Reese Kaplan -- So Now the Kids Want to Learn to Play Ball

A second chapter to the baseball lecturer series involves the extended conversation I had with the locals here in Malaysia about the game itself. The topic arose when the children started asking about how to learn to play the game.

Now initially the dialog was mostly about the rules but it turned out that there was a much simpler angle to the question. The boys (and one girl) wanted to know how you developed the skills necessary to hit, to run, to field, to throw and to become proficient in what's necessary to win ballgames.

My initial thought was to organize a workout regimen for the kids to teach them the basics but then the parents immediately jumped in saying they would do so for them (forgetting temporarily that they themselves have never before played the game).

Now as a ballplayer I was adept at judging the strike zone, hitting against the defensive positioning of the fielders and handling basic fielding, though I was never going to be an All Star except for the one season when they drew the cutoff for age in August. Having a September birthday meant I was going to be a bit bigger and older than the rest of the players in the Little League.

Problem number one I faced is that there are no baseball fields here. Now when I was a kid we would play in a yard with stones or tree roots or other natural entities forming bases or baselines. Here there are plenty of football, er, soccer fields available but they are pretty much booked for people fleet of foot and strong of leg.

OK, so if we're not going to have the normal playing environment then how about taking kids to pitching machines where they can start with a slow arcing pitch more similar to what you see in slow-pitch softball, but as could already be concluded that particular machine might be built in southeast Asia but not used here.

Fine, fine...how about we simply find a vacant lot somewhere to allow the hitting of the ball without risk to nearby cars and windows. That is the quest I gave the parents who know the area better than I do to identify where it could be a practice field. Once accomplished, that vacant lot (or weekend parking lot at a closed factory) could be used for basic running, fielding and throwing exercises as well as learning to hit the baseball.

Now we get to the next major obstacle. Imagine walking into the Asian equivalent of a Sports Authority or Dick's Sporting Goods or Academy Sports only to discover that there are no baseball gloves, no baseballs, no bats, no catcher's protective equipment and no score sheets to record player activity in each at bat once the games begin. Well, we're all getting a bit ahead of ourselves as we all know it would take over 18 participating players (20 if you use 4 outfielders and 22 if you employ a DH) before we worry about who's leading the league in whatever statistical metrics.

Now the parents have volunteered to participate in helping the kids learn the game, but they have no childhood experience on which to recall important lessons to share with their kids. They also have no regular exercise of their arms, legs and abdomen as required by throwing, running and bending to make fielding plays. I was thinking I should set up a sideline business selling pain relieving creams for the morning after body aches.

We're supposed to have a meeting next weekend to discuss where to get equipment, to identify how many are semi-serious about learning the game and then figuring out when and where we can play. It's exhilarating, aggravating and stressful taking on the duty of showing a whole culture who never grew up with baseball what it's all about and how the game is played. I foresee a lot of time spent on YouTube and ESPN videos when the frequent showers make outdoor skill drills impractical.