First Baseball Game [2 cents]

My wife and I took two second graders to their first baseball game last night. They are students at the school where my wife works. Their parents paid for the privilege at the school PTA auction in the spring.

They came wearing their red Nats caps, and each with full size fielder's mitts. They were not only convinced that a foul ball in our direction was a strong possibility, but that - if it came - they (standing probably no more than 4 feet tall) would undoubtedly snag it. They ate their hot dogs and their cotton candy. They didn't quite finish their lemonade.

They were very interested in the game and, at first, told me that they watched baseball games and understood the rules. They were interested in the scoreboard, and what all the numbers meant.

I quickly learned, though, there were some things they did not know. Like what a strike was, or a ball, or an out, or an inning. After convincing me he knew the game, one of the boys said: "How do you get points in baseball?", and the other said: "Is there a half-time?"

But when I told them that something good happened, they cheered. And when something bad happened, they retained their equanimity.

The highlight of the game? The "surprise" fireworks at the end, after the Nats beat the Rockies, 4-0. "Did you see that? Fireworks! Right over there."