Kevin's 1st Little League HR

[MSandman]

Please excuse me while a very proud Dad blatantly brags for a moment. :p

Kevin launched his first dinger tonight in an 11YO All-Star game, a 3-run shot after the other team had just changed pitchers. The kid they brought in was definitely throwing faster than the previous one he'd faced. But he stood there and watched him warmup, then went after the first pitch he saw. As he said later, "MY pitch" (up, nicely-coinciding w/ his usual lack of posture ;)).

He launched it directly over my head in LCF, which was 196' from home plate. There was a dirt access road behind me, then the woods. It hit a tree shortly into the woods, that was 20' past the fence - but it hit up high, about 25' up it. :) So I'm estimating that the ball would've carried another 20-25', putting the total distance at ~240'. :D

His team went on to win, 21-12 (yeah, more like a football score! ;))

So far, through 4 All-Star games, he's 6 for 12, w/ a double, a triple, and now a HR and 6 RBI. He's also walked twice and reached by error twice, w/ no Ks.

Sorry for the shaky camera. I had my elbows resting on the LCF fence and unfortunately, so did numerous other fans. ;)


Download: QT movie (http://members.cox.net/ksanda/Kevin's%201st%20HR.mov)

Thanks for watching/listening,
Sandman :D

P.S.
Something seems wrong w/ my QT. Does anyone else have trouble getting the movie to play in their browser?

[YankeeFan01]

movie plays fine in firefox.

[Hawaii]

Yes, I'm using firefox and it's fine.
Congratulations to Kevin, and you. I hope you got the ball, and I hope it ends up in one of those glass and wood trophy cases with a suitable engraving.

[MSandman]

Thank you, Hawaii. Yes, we did get the ball and we do plan to put it in a case, along w/ a $1 bill. ;) Funny story why the $1... the umps who did the game were a father/son duo and the father used to teach w/ my wife. Well, the son was doing the plate and he recognized the name when my son was announced. So while the new pitcher was warming up in the middle of the inning, he said to Kevin, "I'll give you a buck if you hit it out". And sure enough, after the game, he came up to us in the parking lot and made good on it. :p

[Comm]

Holy! That has to be the best swing display I've ever seen from an 11yo kid. ;)

[Whitesoxnut]

Holy! That has to be the best swing display I've ever seen from an 11yo kid. ;)

I agree, talk about generating power off the back foot by an 11 yo. Outstanding and congrats!

As a video maker I have a few tricks of the trade for that center field shot. First off I use a DV cam with a powerful optical zoom and I put it on a tripod way, way out in CF, on auto/long play and let it run itself all game long. I use a long chain with a few locks and chain it to a tree. Then I stand on a sideline with my main cam and can shoot two angles, which I later cut and mix. Its easy to line up the videos during edit by picking one frame in each tape where a specific kid hits a specific ball. At the least, and even if you shoot one cam, a tripod or a monopod is a huge help.

Again congrats to both of you on good fundementals. Thats wonderful arm extension and his center looks great.:clapping

[Pete H]

Congratulations to Kevin - that is one beautiful swing!
You're excused for bragging.:D

[wogdoggy]

nice job sandy...the wife must must come from a great gene pool!:D

[jbooth]

Please excuse me while a very proud Dad blatantly brags for a moment. :p



Thanks for watching/listening,
Sandman :D



That's a very good swing, no coincidence it went deep.

[deaconspoint]

Great swing by the young Sandman. Great story to go along with it. With that swing it was just a matter of time. Congrats!!

Tim

[MSandman]

I agree, talk about generating power off the back foot by an 11 yo. Outstanding and congrats!

As a video maker I have a few tricks of the trade for that center field shot. First off I use a DV cam with a powerful optical zoom and I put it on a tripod way, way out in CF, on auto/long play and let it run itself all game long. I use a long chain with a few locks and chain it to a tree. Then I stand on a sideline with my main cam and can shoot two angles, which I later cut and mix. Its easy to line up the videos during edit by picking one frame in each tape where a specific kid hits a specific ball. At the least, and even if you shoot one cam, a tripod or a monopod is a huge help.

Again congrats to both of you on good fundementals. Thats wonderful arm extension and his center looks great.:clapping

Thanks a lot Whitey. I often do use a tripod, but this year I just got a little lazy. The camcorder IS digital, but I think I forgot to put the "sports mode" back on? I'm just glad I have some footage of his first.

Thanks again for the tips.

[MSandman]

nice job sandy...the wife must must come from a great gene pool!:D

LOL! :)

Actually, her 2 older brothers were outstanding soccer players and both HS place kickers (born in Italy, grew up in Brazil... where my wife was also born and lived a couple years). :)

[wogdoggy]

Theres NO FOOD like ITalian..you lucky dog.

[tom.guerry]

Sweet swing !!!

Congrats to Kevin and Mike.

Any upcoming musical theater ?

[MSandman]

No Tom, no theater til next winter maybe. :)

[RaLlY mOnKeY 21]

Congrats to your son! And you are excused for bragging about your son. There is nothing wrong with that.