A Great Day At The Ballyard For A Future Star

Last week I took our three year old to the Giants game vs. the Rockies to see his favorite player pitch, Tim Lincecum. He put on a lot better show than the Giants did. We arrived very early, as the Giants were unveiling a new feature, "The Wall of Fame" on the sidewalk outside the third base side of the park. Bronze plaques of Giants players who have either nine years of service with the Giants or five years plus an All-Star game selection. We met many players, JT Snow, Kirk Reuter (who shook his hand), Johnny LeMaster and sooo many more. We attended a "meet the young players" meeting, with the Giants top minor leaguers and prospects. It was dry for a three year old, so we walked around the club level of AT&T Park.

He remembers a "statue" of Snoopy, and I showed him the many pictures on the wall and jerseys and other memorabilia in glass cases. I showed him a big picture on the wall of Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series. "I have that picture in my book" he replied. We went downstairs to our seats and ate sunflower seeds. He's pretty good at spitting them out. Before the game we watched Lincecum warm up. The next morning he showed Mrs. Scott how he did his stretches.

Several innings into the game, we hit the cable car and he rang the bell, went down the slides inside the Coke bottle, then hit the "kids fun lot." It's a mini diamond where small children can play whiffle ball. He made it clear that he needed his hat and glove. He already wore his Giants uniform. When it was his turn, he got up to the plate. The pitcher (a ballpark employee) took one look at his size (very small, even for a three year old), and scooted up to pitch. He drilled the first pitch on a line drive square into the pitcher's chest, nearly knocking him off his feet. He ran the bases, then took his glove out into the field, where later he played catch with some older kids, about 8 or 9 years old. I over-heard one of the older ones remark to his friend that our son was so talented that "he'll be a pro someday."

The Giants got killed by the Rockies so it was okay that we stayed in the fun lot for so long. In the late innings, most people had taken their kids home, so our guy was the only one left. He had dedicated BP. He drilled one pitch after another. The pitcher remarked that he was a "line drive back up the middle" type of hitter. He has his own batting stance, no doubt taken from watching on TV, a cross between Don Baylor and a right handed Bobby Tolan. The pitcher remarked to him that he doesn't mind the ball coming back up the middle, but to not hit him in the face. He also hit several balls over the fence of the yard. It was an amazing display of hitting. A crowd of 10-15 people had gathered outside the rail and were actively cheering him on in almost utter disbelief as to what they were seeing. I blew it by not having a video camera.