I know next to nothing about baseball. When in the right field during P. E. as a boy, I prayed the ball wouldn't come to me. It took a miracle（奇迹）for me to catch it. Yet I later became the father of two boys, Will and Tim（8 and5）, who were both interested in baseball. On Saturday mornings, I'd take Will out to the playground and play catch with him. Thanks to my weak arm, the ball dropped before he could catch it. After many misses one day, he said, "How am I ever going to make the major leagues?" "You got the wrong dad, kid," I thought. Baseball isn't my thing.
Still, I wanted to give my kids confidence on the field. There was an official Little League in our area, but it was super-competitive and primarily targeted older boys. What if we had something more low-key, something that welcomed boys and girls, and younger ones?
I shared the idea with some neighbors. "That would be great!" they said. Now who could organize such a thing? Not me. I tried to put the idea aside, but it wouldn't leave me. I finally decided that I must do something about it, So I called the city's recreation department, explaining that some families wanted to start a baseball league in our neighborhood. Were there any fields for that? They bounced me around. Finally, I spoke to the official in charge. I got butterflies in my stomach. What if he said no? "Yes, we have something for you," the man said, hearing my request. We got two fields for four hours every Sunday morning. Our league was founded. What a joy it was to sit on the benches, watching Will and Tim playing baseball! How grateful I was for other parents who did the coaching! And I became the most unlikely baseball commissioner（专员）ever.
Many years have passed. Now Will and Tim are new dads, and I can't wait to see what they'll have to do. I know better than anyone: Parenthood calls you to do the most unlikely things.
