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Little League offers
one for record books
I saw it happen. Twenty feet away from where I stood behind second base,
one of the greatest plays in baseball took place. It took some coaching,
but it happened.
According to the Society for American Baseball Research, there have
been 672 triple plays in Major League Baseball in the last 131 seasons.
That is an average of only five per season.
Since 2000, the chance of seeing a tripl e
play—all three outs completed on one continuous play—in a
given inning has been less than 1 in 10,000. The rarest and most fabulous
feat in Major League baseball, the unassisted triple play has been accomplished
only fourteen times in MLB history.
I serve as an assistant coach for my son’s team in the Marquette
Rookie Little League. This is the league which is a step up from Tee
Ball. It is made up of boys and girls seven and eight years old. It
is a developmental league where players learn skills, teamwork and sportsmanship.
They learn this game is not about winning or losing but about trying
your best, having fun and making new friends.
No score is kept. Players rotate positions after a few innings. Every
batter gets a chance at six pitches and then can use the tee. The goal
is to hit the ball and become a runner. The inning ends after six runs
or three outs. If we are lucky, we get in a full three innings a game.
The coaches pitch to their own players and often serve as back-up catcher
behind the team catcher. From this position, they can give batting stance
tips to their players. Coaches also are in the field to assist players
in locating their positions and learning the decision making that goes
along with each play.
That’s what set me up to be in a very short center field, with
Luke Mattson playing second base. The bases were loaded with no outs,
as they often are in this league. A pop fly was hit in Luke’s direction.
All base runners began to advance, as they have not yet mastered the
concept of staying on base until the ball is caught and then tagging-up
if the decision is made to advance to the next base.
In our case, Luke made the catch for the first out. The opposing team’s
coaches called for the runners to return to their bases. We shouted
to Luke to tag second base then throw back to first. Luke put his foot
on the base before the runner returned for the second out.
“Now throw it to first base!” the world seemed to call out.
As the throw was made back to first I held my breath. It was caught
before the runner returned for out number three. A triple play, three
outs made on one continuous play.
Cheers and applause were combined with dances of disbelief. I hugged
the boy as we left the field and said, “Luke you just got all three
outs at once!”
I said to his mother, “Do you realize what he just did? A triple
play! One of the greatest plays in all of baseball. You have to let
him stay up an hour later tonight, get some ice cream, call everyone
he knows!”
According to Pat Morrison, Marquette Rookie Little League coordinator,
he has heard of a few such plays in our league in the past few years.
I started playing softball in the fourth grade and played until I was
nearly forty. I never saw a triple play, let alone participated in one.
I could not find any record of a triple play being accomplished in a
Little League game organized in this country since the mid 1800s, although
it probably has been witnessed on other ballfields like ours.
Unbelievable.
Our triple play brought inspiration, celebration, personal achievement,
moments of glory and the lift-the-child-on-your-collective-shoulders
pride.
The context of this play-of-all-plays magnifies the rarity of the feat.
Rookie Little League is about as far from the major leagues as one can
get. It is played in what could be envisioned as the early sandlot games.
Rookie Little League is a time for learning a game players may participate
in and enjoy for the rest of their lives. There is much to learn of
this game and its endless terminology...knowing when a play is going
to be a force out or whether to tag the runner. It means learning to
throw the ball in from the outfield and hitting the cut-off player.
It means a good swing with the bat although missing the ball, is still
a good cut at it. It means celebrating each time a player successfully
not only fields the ball but completes a throw to his fellow player.
It means simple pleasures and pats on the back.
It was in this learning and development environment that one of the
rarest and purest moments of joy in baseball occurred. This single event
is evidence to the young players that belief in the improbable is possible.
Smiles radiated and applause filled our ears from adoring family and
friends in the small set of bleachers. Smiles are such a great feeling
for ourselves and a wonderful gift to give.
Smiles are perhaps one of the true pictures of health and happiness.
For a brief place in time on a summer night, we all felt the glow of
our national pastime.
I hope we are all fortunate enough to experience our own definition
of a triple play at some point in our lives. Those are the type of stories
that need to be shared and relived. Those are the types of stories that
inspire us all. Those are the brief and shinning moments that go on
to inspire greatness.
—Leslie Bek
"Marquette
County free meals show importance of community"
Marquette County free meals show importance of community
One of the most remarkable things about Marquette County is the way
we take care of our own. And nowhere is it more evident than in the
abundance of community meal programs throughout the area. Churches
all over the county and the Salvation Army have been reaching out
to their communities by providing a free meal to their neighbors—regardless
of means, social situation or religious affiliation.
These meals provide a place to come together to enjoy a hot, nutritious
meal and share ongoing relationships with friends, neighbors and community.
The community meals are offered on set days and times throughout each
month (see list below). All you have to do is show up and enjoy the
food and conversation. There are many different circumstances that
motivate people to attend these free community meals, but the most
common theme is simple—to socialize.
Betsy Jessup of Messiah Lutheran Church of Marquette explained that
even though a diverse group makes up the average eighty to 110 diners
at their meal, the goal of the attendees is clear—not only to
get a hot meal, but to mingle with old friends and make new ones.
She said the large numbers of children who attend really look forward
to playing with other children, and children of the appropriate age
actually get to participate in the whole process in a very hands-on
way, whether helping clean up or participating in serving the meal.
Another example of the importance of community socialization was provided
by Patrick Brennen of St. Peter Cathedral.
“The people we serve often have access to food elsewhere,”
he said.
Brennen said social interaction provided at community meals often
is the most fulfilling aspect of the experience for diners and servers
alike. It also is apparent that this socialization experience is very
important to one particular sector of the dining population—the
elderly.
Jessup said the elderly benefit from this opportunity. Many times
they feel isolated and lonesome; community meals are an excellent
way to get out, talk, and feel connected with others. Relationships
are fostered and quality of life is enhanced.
Other circumstances that bring people to the meals are more practical.
Pastor Ron Libey of First Baptist Church of Gwinn said socializing
is only one factor that brings diners. At his church, of the average
fifty attendees, many consist of older couples and families with children
trying to stretch their food budgets.
Since there never is a shortage of food at the meal sites, they really
help with family food costs. In fact, many of the participating churches
provide enough food so the patrons can make extra plates to take home
with them for the following day. Libey said his church has just entered
its eleventh year offering community meals.
The average number of attendees varies from church to church; however
most of them serve from fifty to 120.
This service is a benefit to all of the citizens of Marquette County
and should be taken advantage of. A reoccurring theme found throughout
is that these community meals feed anyone hungry for food or conversation—no
questions and no distinctions are made.
Community meals are important for Marquette County not only because
they feed the less privileged among us, but because they provide a
venue for everyone to be involved in something positive at the local
level.
They bring about the power of closeness and acceptance. It is clear
that at the end of a community meal, everyone leaves fulfilled—workers
and diners alike.
Unless noted, all meals are in the City of Marquette; other locations
will be posted at www.mqthealth.org as discovered.
• Messiah Lutheran Church—6:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday
of the month.
• St. Peter Cathedral—5:00 p.m., last Friday of the
month.
• First United Methodist Church—5:00 to 6:30 p.m.,
second Wednesday of the month.
• St. Mark Cathedral—Thanksgiving meal offered.
• St. Paul Episcopal—soup supper at 6:00 p.m., last
Wednesday of the month.
• Grace Lutheran Church (Gwinn)—5:30 to 6:15 p.m.,
fourth Wednesday of the month.
• United Methodist Church (Gwinn)—5:30 to 6:15 p.m.,
second Wednesday of the month.
• First Baptist Church (Gwinn)— 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.,
third Wednesday of the month.
• Salvation Army—noon to 1:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
— Jaime Barber
Editor’s Note: Each semester, the Marquette County
Health Department accepts student interns from NMU to review a community
health concern and report on how the community addresses it. Barber
is this year’s intern. MCHD family health education coordinator
Betsy Little had a need to locate free meal sites for the low-income
population. She asked Jaime to help. The poverty rate in Marquette
County is all too high at nearly eleven percent of the population
including six percent of all families. Good nutrition can be difficult
if you don’t have the means to pay for it.
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