When I was growing up, my favorite baseball player was Pete Rose. I loved the way he played -- running to first on walks, barreling into opponents when sliding to break up the double play or separate the catcher from the ball and seemingly always getting the key hit.

My favorite current major leaguer is Seattle Mariners' outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Known simply as Ichiro, he's far and away the best hitter in the game today. He is the only major leaguer to get 200 or more hits in his first six seasons, including a record 262 hits in 2004.

It's not only that he gets hits, but the way he gets them that makes him my favorite player to watch. Ichiro has a lot of power, as he frequenly demonstrates in batting practice, but he hits relatively few homers in games, focusing instead on hitting line drives to take advantage of his great speed to get on base for his teammates. No one is quicker from home to first base, and the number of infield hits he gets is amazing.

Ichiro is also a great fielder -- as evidenced by his six gold gloves in as many seasons -- and base stealer, as he's annually near the league lead in that category. He also is not someone who seeks the spotlight, which is rare in today's me-focused world.

Despite his statistics, Ichiro flies under the radar because of his low profile, which is just fine with him. To me, he's the most exciting player in the game, and his inside-the-park home run at this year's All-Star Game is an example of why.

In short, Ichiro plays the game the right way, gets the most out of his ability and humbly goes about his work every day without drawing attention to himself. How many other players in today's game can you say that about? Wen it comes to baseball role models, they don't come much better than Ichiro.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:16 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

My 10- and 8-year old kids occasionally watch golf with me on television, and they recognize a few top players. Tiger Woods, though, is the one they are most interested in. So when Tiger's tournament, otherwise known as the AT&T National, came to Congressional Country Club in the Washington, D.C. suburbs this week, I asked if they wanted to go. They did.

Once we got on the grounds, they asked every 10 minutes or so when we would see Tiger Woods. I explained that he didn't tee off for several hours, but the questions persisted. About an hour before his tee time, we spotted Tiger on the putting green, and watched him for 15 minutes.

About two hours later, we watched Tiger play one hole as part of gallery that was four deep around the entire hole before leaving.

Asked on the car ride home what they thought of their first golf tournament, both kids mentioned they liked seeing Tiger Woods in person.

It's no wonder that all tournaments want Tiger in their field. When he plays, tournament attendance and television ratings are much higher then when he's not competing. For me, though, the fact that he has helped spark an interest in golf with my kids is much more meaningful.

As the ultimate golf prodigy, Tiger went out of his way to ensure as many kids as possible could attend his tournament by letting all kids 12 and under in for free. There's nothing like seeing a tournament in person, and I have a feeling that after this experience, it will be easier to both get them to another tournament and to consider joining me when I go to the practice range.

Thanks Tiger.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 10:12 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

To me, there's nothing more enjoyable about baseball than looking at the box scores in the morning newspaper.

When growing up more than 30 years ago, there was no ESPN, and only one nationally televised game a week. So I learned to love baseball primarily by combing the box scores.

While I grew up a Phillie and Yankee fan, I spent time reviewing all the box scores in an effort to learn as much about the players and teams as I could. The beauty of box scores is that they provide tons of information about the games in a completely neutral way with no spin or commentary. After all, a player can make any excuse he wants, but the box score numbers don't lie.

Home runs, hits and runs batted in may be the offensive statistics that receive all the press, but in box scores these are no more important or emphasized than walks, stolen bases, sacrifices or other numbers that help to complete a player's or a team's statistical picture, and their success or failure.

I actually really enjoy going a few days without having any baseball news, only to delve into the box scores to see what I missed. For all the changes in baseball over the years, the box score has remained pretty much the same, and for that I'm glad.

If your kids are interested in baseball, encourage them to check out the box scores to see how their favorite players or teams are doing. It's likely to increase the amount of baseball discussion around the breakfast table, which to my way of thinking is a good thing.  

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 05:13 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I've devoted several blog posts to coaching my daughter's softball team, and he's another.

Saturday was our final game. Our rookie league team, made up of many girls who had never played organized softball before, showed steady improvement all season. On Saturday the team had its best fielding game of the year, hit the ball well and even communicated with each other about strategy for the first time all season. The net result was a season-ending win.

What made me feel good, though, was to see the girls improve, work together and have fun, not necessarily in that order. 

The girls were glad to win, but were more excited about our post-game party that featured cupcakes and ice cream sandwiches. Similarily, after our practices many of the girls ran to the playground to have fun before going home.

The lesson to me is that for 7-9 year olds, they've got things in pretty good perspective. They did the best they could while on the field, but transitioned quickly to fun activities.

Watching the girls eat their cupcakes after our final game was a fitting end to what by any measure was a successful season. They were happy, having fun, and enjoying the moment. Cupcakes for everyone indeed.  

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:14 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)