I watched John almost hit a home run on the Antimi Blue field today at practice. It was dead center field, and it was literally a foot from being out. I couldn’t help but think, “Where is THAT kid on game day?” He has struggled at the plate something awful this year. No amount of batting practice is going to fix whatever is going on mentally when he steps up to the plate during an actual game. It was interesting to listen to him on the way home from practice.
Instead of bragging about the hit, he said, “Mom! I had two great hits at practice today.” I said, “See. You CAN do it.” He gave me a sideways look and mumbled, “Now, I just need to figure out how to do that in a game.”
I didn’t respond because he is right. It is so damn hard to watch your kid struggle and know that you cannot do anything about it. Baseball is such a mental game and it is all about confidence. Here is to hoping that this gets him moving at least a few steps in the right direction.
By the way, he did brag a lot about the near home run to Andy and Laura when he got home. I cannot blame him, because it was a beautiful hit. It was just one foot short of 220 feet and what would have been his first over-the-fence.