Took the kid out for lunch today. 

We went to Hooters to eat and then I went and bought him a baseball bat, glove and two baseballs.  Can you believe this kid has never played baseball?   Never held a glove?  I had to show him how to handle the ball and showed him a few tricks I knew.  Hopefully in two weeks I can start teaching him the game.  Next weekend I am taking him to a U.T. baseball game and I am betting that it will be a question and answer session for me most of the game.  But that's o.k.  I think every teenage boy should know the game of baseball.  This will reward him in so many ways he does not have a clue. 

The first thing I am going to teach him is to throw the ball.  Then I want to teach him how to hit.  I showed him how to juggle the ball with the bat today cause I want him to start training his hand/eye coordination.  After I have taught him how to hit I will teach him each position and then he can make up his mind which one he wants to learn better and go from there.  I figure if I can get him a knowledge base, next year he try out for a team and then really learn the game of baseball.  When he has his first basehit he will be on cloud nine.  He even asked me today what a basehit was. 

So this is a starting point for the kid.  I told him I wanted him to check out a book at the library about learning how to play baseball since this will help him when I start to actually show him.  That is what I did when I was younger than him but at least at 13 he has a chance to be good by the time high school comes around.  I told him I wanted him to go to the park and just hit the ball around.  Juggle the ball with the bat.  Toss it up in the air and play catch unless he can find a friend he can play catch with.  Truthfully, I just want him to get used to handling the gear.  To feel comfortable using it.  I told him to sit on, stand on, run the car over, misshandle and rough up the glove to get it loose.  I told him at night before he goes to bed to put the ball in the web of the glove and wrap the glove around the ball.  Do they still put linseed oil on gloves?  I need to find some if so.

I think this will be fun for him.  It is for me already.  I loved baseball when I was growing up.  Since he does not have an interest in learning football and seems to in baseball, I think he will like this too.  The only bad thing for him is that unless he is a natural at it, he is going to suck at first.  That is where I am going to have to be a coach and keep him interested and practicing.  He just may find himself in a select niche before he knows it and like that place is in.