Specialty: The T in T-ball

T-ball: I never knew there was such a game till my first kid hit age six. For those who don't know, the game — and we use the word loosely — is the precursor to Little League baseball. Play is similar to baseball and softball, with a few exceptions. For instance, kids swing at a ball (which, to their endless glee, they usually hit) perched on top of a “T” — much the way a golf ball rests on a tee. Of course, the T-ball T is positioned in the batter's strike zone, which can be anywhere from two to three feet above the ground.

Another exception: there's no official scorekeeping at a T-ball game. This is a good thing, because final scores resemble a basketball game more than a baseball game.

Each team has its own “uniform,” which are actually different colored T-shirts. What makes them unique is that each team has the name of a sponsor emblazoned across the back of the shirt. Almost without exception, sponsors are local businesses that, even in the worst of times, support community sports programs.

Kids become attached to these shirts and save them for years. They may even sulk when they discover they've outgrown a special one. The shirts are a measure of childhood. Unfortunately, they've also become a measure of independent retailers.

Recently, as I watched my granddaughter play in her first T-ball game, I couldn't help but reminisce about my kids' T-ball seasons, thankful that I could experience another generation at bat. At the same time, I felt a twinge of remorse over the team sponsors that emblazoned T-shirts throughout my kids' sports careers: Main Stationery, Walker's Hardware, Seugling's Appliances, Stanton's Drugs, Patti's Presents — all gone.

As my granddaughter hit a grounder to third, I was lifted from my reminiscence by seeing the back of her tee-shirt as she crossed first base. It read: Antiques Plus.

Another generation at bat; another generation of independent retailers. It's a home run for specialty.