Randy Smith
Mom and Dad let him sleep in a bit on Saturday morning. Actually, he allowed his parents to sleep a few extra minutes on this Saturday. There would be three ball games for his all-star team to play in the Hixson Black and Gold Tournament. After a breakfast of waffles with peanut butter, he watched a little television and played with his cars and trucks in the den floor. Little brother came in the den and wanted to play with the vehicles as well, leading to a brief scuffle that was broken up by mom; who by the way is pregnant with a little sister that will be here in October.
Dad brought his uniform into his bedroom.
It was complete with a green jersey and gray pants. Though he hasn't yet learned how to slide, the new Rawlings sliding shorts went on first. Then the matching green socks, the jersey and finally the pants with a green belt. He wears his pants in the "old school" style. I believe he was convinced that was how to wear your baseball pants, rather than down below your ankles as most Major Leaguers do. His pants came just below the knees, showing most of the green socks. Former Braves star Chipper Jones wore his pants this way.
Then it was off to pick up his white pants at his grandmother's house. The new white pants had to altered a bit and his grandmother was just the person to do that. She also had altered a pair of pants for one of his teammates as well.
He arrived at the Hixson ball parks about minutes before the scheduled start of his game. Both sets of grandparents were now there to watch the first game of the day as his East Brainerd NightHawks would face the Ooltewah Owls "B" all star team. He wanted to make sure he had a jug of Gatorade in the dugout with him, and now he was ready. He opened his Under Armour bat bag, and made sure everything was in place. His Mizuno glove.....his Easton bat.....and his green Under Armour batting gloves. Everything was there. He was now ready to play.
He had a couple of good hits and drove in a couple of runs as his team scored a win over the Owls. Game two would be in a couple of hours, so there was time to grab a bite of lunch and rest before the next game. He went with his grandparents who drove through Zaxbys and got him a grilled cheese sandwich. Before the next game started, he was hit in the eye with a ball while playing catch with a teammate. It scared him more than it hurt, but he needed his mommy as he waited for the pain to go away. He cried a while, then within fifteen minutes was up and running around as if nothing happened. You could see the stitches from the ball in the area just above his left eye.
The next game was one of the best kids' games you'll ever see. The Middle Valley "B" squad scored a 26-25 win in the last inning, handing the NightHawks their first loss in the tournament. They would play again in another hour and a half and by now the kids were getting a bit weary. Have you ever thought how hard it would be to make thirteen six year olds sit down and rest for a few minutes. You can't. It's impossible. Nevertheless, when the next game began, they were ready. When our kid realized there would be another game and he would have to wait before going back to his grandparents house to swim, he cried again. He was okay when his parents reassured him, he could still swim when this game was over. He played well again and so did his team. They completed their "three game Saturday" with two wins and just one loss. They would play again on Sunday afternoon.
Needless to say, he was very tired when he got out of the pool Saturday night at 10:00 pm. His Mom had packed his pajamas and by the time he put them on, he was asleep on his grandparents couch. As he lay there, his grandfather thought the same thought that had gone through his head at least a dozen times that day; I love this boy so much. The kid has just two speeds; wide open, and nothing. He had nothing left in the tank. His dad carried him to their truck, and buckled him in his carseat and after a good night's sleep, the NightHawks would return to the Hixson ball park for more baseball. That's just the way it should be
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.
He can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com