Oh yes - there is crying in baseball

As much as I hate to see it, or be the cause of it....these are still little fellows and their excitement can turn to devastation in the blink of an eye.

Little League has a rule that forbids sliding into a base head-first, unless the runner is attempting to get back to a base. But when initially sliding into a base the runner must slide feet first.

Last night, the cutest little guy in the league did just that. I had to call him out, even though the bases were loaded and the batter was walked. He came trotting down from third, towards home, and out of the sky blue......dove across home plate. My heart sank as I yelled "Runner is out...diving into the base!" He turned and looked at me, and as I explained the rule to him, those big crocodile tears, accompanied by the quivering lower lip, started to flow. I knew I wouldn't be able to console him enough to understand I had to follow the rules.

This kid is a character. He's one of the smallest in his division, so his strike zone is somewhere around 2"X2", anyway. Every time I call "Ball"...he raises his bat up over his head as if he's slain another dragon. I was lucky enough to see him get his first hit ever last Saturday, and I thought he was going to absolutely burst he was so proud and excited. So knowing him as I do, I could understand why it was so heartbreaking for him last night.

That's been one of the secret treasures of umpiring, this year. In a normal season, I got to know 11-12 kids. I learned what got each one motivated, and how to get each one focused on the game and the team. This year I get to meet them all. The silly guys, the serious guys, the guys that could really care less. It's been fun. Really fun.