Security guard, to me: He's a head taller than the other kids. Five years old.Me: Wow, that's...
Guard: He's coordinated and he's got power. When he was four, he picked up a plastic bat. And there was a swimming pool form here to that corner, and a fence, and he just...WHAM. Picked up the ball and whacked it over the fence and into that pool. Four. Four years old.
Me: That reminds me of...
Security guard: He's not a speed guy. He's power. I think he's gonna play baseball or hockey. He needs speed. His mother's got him on a diet and he's lost that belly. But you know, for five, he's pretty good. Kid looks like Babe Ruth. Maybe he'll be like Babe Ruth.
Me: Hope so. That would be great.
Me: Hope so. That would be great.
Guard: That would be great.
(photo from the Flickr stream of JessyeAnne. Thanks.)
Jim, publican, to me: If you're arm-pitching, you can't pitch six innings one night and six innings another night. If you're stretch pitching (he adjusts his apron and demonstrates pitching "from the stretch") it's all in the arm. The windup. That's when ... when when when you feel it in the legs. It's all torque. I tell these parents, "Hey, it's your kid, if you say they can pitch then they can pitch." But these kids, they're young. They're not throwing curveballs. I can throw fastballs, I mean, not really fast, actually, but I can pitch moderate, batting-practice fastballs for five hours straight.