GILPIN COUNTY - With the Colorado Rockies sitting in the cellar of Major League Baseball seemingly bent on setting an all-time record for futility, the best action this year may have been found at the nearest ballfield.

While in the pros it takes six months and 162 games to sort things out, locally it only takes six weeks and six games for the Gilpin County Parks & Recreation Coed Youth Baseball League to do the same.

Spring training lasted merely two weeks before the League’s first contest on June 14, on the road against Clear Creek.

There are four different levels of baseball, depending on the ages of the kids.

T-Ball is where the baseball is set on an elevated tee at home plate and children between ages five and six do their best to make contact.

With the kids being brand new to the sport, the games are sometimes chaotic, with children running in all different directions. The kids have a blast and it is great fun to watch. Neither errors nor runs are recorded.

Having a season or two under their belts, the next step in the kids’ baseball education is the Coach Pitch classification for seven- and eight-year-olds.

With a coach pitching overhand on his knees between the pitcher’s mound and home, the kids begin learning batting technique. The fielding and throws become sharper. At a position unfamiliar to me, the center infielder sees considerable action and the games are often high-scoring.

Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners currently leads the Big Leagues with 42 homers knocked out of the park. In Gilpin’s Coach Pitch division, there is Henry Bliss.

On Saturday, August 2, he recorded two home runs including a grand slam. He hit one ball so hard that it split the cover of the baseball.

By the time the kids have reached the ages of 9 through 11, they are ready for the Minors. This year's squad won a bunch of games and had one tie. Each of the players improved their skills significantly and they came together as a team.

The Major League is for 12-, 13-, and 14-year-olds. Their game against Clear Creek last Saturday, August 2, resulted in a 6-0 victory. They might have scored more if the contest had not been called in the third inning because of lightning in the area.

The win capped off a successful year in which the Majors registered a 5-1 record. Coach James Peterson thanked everyone involved and added that “The kids played really good ball this season.”

The bats and gloves have been put away for now as kids approach the upcoming school year. But look for the boys and girls of summer at Weber Park and Pete Gones Memorial Park next June in Gilpin County.