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Welcome to Smelly Socks & Sandlots
Home of the 2008 SBO Major League CHAMPIONS
and the 2009 Runner-Up Champions! Cal Ripken is baseball’s all-time IronMan. He retired from baseball in October, 2001 after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken’s name has become synonymous with strength, character, endurance, and integrity. His philosophy of working hard, playing with passion, and enjoying the game has made a tremendous impact on the sport and on fans everywhere. We are fortunate to be a part of the Cal Ripken League of Babe Ruth baseball, and the model of play he has promoted for our young players. The Case For Babe Ruth Baseball Coach Pannell of the Springfield, Virginia Babe Ruth League describes his son Jonathan's experience playing Babe Ruth Baseball. Please sign our Guestbook under "Extra Innings"
I see great things in baseball. It's our game
- the American game. --Walt Whitman You know I think it's time to give this game a ride. --John Fogerty
Baseball is a simple game of catch --Greg Hall, "Baseball Is"
Message from Babe Ruth President/CEO Select this LINK to read a message from Steven M. Tellefson. Pitching Lessons If anyone is interested in pitching lessons, Dan Ochs, a college coach with 17 years experience, will be providing lessons in Sterling July 11, 18, 25 and August 1. Select this LINK for more information. We can also get a group rate.
Raging Rainout 6/11/10 Outstanding job against the Rage! Your bats are coming alive, Red Sox! While we were rained out in the third, a 6-0 lead is cause for celebration. Keep up the good work. We have four games in a week coming up, so let's finish with a bang. Half-Way There Red Sox, you have done a great job so far. Many of you are growing tremendously as you continue to learn the game of baseball. We are sitting in better shape than we were last year, so chalk that up to growth. Keep believing in your talents and what you have been given. It will pay off--we have seen it so many times before. SBO is Now on Facebook
Take a look what's there.
New Season, Same Philosophy While many of you have been with us the last couple of seasons, it is still important to review our coaching philosophy. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO DO SO by selecting the "Philosophy" link under "Extra Innings" above. We appreciate your commitment to the team, the players, and the game. Miracles DO Happen 6/28/09 All tournament long I reminded you to believe in yourselves
and the talents you have been given. All tournament long I reminded you to play
like a team. All tournament long I reminded you that "heart" and
"grit" would take you far—as it does in life. But Sunday morning I
asked you for something else—to believe in miracles and to say a prayer if you
had a mind to. Two wins in the tournament earned us a rest, so we didn’t play until 4:30 Saturday afternoon (though scheduled for 3:30). We faced the Flame Throwers in a game we just weren’t ready for. (For whatever reason, we not only played them twice during regular-season play, but we also played them in the mid-season tournament. We were learning not to like playing the ice-cream team.) Matt put us on ice, so we dropped in the bracket to play the Diggers. Like night and day, you were a different team in the second game fending off the Diggers’ hot bats to win 15-6. We left that evening wondering who we would play in the morning. The Yanks were playing the Coyotes on the field next to us. At 10:00 on Sunday morning, we looked into yet another Yankee dugout, but it was then I told you to believe in miracles. With a sizzlin’ bat throughout the tournament, Alex started the game with a double, and we never looked back. We batted 15 in the first inning alone and hit the dugout with an 11-0 lead—too much for the Yanks to overcome. With the score 13-2 after three innings, the game was over—Miracle Number 3. And then we waited. We waited for the result of the Flame
Throwers-Wolves game. And we waited some more. After seven innings, the Wolves
realized their first loss, so we took to the plate against another well-coached
team. While they only had seven on the field, they proved to have as much grit
as us. Leading the whole game, we found ourselves down 8-11 at the top of the
fifth. Was this then end? Was our miracle tournament over? Not with five steps
across the plate! At the bottom of the inning, the Wolves scored one with three singles, but our defense held strong to cap off the nail-biter, 13-12—a semi-final game to remember. Miracle Number 4. You achieved what the sports world flocks to—the underdog overcoming incredible odds to win. While we came up short in the end on the scoreboard, you are all Number 1 with me. You believed in your team, you believed in the talents you have been given, and you believed in miracles. Congratulations Red Sox—a job VERY well done. |
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