New York Day 13

We had the early game on Tuesday, and rain was in the forecast. Our team played really well and stayed dry in the morning. It was a pretty easy victory as we beat a Colorado team 8-1.

Dax is enjoying playing on the Cooperstown fields.

There was just one pool game left, and it was against a pretty poor team. The rain was forecast to start at our 2 pm game time. Though it was windy and a little misty, we didn't get very wet. We pitched some of our expendable pitchers and still managed to win 15-1 in just four innings. That was a blessing as the rain fell hard on a few games later in the day.

Mark ended up running the scoreboard for most of the games.

In the afternoon we went to the Hall of Fame. All the boys and their families went, but we weren't really together. The boys liked seeing the plaques for the inducted players. Their favorite parts, though had to do with baseball cards. First, they made their own card, which was emailed to us. Then, they did a scavenger hunt and earned ten cards for finding everything on their sheet. Mom and Dad enjoyed all the Red Sox stuff, since this is Big Papi's induction year. We spent several hours wandering around the Hall of Fame looking at all the old memorabilia and thinking about the long history of baseball.

We are so proud of Big Papi!

We were excited to go to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

We wanted to take pictures by everything.

Oh boy, Seth was looking everywhere for Reggie Jackson.

Dad loves Jim Rice.

Mark took his photo by Ken Griffey Jr.

Dax chose number 18 as his uniform number in honor of Cool Papa Bell!

Seth lost a tooth in the Baseball Hall of Fame!

Big Papi's future spot in the Hall of Fame.

Mom loves this movie.

Nice face, Seth!

We are big Pujols fans this year, too!

Everyone was going to a restaurant after the Hall, and they saved us a seat. We enjoyed a meal with Dax and his team. While we were there, we got the good news. We'd finish in the top ten out of 50 teams. The best part is, that the way the tournament is set up, you get to skip a lot of preliminary rounds when you place that high. So when we enter the tournament, there will only be 10 teams left. If we win just a couple games, we'll be a finalist. If we finish in the top 8, we'll have tomorrow off!

Dax has some great kids on his team.

We loved being on this big trip together.

We were going to make s'mores over the fire, but because of the rain, we made them in the oven.

New York Day 12

Dax's team didn't play until 2 o'clock, so the coaches organized a trip to a bat making factory. It was really cool to see how a bat goes from a log to a finished bat. We saw them cut down the billet, turn the bat on a lathe, and then sand the bat. They customized the bat with a laser and painted it, too. Then it was ready to be used. We were so glad that they let families come and learn, too.

We learned so much about how these wood bats are made.

Dax really hates when I make him take pictures.

SO MANY bats!

Mark was excited to try a MLB wood bat.

This bat isn't quite finished.

The Barons!

We also went to the factory where they paint and dye the bats.

We watched them create lots of different designs.

These bats are signed by Mariano Rivera.

Since we had Dax checked out already, we took him back to the house for lunch. The boys played and watched a little TV, even though we wanted Dax to sleep, and then we took him back to prep for the game. The early game went well with the Barons winning 8-4.

Our little home was a fun place to hang out.

We loved where we stayed!

The grounds outside out airbnb were lovely.

Mom loves flowers!

There was also a trail to walk to a little stream.

The late game was against one of those awful teams that you hate. Their fans were nasty. Their players were jerks. Their coach was a clown of a cheerleader. Worse, they had three guys over six feet tall. We had a 6-1 lead at one point, and it looked like we might win, but since it's pool play, we didn't stick with our best pitching. We ended up losing 7-6, but mostly it only hurt because you hate teams like that. 

The night did end on a positive note. On our way home we saw some lights in the field. We stopped to look at the entire field was full of fireflies. It was so neat to watch them light up. We had never seen them before and can't wait to show Dax.

We watched a lot of baseball games!

Dax played great in the outfield.

Dax is a great base runner.

He is so speedy!

New York Day 11

They have a pretty impressive Opening Ceremony at Cooperstown. Dad went onto the field and earned a free t-shirt by doing the YMCA and singing God Bless America. Dax participated in a special event called the Road-Runner as he is the fastest person on his team. He had a great time, but wasn't one of the 5 qualifiers from the field of 75. In fact, our team didn't take any of the awards, but we had fun watching the home run derby, the golden arm competition, the road runner event that Dax raced in, and the around the horn team event.

We are ready to support Dax!

Dad was a good sport and went onto the field!

Dax's team during the parade.

Dax was excited to race.

He did well, but there were lots of kids competing.

This is the whole Coopertown gang!

At Coopesrtown everyone wears the same uniforms.

In the afternoon we drove into downtown Cooperstown. The team had arranged a tour of the Baseballism store. They talked about how they began, and showed us where famous MLB players have signed the walls, including Randy Johnson! We also walked down the main street and checked out a few of the souvenir shops. The boys' favorite was the one with hundreds of signed baseballs and cards. They were able to talk Mom into a couple of shirts and two bags that had 150 to 250 baseball cards in each for just $8. One was a Red Sox grab bag with all Red Sox cards, so they were excited, even though they got 24 Salvador Perez cards!

What? In New York!

I love putting pics of Dax wearing this hat because he hated it! But his whole team was wearing them!

The Barons at Baseballism.

The famous wall. He is pointing at Randy Johnson.

Seth was excited for Reggie Jackson.

We also checked out Double Day Field in Cooperstown, which is supposed to be the site of the first organized baseball game. There were two teams of men playing on the field, and we watched for about twenty minutes as they huffed and chuffed around the field. 

This is why Coopertown is considered the home of Baseball.

Dax with some of his teammates: Gray, Drevin, and Nixon.

We love watching any baseball, especially in such a historic spot.

Lots of the Barons team drifted over to Double Day Field.

There were a lot of people to take family pictures for us.

Then we had to get back for Dax's first game of the tournament. It was against a Houston team, and they had a big kid on the mound. Still, the Barons did great, winning 19-3. The game went long because there are no time limits, so it was 8:30 when it ended. Dax had missed dinner at the commissary, but we bought him something at the food court and sent him back to bed, hoping he'd sleep a little better!

Dax couldn't wait to play in his first game.

Dax played well in the outfield.