The other night I lead a free infield clinic for Jackie Robinson West Little League on the south side of Chicago. Jackie Robinson West is the most heralded Little League organization in Illinois, with numerous championships to their credit. Furthermore, they are the blueprint for the way inner city baseball should be run around the country. They have great leadership, facilities and a support group that helps grow the game in their community. Case in point, they reached out to me to work with their kids.
I was excited to go the field, as I hadn't been there in 21 years. My last appearance was in the 1989 Little League State Championships where I played with my hometown team (Robinson) from 5 hours south in Southern Illinois. At that time, it was the biggest thrill of my life. We were the first Robinson team to advance that far in 30 years. A bunch of farm boys, few of us had traveled anywhere before, and certainly hadn't been to Chicago. We happened to play and get beat by Jackie Robinson West 4-2. You can see how important it was to me then, as I still remember the score!
Even though I hadn't been there in that many years, as soon as I entered the neighborhood, familiarity took over and I knew exactly where I was. It was a surreal feeling on how vivid your subconscious can be. The GPS was no longer needed, and sure enough I turned the corner and the field was just about as I had seen it years ago!
The kids were excited to have me out, had tons of energy and were doing everything they could to soak up what I was trying to teach them about infield play. They were so appreciative of the opportunity, and nobody (including myself) wanted to leave the field that night. My best compliment...30 smiling kids when I left that were all asking me when I was coming back.
Jackie Robinson West has been just a game or two from advancing to the Little League World Series in Willamsport, PA the last few years. Hopefully I helped them take another step in furthering their baseball experience.
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