but saying they were wild was putting it mildly. They were absolutely crazy. Our bench was on the 3rd base line, where Jay was coaching. I don’t know how many times he turned around and yelled “Cardinals, quiet down.” I don’t know how many times I said it, until finally I gave up. There was no way anything I said would make a difference. It became all about survival….and at least getting the right kid up to bat next.

The evening went downhill as soon as we got to the bench. We had first bats. So while we needed to be focusing on getting the equipment out and the kids on the bench in batting order a lady, with a shiny metal pail full of gumballs, walked down the row of kids handing out gum. At the time my first thought was “well isn’t that nice.” Looking back at it now I realize she was wearing a shirt from the opposing team…I’m sure it was part of their evil plan to get us side tracked. If that’s what they were going for it definitely worked. Most of the kids have a hard time batting on a good day, now they were working over wads of gum twice the size of their mouths. Also, the little bit of sugar rush didn’t help anything either. I could tell Jay was a little irritated about the gift of gum and it certainly didn’t do me any favors.

There is a family of 3 boys on our team. I don’t understand the connection between them all because I think it’s a step brother, cousin in foster care, cousin type thing. Anytime you see the whole bunch out it is a ton of kids and only a few adults. There are so many kids that things have to be absolutely chaotic for the entire family. The kids are very cute and funny but you can tell that they probably have to fight for the attention they receive at home. Jay finally put this together Friday night because two of three yell constantly. They try to talk louder than anyone else on the team. One of them, Nate, gets so excited that he stood in right field and yelled “Jay” 7 times in two pitches….Jay(slight pause) Jay (slight pause) Jay (slight pause). It was like that all night long. These two batted the first inning close to the top. As soon as they made it back to the bench they wanted to know what position they were playing. I was still trying to get the other kids up to bat, but they wouldn’t let it go. Finally, I told them where they were playing and that opened up a whole other issue. They didn’t know where those positions were. I told them Jay would help them when it was time to go into the outfield. They answer didn’t satisfy them. They stood at the fence in the dugout and yelled Jay…Jay…Jay… (he was to coaching 3rd base). I had to try and point out where they were supposed to be. That seemed to appease them for that inning. Finally our 10th batter batted and I got to sit down. I was sweating.

The 2nd and 3rd times at bat went pretty much the same as the first…completely wild. This time the team was worried about the gumballs, who had the gumballs, where did she go, could they have another gumball, etc. I don’t know how many times I said that I was not the person with the gumballs. I think I had gotten over my initial shock of the intensity of the two other boys and could focus more on the other chaos going on in the dugout. Another set of brothers were very lucky that their mother was only about 5 feet from the bench because that kept me from completely yelling at them, especially one of them. If she hadn’t been close by I really would’ve lost it a couple of times. I don’t know that I’ve been around another kid that has gotten under my skin as much as this one. He’s a bully, he’s mean and his parents either don’t know it or they don’t know how to handle it. One time I saw him hit Cade in the back of the head to knock off his helmet. I so wanted to use the bat I was holding on his behind. He was already under my skin and then doing that to my child really made the mamma bear come out. Then I told his brother to get ready and stand outside the fence because he was next. He told me No, then proceeded to walk like a snail from the bench to home plate once it was his turn. At this point I was thinking an electric cattle prod would come in handy.

Cade wasn’t without his faults either that evening. At least if a parent heard me getting on to their kid is was more than likely followed up by me getting on to Cade. One thing about kids this age is that they seem to have a word of the night and Friday nights was “underwear.” They would repeat it in some form or fashion and then laugh like it was the funniest thing they’d heard. I heard Cade say underwear more times in one inning then I’ve heard him say his whole life. Then sometime in the 2nd inning Cade had to go to the bathroom. We were playing by a filed with grass as tall as his head. Jay sent him into the grass to go to the bathroom. Aren’t we great parents? Then Cade had to loudly tell everyone he had just gone to the bathroom in the field even though everyone saw him do it. It was a little embarrassing. Cade also managed to get absolutely filthy before the game even started and he got a little hole in his shirt. On the way home I asked Jay what happened. He said that while they were supposed to be warming up Cade and another boy where rolling around on the ground. He asked how I missed it? We should’ve known that was just a warm-up to the rest of the night’s activities. That’s a little out of Cade’s norm.

Friday night I did learn three important things:
1. I know that not going into elementary education was one of the smartest decisions I ever made
2. Putting batting helmets on extremely sweaty kids is not for the squeamish. There is padding in them that gets more than a little damp.
3. To 7 year olds it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about the shiny metal pail full of gumballs. Cade reminded us of this on the way home when Jay was expressing his irritation about the gum incident. Cade asked why Jay didn’t like the gum lady. There’s nothing like a 7 year old to remind you about what is important in life and why we are willing to go through these completely crazy nights just for them….and for the great stories and memories.

Coach's Son

My good friend Sandra has two boys who have played baseball on some pretty competitive teams. I've heard all sorts of stories about these baseball teams, the coaches, the coaches kids, etc. Since I'm not a big sports fan they are all pretty much horror stories to me, especially how the coach's kids are sometimes treated differently. Well I learned last night that Cade is not the typical coach's kid.....

He's playing co-ed coaches pitch baseball again. Last night was the first practice that I've gone to (they've only had two others so I'm not that terrible of a mother). I was standing by a set of parents that I had never seen before so they probably had no idea who I was either. Cade happened to be playing catch with their little girl, who by the way is quite a bit bigger than the other boys on the team. Cade turns into such a goofball when he's out on the field. He twirls and dances and flitters around while he's supposed to be playing. Cade also got the best of mine and Jay's talent for sports so when you add in the fact he's not paying a bit of attention you can imagine what he looks like out there. So Cade and this little girl were playing catch and he couldn't catch the ball and when he threw the ball to the girl it wasn't making it all the way. The little girl got ready to throw it back but she stopped and turned around and asked her parents "should I take it easy on him?" Her parents responded with "NO, he needs to learn how to catch the ball". I couldn't decide if I was irritated with the parents or mortified that a girl thought she needed to take it easy on my boy......I still can't quite decide how I feel but Jay and I did have a good laugh over it last night.

Then I was standing there watching two of the other boys on the team. They are brothers and you can tell that their dad has spent a lot of time playing with them. They are two very good little players. I think one of the main differences between them and Cade is that they want to play ball. Cade could care less. He wants to play, but he doesn't want to play like those boys do. While I standing there watching those two boys I missed Cade's next stunt....

He walked up to me rubbing his head and he was absolutely filthy. I couldn't figure out why because just a few seconds ago he had been standing in the middle of the field. As far as I knew the ball hadn't been hit in his direction. He had mud all over his arms, up and down his legs and he had the closest thing to a grass stain on the top of his head that I've ever seen on hair. I asked what happened. He bent over to look between his legs and he lost his balance. I think he toppled over and landed on his head. Nice. He got dirty at practice, not by practicing but by goofing around. Yes, he is the coach's son.

The Last Game

Tuesday night was our last game of the season. Our tournament started Monday night and we won that game so we got to play Tuesday evening. We only lost by 1 run. The kids did a good job last night, they were hitting the ball really good, but couldn’t get on base. The other team’s pitcher was a good little player. Actually, to be completely honest, the kid got on my nerves. He always stopped the ball and was able to out run our kids to first base. After sitting through 3 innings of seeing the same thing happen I was tired of it. Occasionally, if we could hit the ball past the pitcher, we’d do really good because the rest of the team was just so-so. You could tell the team was built on that one kid and if he didn’t have the ball, it was chaos. I’m sure we’ll be meeting that little boy again over the next few years.

Last’s night excitement during the game, at least for our family, revolved around Cheetos. Papa Kerry came to the game with a sack of them. Before the game started Cade saw the Cheetos and took a handful. During the first time at bat he came back to get more. Papa Kerry, being a grandpa, told him just to take the whole sack. I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but I was defenseless against it. As Cade was running off I did yell out “Your Daddy isn’t going to like that”. Right before Cade got up to bat he ran the Cheetos back to us. He was afraid someone would steal them while he was batting (like he’s around a bunch of criminals). As soon as the annoying pitcher tagged him out, he ran back and got the Cheetos. I figured since Jay hadn’t said anything yet, we were safe.

In the second inning things changed with the Cheetos. It was Cade’s turn to bat and Jay saw him slowly walking towards us with the Cheetos. Jay yelled at him to get back. Cade slowly turned around and sauntered back, licking the yellow cheese off of his dirty fingers. Not only was Jay’s head about to pop off, he was grossed out. Jay confiscated the Cheetos.

Down on our end Jim looked up and saw Jay with the Cheetos. At first we assumed Jay was eating them. Then I saw him put his phone to his ear and I knew what was coming. About 5 seconds later I heard my familiar ringtone. When I answered, all he said was “Come get the Cheetos”. I made the walk of shame in front of all the parents to collect Papa Kerry’s Cheetos. Jay gave me a somewhat irritated look and then said the Cheetos were driving him nuts.

After we got home Jay told me the part of the Cheeto story that we couldn’t see from our seats. I guess while Jay was trying to get the kids to sit on the bench in their batting order Cade went down the line and gave each kid 1 Cheeto. There was some begging so he went down the line again, only distributing 1 Cheeto. Then he told the kids that was all they could have, the rest were his and then he proceeded to shove handful after handful in his mounth. He would stop only long enough to lick the yellow processed cheese powder off of his grimy disgusting little fingers. When Jay saw Cade getting ready to bring the Cheetos back to us, he lost it. That’s when I got the phone call. We all had a good laugh once I got back to my seat with the bag of Cheetos. The story probably is funnier when Jay tells it, because he can demonstrate Cade sucking on his fingers. I noticed this morning that there are yellow finger prints on his ball pants. Note to self (and anyone else attending Cade’s games) – no more Cheetos at baseball games.

As for the sharing part – I don’t feel much sympathy for Jay. Cade limiting the kids to one Cheeto apiece is not that much different than his father. I see that look of irritation and the blowing out of air whenever I ask Jay if I can have a bite of his dessert. The apple hasn’t fallen too far from the tree in our family.

Baseball Snapshots

Here are a few pictures from last night's game. I think the kids are ready to be done with the season. Every time Cade batted he didn't even try to hit the ball. He would just swing, twice he struck out so quickly that I didn't even see him bat. All the kids look alike at this age when their wearing a batting helmet so sometimes I don't always realize who's up to bat. I know, that would probably be a red flag to some that I'm a terrible mother.


Cade played catcher last night. If you look closely at the helmet you can tell it's too small for his head. The part that he's supposed to look out of is on his forehead. It's a family trait.


This is one of the few times he actually made a move to go after the ball, most of the time he'd just stand there.

After he'd pick up the ball he'd have to kick some dirt around before he'd throw it to the pitcher.

and my favorite picture of the evening.....the mother duck (or should I say Cardinal) and the baby Cardinals on the way to start the game after a bathroom break.

Miscellaneous Information From The Week

This past week Charlie only disappeared once, but we were able to handle that crisis in house. None of the neighbors had to be involved. I watched Jay try to entice Charlie back to our yard by shaking a box of dog biscuits. Charlie really faked him out that night – he ran at Jay full speed until he got within Jay’s reach. Charlie then veered off to the left and ran around the house. That dog is a mess, but Jay’s going to get him back. He’s calling the local vet today to make an appointment for a little procedure (snip, snip)

Cade’s last regular season baseball game is supposed to be tonight (weather permitting), which is a good thing. Last night we played two make up games and I think every one from the kids to the coaches are done. I know by the end of the 2nd game my rear end was done. All of the kids had a hard time focusing. Cade played catcher in the first game and didn’t even attempt to catch the ball. He was too busy kicking the dirt around. Jay about lost his patience. Then Cade kept running over to me and Papa Kerry and Grandma Robyn getting snacks and asking if I’d get him a ring pop after the game. I wish I’d had a picture one of the times when Jay yelled at him to get back over there. Cade was explaining to me that Jessica said they use a gun to pierce ears. Important stuff to know during a ball game.

Jay’s toe seems to be healing nicely, at least as nicely as something that no longer has a toenail can. Cade had a round of strep last weekend, but he’s back to normal and thankfully he didn’t pass it on to me or Jay.

Ball Schedule

At practice Monday night we finally got our ball schedule. The first game shows as May, 12 but it says BYE. We asked if we were still practicing that night. The coach said “yes, I believe we need all the help we can get” - couldn’t agree more. Once the games start I’ll have some pictures to post. So far no other parent is snapping pictures at practice so I don’t want to be the one to mark my child for life. I did sneak some on my phone, but I’m not smart enough to know how to get them from the phone to the computer. Practice has gotten better except for Benjamin. Monday night he was playing 2nd base and needed to go to the bathroom. Rather than saying something he just peed all over the base. Of course his dad didn’t say anything and the coaches didn’t see it, but the mother’s were horrified. I made Cade take his shoes off as soon as we got home. It’s one thing to think you’ve probably stepped in stuff at one time or another, but to actually know your kid is running through it is disgusting.

Jay wanted me to post the ball schedule so everyone would know where it’s at. I’ll abbreviate the away games, but those from around here shouldn’t have a problem figuring them out.

May 5 6:00 @Gnfd
May 19 6:00 @Home
May 22 6:00 @Home
May 26 6:00 @Home
May 29 7:00 @Home
June 2 6:00 @Lckwd
June 5 6:00 @Home
June 9 6:00 @Home
June 12 7:00 @Home

Ball Practice Update

I'm here tonight to retract my last post. The most annoying person on Cade's ball team is now a toss up, between a boy named Benjamin a/k/a Jinjamin and someone's mother. I think it's going to swing back and forth for me the rest of the season. As soon as I make my mind up on which one it is, the other one will do something to change my mind.

Leading tonights race would be Benjamin. Jay and I call him Jinjamin because that's what Cade called him last year during summer school. As long as he's in school here he'll always be Jinjamin to us. Benjamin is the one shaping up to be the class bully - the one that's 6 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than the majority of the kids. He's also the one with the loud mouth who never shuts up. Tonight the kids not only batted, they ran the base. Somehow the coaches had Cade start running around the bases before he batted. I was talking to one of the coaches wives and both of us didn't think Cade batted. I tried to get Cade's attention to ask if he had batted but the coach started yelling at him to hurry up and get back in the outfield. Once the coaches thought everyone had batted they'd asked to make sure. Cade raised his hand but they didn't see him. I had to get their attention to let them know that Cade still needed to bat. Jinjamin started yelling "he's already batted, why does he get to bat again, that's not fair" etc. He wouldn't give it up. My momma bear instincts came out and I had to control myself from telling Jinjamin how it was. Then during the rest of practice Jinjamin keep yelling things to the other kids and the coaches - I know how to do it, I'm already doing it, etc. The coaches wife and I decided Jinjamin needed a good spanking. If Jay had been there he probably would've been the first to volunteer to do it.

The reason why one of the mother annoyed me was once again due to my momma bear instincts. She was teetering on the verge of annoyance during the first part of practice when she kept yelling at her child to pay attention and get in position to catch the ball. It wasn't helpful criticism, it was the kind where she's sitting in her lawn chair halfway across the field yelling at her child. Public humiliation of Cade is something Jay and I try to avoid. I know we'll do enough to embarrass him without meaning to over the years, we don't need to do it on purpose. Our method has been to pick up on what he needs to work on at practice and address it in the privacy of our home.

At the end of practice the kids lined up at homeplate to run the bases. The first time they ran them Cade didn't know what he was supposed to do and completely missed first buy running to the right of the pitchers mound. The second time he got closer to first, but he still missed it. The yelling mother took it upon her self to yell at him to come back and touch the base. All while she's still sitting in her lawn chair and hasn't moved a muscle since she had came to practice. This is one of the times I'm glad Cade has selective hearing, he either didn't hear her or he ignored her. That's when my Momma Bear came out again and I was so mad - how dare she embarrass my child in public. Winning games are nice, being a good player is also nice, but not at the expense of a 6 year old's self-esteem. Once again I realize this is probably as good of an experience for me as it is for Cade. Right now I'm thinking that me, Jinjamin and the yelling mother have a lot of years of school ahead of us.

Ball Practice

Since work has been so busy over the last few weeks our blog has really suffered! Several blogs have been started in my head, but haven’t made it onto the world wide web. I’ve been needing to write about Cade’s baseball experience for a few days…..

We’ve signed Cade up for coach’s pitch baseball/softball. I’m not sure what to call it because it’s a mixed team and I think they’re using softballs, but softball always says “girl” to me….so from hereon it will be referred to as just ball.

Our first practice was last week. I knew that was what would happen - practice would be scheduled during the time that Jay was gone and I was right. Thursday night Cade and I headed to the school to try and hunt down where we were supposed to be. As a side note – I don’t like new situations, not knowing what I’m doing, not knowing any other parents, etc so it was a little stressful for me. We get to the school and there were kids everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I had no idea where we were supposed to be. Finally I met another mother and we got the kids delivered to the right spot on the field only about 10 minutes late. We seemed to be in good shape until the coach asked Cade to play catch with another boy to warm up….that’s when it when downhill…..

You know how in every group, from walking age up to old age, there is one person that annoys the entire group? I’m afraid that person on our team’s name is Cade. At least we recognize that our child isn’t perfect rather than just smiling at our little angel thinking he’s the cutest and annoying all the other parents. When the coach told Cade to to play catch, Cade said “No, I don’t want to”. At that point I had to have had steam coming from my ears, he had done some other bratty things earlier so this just added to my growing irritation. While playing catch he would not pay attention. I don’t know how many times he almost got hit or almost hit his partner because he’d throw it without looking. At one point I grabbed his shoulder to turn him around and he did the “stop it your hurting me” scream. It was embarrassing.(At least then the parents understood why he was annoying, it’s because his parents abuse him) Once the organized practice started things got a little better until the kids batted. Cade ended up being the last person to bat so every time they rotated he would say at least 5 times – I want to bat, when do I get to bat, I’ll never get to bat, etc. At that point he was too far away for me to yell at, I just cringed on the inside every time he said anything. Finally he got up to bat and like any child who knows how to work their parents, did something that melted my heart and made me feel bad for being annoyed. The first time he hit the ball he turned around to face me, looking for my approval with a huge grin on his face. Of course I wasn’t as irritated for about 10 minutes….until we stopped at Casey’s so he could get a drink on the way home and he was in La La Land, but that’s a whole other story

Last night we had his 2nd practice and things did go better – Jay was there which made a lot of difference. Also all of the kids were a little more hyper so Cade either blended in better or I sat farther away and couldn’t hear/see as much. What ever the reason it was a much better evening. Cade definitely got the “best’ of mine and Jay’s athletic ability. I don’t think we’ll be winning the Cy Young Awards or breaking Babe Ruth’s record, but I do think this will be a great learning experience for all three of us.