[DG]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GarthB

Originally posted by Dave Hensley

As a part-time "LL Basher", I can tell you that your one size fits all theory doesn't fit all. I was lucky enough to be raised in a small upstate New York town that didn't have LL or organized youth ball. We played "sand lot" ball during the summer and school ball during the spring upon reaching junior high.

During the summer we would gather at Jim "Mouse" Knauss' house and wait unitl enough kids showed up to form two teams of at least 6 players per team. Then we walked to the corner lot at Ontario Street and Orchard Park Street, across from the P&C grocery store and the GLF farm supply, tossed the ball around for a few minutes, chose up sides and started to play. No parents, no coaches, no fans. Just kids playing baseball and having the time of our lives.

We'd break for lunch and get back together and play until dinner, then come back and play until the street lights came on, the universal signal to head home. I remember riding my bike with my glove dangling off the left handle bar and my bat across the handle bars held in place precariously by my thumbs.

How did we learn fundamentals? In the back yard with Dad, or watching the big kids practice at the high school. We knew the lineups of the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants and would assume the persona of one of them. When I pitched, I was Whitey Ford (as were most left handers), when I played first I was Gil Hodges, even though he was a "righty".

We didn't have uniforms, but we knew who was on which side. There were no ejections, no swearing, no screaming, no guilt laden lectures. Oh, yeah, I already mentioned that there were no coaches and no parents, didn't I?

Bottom line, we had fun, we learned about baseball and we played and played and played baseball. A couple of us played in high school and even college, so it didn't seem to hurt us to not have the "advantages" of Little League.

I remember playing pickup games barefoot, in fields that had sandspurs in spots, with one bat and a baseball that was taped up with electrical tape. Pickup games were spontaneous so everyone might not be equipped to play but we did. Some of the players had gloves, but most did not. But, we also played in local leagues with uniforms and regular baseballs, and fans that did not get out of hand. We had all stars at the end and the ones that made it went on to play more and the others went to the local swimming hole. And there were no street lights to play under around here.