High School Baseball

You would think Seattlites (or Seattletonians or Seattlers or whatever the hell they are) would understand meteorology better. It rains everyday in March, that's just the way it is. So why would they schedule a high school baseball tournament for any time during March? That's the question I need answered.

Armed with this information, I nonetheless drove over to Seattle to see my cousin (Peter) play baseball at least once before he graduates. A tourney on Orcas Island over Spring Break seemed like the perfect opportunity to test Seattle weather. It didn't prove me wrong.

Suffering through four consecutive rainouts, the U-Prep Pumas (that equals rich, private school attended by little cousin) finally took the field against John Olerud's son's school, the C---suckers (edited for content). With John Olerud himself coaching first base, the Pumas were outmanned. Amid a steady downpour, their pitchers couldn't avoid contact with the opposition bats. A ten run lead was built after two innings. The mercy rule was mercifully employed after five, with the Pumas going down 17-3.

Peter, who bats third and plays second, fumbled a grounder. Offensively, the wet conditions led to walks, lots of them. Peter managed three of them all by himself, as the bat never left his shoulder and the ball never sailed below his eyes. The five inning game took three hours, without a rain delay.

Seattle sucks. Glad to be back in Montana (where my first intramural softball game was played in a blizzard this past Monday).

Next year my cousin will be playing baseball for Colorado School of Mines -- I hope Golden, CO has better weather. It has lots of Coors, so at least there will be something besides Starbucks for rainouts.