A Little Leaguer, a Major Effort

Many would have given up, but not Kevin York of Temple City. His first two years of Little League baseball were torturous. Despite his best efforts, he didn’t get a single hit (“A Swing and a Miss,” April 22).

Players made fun of him, Kevin became frustrated, coaches fumed. His family watched him suffer from the stands and would have understood, perhaps even preferred, that Kevin set baseball aside.

But he was was determined to move forward and signed on for a third year with a new team, the Indians. Six games into the season, he smacked the ball down the first-base line beyond the outstretched arms of the opposing first baseman. The ball rolled into right field. Parents were on their feet. Kevin was safe at first and scored later in the inning.

It was a defining moment for Kevin, now 9. He finished the season with 17 hits and a batting average of 0.202. The Indians finished in third place with a record of 12-8.

“You wouldn’t believe how that changed him,” his mother, Karen York, says. “It was a big boost for his self-confidence. It was like squeezing a watermelon seed. He just really took off.”

After the season, a possible explanation was discovered for some of his problems on the field. A nonmalignant cyst was discovered in Kevin’s left ear. Surgery was performed to remove it, and his hearing has improved.

Last summer he played on a YMCA basketball team for the first time, and he has signed up for baseball again in the spring. He’s hoping to improve his defensive skills so he can play an infield position. Maybe even pitch.

He’s already practicing at home in preparation for next season.

So far, three broken windows.