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Thursday, Jul. 17, 2008

Warner Robins boy takes a swing at the big time

WASHINGTON -- When Parker Byrd was at bat Wednesday, the sky was a brilliant blue, the temperature a broiling 92 degrees and the White House stood imposing in the background.

Still, the the 6-year-old son of Warner Robins residents Mark and Amy Byrd kept his cool. He'd been looking forward to this moment ever since state Rep. Larry O'Neal's 300-word essay on his behalf netted him a coveted slot among the 51 Little League Tee Ball players from all the states and the District of Columbia to play in the annual "all-star" tee ball game on the South Lawn of the White House.

Parker said he awoke at 6:33 in the morning just to prepare mentally for the special day.

During the game, Parker, wearing jersey No. 1, took his place as the first hitter for the South's team with all the aplomb of a much older kid ... 10, maybe even 11 years old at least.

Claude Lewis, a longtime youth sports advocate in Warner Robins - and one of the inventors of tee ball - was impressed with Parker's gravitas as he looked on from the stands.

"It made me think back to when his father's daddy was younger, and the mayor, and all those other players," Lewis said. "It was a good feeling. After all these years they're still playing by my rules."

Byrd's first swing of the bat? A miss.

The second swing sent the ball sailing and he loped to his favorite base, first. Parker later gave the third base coach a high five and then chugged into home to score the first run for his team.

The rest of his team's turn at bat was a blur. After all, no one was keeping score, being tagged out didn't preclude a player from staying on base, and some kids, such as the player from Arkansas, were actually more interested in the after-game hotdogs.

The kid from Kentucky left the field teary eyed at one point and then burst into tears anew and ran off the field when she met President Bush for an after-game photo. The kid from Florida sent the ball sailing over the short fence surrounding the field and hammed it up for the crowd.

During his turn in the outfield, Parker managed to once again finagle his way into a position near first base despite being originally placed just between first and second base.

"He's always talking about first base," said Mark Byrd. "I saw him lobbying for it."

But those powers of persuasion didn't net Parker any extra time during his quick photo session with the president. And while his parents and Lewis were awed by the White House's manicured grounds, Parker was more interested in tracing figures in the dust under a tree on the White House lawn.