Look closely at the youngsters fielding the towering blasts that fall just short during tonight’s Home Run Derby and there’s a good chance you’ll see the Chattanooga Khaos 12-under softball team.
One of four such squads chosen by Major League Baseball to attend the Midsummer Classic at Phoenix’s Chase Field, the Khaos are made up mostly of kids who never have played the sport before, hence the nickname.
“They’re the Khaos because that’s what it was the first couple of practices – pure chaos,” said co-coach Michelle Taylor of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation, which sponsors the team.
“They’d put the glove on the wrong hand. They’d put it on backwards. We finally had to tell some of them that you throw the ball with the hand you write with. Eight weeks ago they didn’t know anything, but to see them now, I’ll be surprised if they don’t hold their own.”
If you are becoming a tad bit confused at this point about how a softball team whose roster is filled with players so inexperienced they don’t which hand to put a glove on can receive a trip to the All-Star game, background is required.