You've come a long way.
It's not Baby of which I write, though. You've come a long way St. Albans. And Charleston Catholic. And certainly Kanawha Valley baseball.
When Saturday's action at Appalachian Power Park was completed, the Valley wrapped up its most successful baseball season since the tournament went to three classes in 1984.
You have a Class A champion in Charleston Catholic. You have a Class AAA champion in St. Albans. You have a Class AAA runner-up in Hurricane.
The best showing ever.
"That's good for the Kanawha Valley," said St. Albans coach Rick Whitman. "There has always been good baseball down here. I mean, when we go to the beach, Myrtle Beach, our teams always compete well.
"But baseball around here has really stepped up."
In the last two seasons Jefferson, Bridgeport and Wahama have been your champions. This weekend, however, the Valley decided to make a statement.
"It's great," said Hurricane catcher Jake Allen. "It really shows the commitment of people around here. It's a great thing to be a part of."
Let's zoom in to the aforementioned teams though. To reach Saturday's showing, Charleston Catholic had to come a long way - from extinction.
"I think it was 1994 when our program went to Mrs. [Deborah] Sullivan, our retired principal, and to her credit she gave us the nod," said Irish coach Bill Mehle. "Coach [Frank] Scagnelli, who was our AD at the time, God rest his soul, said, 'OK let's give it a roll.' We had a meeting in the gym and we had about 18 guys that said, 'Yes, we want to play baseball. We haven't played since Little League.' I said, 'OK, let's go.' "
In 1997, Charleston Catholic was 3-27. On Saturday, it went all the way to an 8-2 Class A championship victory over top-seeded Ravenswood.
St. Albans likewise won 8-2 over a top seed in Hurricane. It was the Red Dragons' first baseball title. And not only did St. Albans come a long way in regard to history, but from the beginning of the season.
"We scrimmaged [Hurricane] at the very beginning of the season," said Whitman. "We played nine innings and it was 1-0 [Redskins]. I don't think we got a hit. Both teams were much better at the end of the year."
"We've come a very long way from there," said Red Dragon shortstop Casey Kemplin. "During the regular season [Hurricane] beat us. We've come a long way."
"Both times we came out aggressive," said the Redskins' Allen. "But the ball didn't fall like it did in the scrimmage. We didn't get the luck today. It didn't work out for us."
There's not a thing to be ashamed of though. Not this season. Not if you were part of the Kanawha Valley baseball scene.
"It feels great," Kemplin said. "It's been an honor to play for this team. More kids are coming out to play. I mean, it's fun to play baseball."
"Kids play a lot more than when I played," Hurricane coach Brian Sutphin said. "The fields are better all around. People take more pride in it. It's more a year-round sport. Instruction is better. We've just evolved."
Into champions.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.