This is beautifully written. And such a well-crafted redemptive ending: I got myself a beat-up old glove on eBay, and it’s one of those extensions of the human body, like a bicycle or hammer, that seem to give you superhuman power without feeling unnatural. There’s a sound a hardball makes — smacking into the pocket, the glove emitting a cloud of brown dust backlit by the setting sun on a cool fall evening — somehow that sound is right and good and true, and perhaps merits the anthem and parade and prayer.
I enjoyed it so much, I spent a few minutes googling "little league magazine submissions" -- but then I suspected that publishing such a fine essay on hubski was also pretty good. I publish stuff here and nowhere else. It's here if I need it. but one kind of wants the good stuff to get out there. I'll pm you my one-woman-show if I haven't already. It might make you giggle.