Dugout days

FALLS CHURCH, Virginia — I knew it could be his last Little League at-bat. I hoped it wasn’t. We were down 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. If Sean could get on base, the top of the order would come up and maybe make some playoff magic happen.

I was emotional as my youngest son stepped into the left-handed batter’s box. But it turns out I wasn’t emotional enough.

This wasn’t the end of Sean’s baseball career, after all — he will keep playing middle school ball. His oldest brother still has another year of varsity to come.

But right before getting in bed that night, I realized the weight of the moment that had passed: I probably just spent my last evening in the dugout.

(Tim Carney)

I played seven years of organized ball as a child, including Little League, Babe Ruth ball, summer leagues,