BRISTOL—Mary Thompson looked at me with a polite smile when I asked if she knew who Dustin Pedroia was.
Her silence said it all. She had nothing. No recognition. No idea.
Just a slow shake of the head.
For a brief moment, I wondered if I should have gone even farther back.
Joe Morgan? Nellie Fox?
Then I remembered I was talking to a 12-year-old Little Leaguer, not quizzing someone for baseball trivia.
I told Thompson to Google Pedroia when she got home. I don’t know if she ever did.
This much I do know, however. After spending the early part of the summer watching the Bristol Little League Softball’s 12-year-old All-Star summer run, and seeing Thompson patrol second base, I couldn’t shake the comparison.
Pedroia was never the biggest player on the field. He was simply the player who attacked every ground ball like it had offended him personally. He played with relentless energy, wasn’t afraid to get dirty and somehow always seemed to be around the baseball.
That’s what I see every time Thompson takes the field.
Whenever a ball is hit toward second base, I catch myself watching her.
She plays the position the way it was meant to be played. Quick feet. Constant movement. Zero concern for whether the uniform survives the inning.
Maybe that’s why she caught my attention.
Or maybe it’s because, about 105 years ago, I was an undersized Little League second baseman, too.
I’m exaggerating, of course, Slightly.
“I like the infield because I like the quick reaction times with hard grounders and line drives,” Thompson said. “I like the middle infield because you get to cover second base sometimes on throws. Sometimes first base on bunts, too.”
It’s a wonderfully uncomplicated answer.
Second base keeps her involved in every pitch.
Ground balls. Line drives. Relay throws. Bunts. Cutoffs. Covering the bag.
For Thompson, the action is the attraction.
“I like to just try everything to get the ball,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if I do or not, but just try my best, 100 percent.”
That may be the simplest description of her game.
She might not reach every softball.
The effort is never in question.
As I write this, only 12 Little League Softball 12-year-old teams are left standing in the world and all will be playing in the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, N.C., starting this weekend.
Maybe it’s numerology that Thompson wears uniform number 12.
She has been Bristol’s starting second baseman since she joined this group as a 10-year-old, a role she knows had to be earned on one of the deepest Little League teams in the country and the world.
“It’s really cool because it’s really hard to be a starter because everybody on this team is good enough, too,” she said. “I’m glad that I have put in all the extra work for this spot.”
The work shows up in the dirt on her uniform.
It also shows up in the dugout.
Bristol manager Adam Whitlock calls Thompson one of the team’s natural leaders. Not because she has a title, but because she instinctively knows when her teammates need someone to speak.
Rather than always addressing the team himself, Whitlock will sometimes step into the middle of a huddle and simply ask for a leader.
More often than not, Thompson answers: “Guys, we need to put up some hits. Let’s get some runs. Hits on three.”
According to Whitlock, Thompson and teammate Lucy Bastiaanse, Bristol’s shortstop, naturally fill those moments.
“She is a good leader, not by title, but by action,” Whitlock said. “Mary’s my vote for president. I think she’s going to be president. That kid could do it.”
That may be my favorite scouting report of the entire summer.
She’s not just making plays at second base. She’s helping drive a team that has spent three years winning together.
“It’s been really special because we’re an amazing team on and off the field,” Thompson said. “It’s been a great experience that not many people get to have.”
In North Carolina, Thompson’s goals are refreshingly simple.
“We all want to make friends and have fun, but we also want to play our best game,” she said. “Hopefully go as far as we can.”
That feels like the perfect mission statement for 12-year-old baseball.
Play hard.
Make friends.
Try to win.
And if a ground ball is headed toward second base, don’t be surprised if Mary Thompson is already moving.
After all, she’s a far better second baseman than I ever was back in the day.
And, she may not know who Dustin Pedroia is, but I’ll give her a pass on that one.
After all, she plays a lot like him.
(From The Dugout is a regular column written by CT Softball Blog Publisher John Nash)
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