In the course of growing up, it is important to learn that hard work does indeed pay off. My involvement with Little League Baseball has provided many examples of this, but none more dramatic than my son's experience.

My son, Josh, is twelve and has just completed his Little League season for this year. His story begins last fall in what we call "Fall Ball". To keep our players active as long as possible, we sponsor fall baseball. This gives them the opportunity to play new positions and learn from different coaches, as some of us know more about some things than others do.

Our emphasis last fall was on hitting and pitching, as those were the areas the coaching staff knew best. Josh had never before expressed an interest in pitching, but during that fall season he decided he wanted to pitch. He did show in practice that he could throw strikes fairly consistently, but had a slow and unorthodox way of delivering the ball to the plate.

Finally, we decided to let him pitch in a game. He began by striking out the first two batters, both all-stars from the spring season, but that was not an indication of things to come. Josh had trouble finding the strike zone and walked several batters. Only a strong hitting lineup prevented us from losing the game.

As the season progressed, Josh pitched three innings a week and did an adequate job, but regularly had problems with too many walks. We had a 10-2 record at the end of the season and Josh got credit for four of those wins as a pitcher along with one loss. He finished the fall season with a batting average of just under .700, which is nothing short of spectacular at any level of play. To put that into perspective, seven of every ten times he batted, he got a hit. He also averaged two runs batted in per game.

Throughout the winter, he expressed his desire to pitch in the spring season, specifically, to pitch in an all-star tournament game. Josh had been an all-star the two previous seasons and had progressed each year to the point that he would be a key player this season for that all-star team, providing he was selected. As the opening of the season approached, he spoke more often of wanting to pitch, and of his all-star goals.

When practice began, his spring manager, who had seen him pitch the previous fall, had decided to give him a chance in the pitching rotation. He began the season as the number four pitcher on the team. His first game experience was unremarkable, but he did seem to be confident in the three innings he pitched.

Josh was teamed with another twelve year-old pitcher, each pitching three innings, for several games, each of which his team, the Pirates, won. Eventually the week came when pitching was short and Josh had to pitch more than three innings. The first three went well, but in the fourth inning, he was tired and his lack of control showed it. He was taken off the mound and replaced.

More practice to build stamina was the cure for this. During the first part of the season, Josh had been hitting everything that had been thrown to him. He was leading the league in batting and runs batted in. It was nice to see Josh come to the plate and all the outfielders from the opposing team move back closer to the fence. The unexplained then happened, in two games, Josh batted seven times and struck out all seven times. This was a serious problem, as the team was depending on Josh to produce runs for them.

Knowing the severity of this problem, I took a Friday as a vacation day from work to take Josh to the batting cage to work out his problem. We also took that day as a day to spend together as father and son. Josh was scheduled to pitch that night against the third best team in the league.

We spent the day talking about baseball and even visited the park where he played his first two years of baseball. It was a very enjoyable day for both of us and a day we both will long remember.

Game time came and the entire family was there to see Josh play one of his best games ever. He had three hits, scored three runs and drove in four runs. On the mound, he had easily his best-ever game as a pitcher. He struck out twelve batters, walked one and gave up only three hits in the six innings he pitched. One of his coaches gave him a game ball, which he has on his trophy shelf with all the stats, the score and the date of the game. Together, we had solved his hitting problems and the end result was a "complete" performance for Josh in an 11-0 victory for the Pirates.

This performance gained him the number two pitching spot on the team for the rest of the season. To put this into perspective, the number one pitcher for the Pirates was THE best pitcher in the league. To listen to those who batted against him, there should be a statue erected in center field in his honor. This young man is also one of the best pitchers in Little League baseball in the area, which includes six leagues in three counties.

Josh's best game as a pitcher came in what turned out to be his last in the regular season. In six innings (in a light rain) he struck out sixteen, walked one and gave up only one hit in a 14-0 win. The Pirates finished the regular season as league champions with a 22-2 record. Josh led his league in batting and runs batted in. He was also 8-0 as a pitcher.

All-star selections were announced, and, as I expected, Josh was on the team. He was told he would get to pitch and would probably be the starting pitcher for the opening tournament game. This caused great excitement for him and me, but was not to be.

In the first week of practice, he strained a muscle in his pitching arm and for four days was unable to pitch at all. Exactly one week before the tournament opening, Josh was able to throw again. At this point, he was told that he might start that opening game, but nothing was definite. However, he continued to work hard in practice.

This season's tournament was a unique opportunity for our local team, because it was played on our own field. Home field is truly an advantage, especially in Little League, where each field has its own personality.

Opening day of the tournament came, and when the game started, Josh was in the first-base position. He produced three of his team's four runs in a 4-3 win, but was somewhat disappointed that he did not get to pitch.

The second day of the tournament came and that evening's game pitted our league's all-star team against the five-time defending champions. The opening inning was an ominous preview of what was to follow. The defending champions' first four batters hit the ball, but only one of them got on base.

The home team was unable to score a run in their half of the inning and in the second inning, the defending champions began showing why they were so successful. The first seven batters got on base, scoring five runs. It was time for a pitching change. The manager walked onto the field and pointed to Josh!

I had been watching the game through a camcorder's viewfinder up to this point. While Josh was warming up, I walked over to my wife's seat and said, jokingly "Do you have a valium?" Now to explain this, when Josh pitches, I pace. I am not allowed to sit and watch the game as the other parents say it brings the team bad luck! I was glad I had the job of "cameraman".

Josh came into the game in the top of the second inning with two runners on base, no outs, and pitching to a hot hitting team. This was a classic situation - do or die. He struck out the first batter, then after getting the ball back from the catcher after the third strike, threw out a runner attempting to steal a base.

Without describing the play-by-play, Josh shut down the opposing team. In his five innings, he struck out five, walked one and allowed only four hits and NO runs. The next day, the newspaper described his performance as "brilliant". Two local radio stations broadcast the tournament and the announcers raved about his performance. They could not believe he was able to shut down this explosive team the way he did.

After the game, you would not have guessed that our all-stars had lost 5-3. The entire team, coaching staff, parents - the entire league was ecstatic over the performance of this first-year pitcher. Parents from the opposing team were congratulating Josh for his stellar game. Josh and I were so excited that neither of us could sleep that night!

In the real world, there isn't always a happy ending to every story. The home all-stars lost again the following night and were eliminated from the tournament. The five-time defending champions did not defend their title and also eventually went home with two losses. However, for one twelve year-old ballplayer and first year pitcher, a dream did come true.