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Clothes Make
the Kid
There's
something about putting on a sports uniform that feels
really terrific--that makes you feel like a real big-leaguer.
Do you
remember the first time you put a sports uniform on? I
remember the first time I did.
When I was 6 years old, my older brother Rich played for the
Dodgers in the town Little League. I went to every game with my
dad and
dreamed of the day when I would play baseball and wear a real baseball
uniform.
The Dodgers coach was a kind old man named Mr. Upton. He had
coached Little League for years. One day, Mr. Upton saw me in the
stands
and asked if I would like to be the team's bat boy.
Mr. Upton didn't have to ask twice.
I raced down on to the field in my jeans, rolled up over my
sneakers, T-shirt and baseball cap (I always wore a baseball cap).
For
weeks, I collected the bats, kept the equipment organized, cheered
for
the team and felt a little closer to my dream.
Then one Saturday, I was playing baseball with Rich and my dad at
the park near our house. I saw Mr. Upton's old car coming around
the
corner. Everyone knew Mr. Upton's car. It was so beat-up that he
let his
dog, a droopy bloodhound, live--I mean really live--in the backseat.
Mr. Upton parked the car, let his dog out and asked me to come
over. As I stood next to him, Mr. Upton grabbed a bag off the torn
passenger seat. He reached into it and pulled out a Dodgers uniform.
Not
just any Dodgers uniform, but one that his wife had fixed to fit
a
6-year-old kid: me.
My first real uniform. I didn't take it off for a week. I even
slept in it.
It made me feel like a real big-leaguer.
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