“WINNING IS FUNNER”
HOW TO HAVE FUN PLAYING T-BALL
by
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So now the season is over. We had a picnic the next day for every player in the league and his parents. They gave us certificates and the dads each got one, too.
Then, after the other teams had gone home with their parents, the Giants went over to another field because the coaches said they had something for us. When we got over there, we were all really surprised, because the coaches gave each one of us a gold trophy with our name on it. They paid for them themselves. The trophy has a baseball player on the top and our name underneath and then it says, “Giants” with the year on there, too.
They said maybe we didn’t finish in first place, but we deserved something extra because we kept improving and did what we were told and were the best team in the league by the end of the season. They said they thought each one of us should have something extra nice to remember the season with.
That was really something. We didn’t know anything about it, and the other parents didn’t, either. Just Mr. Connor and Mr. Clauser and Mr. Carroll and Dad.
After that we ate some watermelon that Mr. Clauser bought for us and that was good, too. Then we all went home. We were holding our trophies and feeling really happy about the whole season.
We did more than just have fun this year. We learned how to hit and how to run the bases and how to play a position and to listen to our coaches. And we learned that when we do what they say, we improve and so does the whole team. That’s what’s really fun.
Dad told us that at our age, how many games we win isn’t the most important thing. He said the answers to three questions will tell each us if we’ve had a successful season. He said the three questions are:
- Did I have fun?
- Did I learn?
3. Did I get better?
He said if we can answer yes to those three questions, then we had a good season. I think all of us did.
Boy, I’m really glad I played this season!
I can hardly wait till next year!
#
Editor’s Note: Dave must have known what he was talking about when he said he could “hardly wait till next year.” With Dave back at second base and his Dad back as the coach, their team went undefeated the next season, with a record of 12 wins and no losses, an achievement of consistency that’s hard to believe for little boys playing a game as difficult and precise as baseball. With that 12-0 record, they became their county’s
T-Ball champions. Most important, they could still answer yes to the three questions above.
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About the Book
If your child wants to learn how to play baseball, this book’s for you – and for him, or her, and their coaches, too. “Winning is Funner” is the story of an 8-year-old second baseman, in his own words, in “T-Ball,” where players learn how to hit the ball with the aid of a batting tee, get plenty of hits, play different positions and learn how to run the bases – and how to have fun doing it.
Dave Gilbert talks into a tape recorder after each game of his season in the second grade, telling his father, who is his coach, about the game, what he learned – and the happy times he and his teammates had along the way.
About the Author
Dave Gilbert is a former All-Star shortstop, second baseman and pitcher who played two seasons of T-Ball, followed by seventeen seasons of baseball on school teams and in summer leagues and the American Legion program. He made his college team before devoting full-time to his career in journalism. Today he is an executive editor for Phillips Investment Resources in
Bill Gilbert, Dave’s father, coached him throughout his years in summer leagues. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post, marketing director for the Washington Senators and the best-selling author of twenty-two books including nine on baseball.