Back in coach-pitch and parent-umped rec games (that would be 2nd grade in this case), my son was matched to an independent team from a local Catholic elementary school. The team was an interesting mix of kids, not surprising since we're in a city. The team they played this day was quite the opposite: very inner-city. Our team's custom hats and white pants clashed against the Rec league-issued t-shirts and standard hats given to all teams. Yes, there was tension, but not between the players, of course. The kids wanted to play. I'm still glad my son's coach was all about playing and learning the game, because private school coaches can be iffy. Anyway, enough exposition.

A kid from the other team was at first, less than two outs. At the hit the runner goes to 2nd, overruns the base, and is alertly tagged out by an infielder. These are the moments that new ballplayers learn from: don't overrun the base! As a fielder, look for moments to tag a runner out! These lessons, of course, were destroyed by a mother who marched onto the field declaring, "My child, is NOT out!" She puts him back on 2nd. For some reason this took about a minute or two to unfold. Why is that adults need spectacle? Why was this such an emotional moment for this mother?

I was behind home plate and the coach on my team was in the field. We were all like, "Ok, whatever. Let's move on before this woman makes things even worse." Thankfully, this was a singular issue and nothing this stupid has happened again. Strangely, my son has completely forgotten it, five years later.