The next Joe Morgan?

Had someone told me that Parker would be referred to as the next Joe Morgan after his second baseball game I would have laughed out loud and invited that person over to play catch with our big man.  But that is exactly what has happened.  Parker had his first game yesterday and his second game today and he is somehow a defensive wizard.  During today's game, two hard hit balls were hit in Parker's direction at second base and he snagged both of them without so much as a bobble and quickly beat the runner to the base to record an out.  If someone had a camera on me at the time they would have captured an ear to ear smile, as I was quite proud of my guy. 

Six weeks ago the boy had never worn a baseball glove and today I had someone tell me that he was meant to play baseball.  That comment, as well as the Joe Morgan one, are a bit extreme, but his development has been pretty remarkable nonetheless.

We were very happy to have Grammy and Pop at the game to witness Parker's wizardry, but also to help occupy Lleyton.  The little man does not like not having access to Parker for an extended period of time.  There was more than one occasion I had to intercept him before he ran on the field yelling, "I want to give Parker a hug!"

The field both of Park's games were at is adjacent to a very large, overgrown area that Lleyton loved.  He must have seen Swiper a dozen times over the course of the two games.  Here he is trying to  bait him out of the weeds and brush with his baseball.

Parker's game is a little one dimensional right now, as his offensive prowess has yet to reveal itself.  That being said, he did make contact twice during yesterdays titanic struggle, highlighted by an RBI double down the first base line to end the game.  The talent is there at the plate, it may just take a few more practices before he is completely comfortable standing up there facing the pitching machine. 

After yesterday's game, as soon as Lleyton was allowed on the field, he took off.  He couldn't wait to race Parker around the bases.  The race wasn't totally fair, as Lleyton chose to skip 2nd and 3rd base, but he looked good doing it.

A few weeks ago I figured that Parker's games were going to be tough to watch, but after this weekend I can't wait until next Friday night when he laces them up again.  Go Bats!