by IRV Blevins
The only team to beat the Padres all season were the Tigers, who were up in the top of the last inning of last week’s championship game for the Pinto American division of Redondo Sunset Baseball league.
The score was tied 15-15 as the Tigers rallied to score a burst of runs. They were threatening to score again and put the game out of reach, with runners on first and second with two out.
Seven-year-old Keiji was playing third base that inning, despite this being his first season of organized baseball. “KG”, as his teammates called him, had been busy, taking a flip throw from the pitcher for an out and just missing stopping a chest-high bouncer. As he played off the base, a hard hit grounder came down the line. KG darted to the ball in plenty of time to force out the runner at third, but the ball kicked off his glove. He lunged, grabbed it with his bare hand, then dove back toward the base with the ball in his outstretched hand. The Tiger running from second slid into third base. When the dust settled, the umpire waved his thumb to indicate an out. Padre fans cheered. Tiger fans jeered.
KG was slow to leave the field.
As the Tigers coaches sent their players back on the field for the last half of the inning, Padres coaches hollered for their players to gather together outside the dugout to prepare for the team’s final at bat.
A young voice emerged from the din. “He was safe,” KG said.
Since KG was usually a player who let his actions speak for him, Coach Randy Schwartz asked him to repeat what he had said.
“He was safe,” KG repeated.
“Well, then let’s go tell the ump,” Coach Randy said, putting a hand on KG’s shoulder as they walked toward home plate.
The umpire leaned over to be sure he was hearing correctly. Then he shook KG’s hand, and signaled the Padres back onto the field.
The Tigers didn’t score any more runs, and in the bottom of the inning the Padres battled back but came up just two runs short. The game ended, 20-18, on a pop fly to first base.
After the game Tigers head coach Jason Green made his way over to the Padres dugout and presented KG with a game ball, commending him on his sportsmanship.
The next day during email exchanges among parents of the team, KG’s father expressed his pride and gratitude. He thanked the coaches and everyone involved for their efforts to support his son, the team, and the game.
“Keiji learned a very important thing from this,” he wrote, “and he is satisfied with the game’s result. In fact, he was talking about next season already on the way home.”
