May 23

Isaac hit his first-ever homerun today, and it also happened to be the first-ever homerun hit by the Spartans. 

He sent the ball sailing over the fence in left field during his first at-bat of the game against the 12u Orinda Renegades. And then he joyfully did the trot around the bases --he's the blurry figure rounding third in the red helmet, grey pants, and high socks-- before hitting home and returning to the dugout. 

Adam jumped up almost immediately and headed to the area beyond the fence to retrieve the ball for posterity's sake, so Isaac John Hancocked it when we got home and stored it away with his other important baseballs.

Since he never got a Majors season thanks to COVID and never really got the chance to be the big fish in the little pond, so to speak, Isaac had been eager to hit a homer for a long time. So I was so happy to see him finally get it done today, especially given that he did it on the heels of a fairly long slump at the plate. (And in fact, he was on fire today in general, because he followed up the homer with a single, a double, a hit by pitch, and a deep flyout to left in what wound up being a very lopsided final score in the Spartans' favor. So he finally got to see the fruit of his slump-busting efforts.)

So yes: today I am thankful that I got to see him reap the benefits of his practice and hard work. And I'm also thankful for every second of joy that playing baseball gives him -- and us.