ummer’s here, men! It’s time to get ready for family vacations, cookouts on the beach and that great American Pastime… pregnancy.

I realize that you were probably already running for your glove, but remember — well before we had Abner Doubleday’s great game, there was the Original Nine Inning Game. 

Besides the length of the game, baseball shares many other parallels with pregnancy and childbirth. In the spirit of both, here are nine of those similarities:

1. Don’t fall behind in the count. 

The Boston Red Sox just paid Daisuke Matsuzaka over a hundred million dollars to pitch strikes for them this year. Good starting pitching can never be underestimated.

Don’t let the worry (about what kind of father you are going to be, how you will financially support your new family, or if you will ever get to play Thursday night hoops with the boys again) ruin these early moments of your impending parenthood.  

You will have the rest of your life for those worries, so for now put them aside and CELEBRATE! Enjoy this moment. You are going to be a father and you still get to enjoy a full night’s sleep. For now, anyway.

2. Don’t be afraid to go to your bullpen.

The Fireman of the Year Award is given to the year’s best relief pitcher in baseball. Like any good major league manager, you should start to assemble your bullpen of relief pitchers before it’s too late.

At month three of my wife’s pregnancy, she was suddenly put on complete bed rest by her doctor and couldn’t sit up, walk or drive. With no family here in Los Angeles, and all ten of my sick days used up, we were very fortunate to have members of our church community help with transportation, food shopping, and laundry.  

Keep in mind that you will need help before and after your baby arrives.

• Build your support system of friends, family, and others who can pitch in to help.

• Try to save your sick days at work for emergencies.

3. “Buy me some peanuts and Crackerjacks…”

And whatever else she wants to eat. Remember, cravings are not some funny idea but a concrete reality that will hit you like a Roger Clemens fastball as you stumble out of bed at three-thirty in the morning to go buy a jar of kosher dill slices, strawberry milk, and a quart of cappuccino-fudge ice cream.

4. A player to be named later. 

In one of the most bone-headed moves of all times, the Boston Red Sox tossed minor leaguer Jeff Bagwell in as the “player to be named later” as part of a terrible trade they made with the Houston Astros. While Jeff Bagwell went on to play fifteen Hall of Fame seasons with the Astros, the Red Sox received two months of mediocre relief pitching from Larry Anderson.  

The lesson: don’t wait until the last minute before tossing out the name for your little ballplayer. If you don’t know the sex of your child then cover your bases by coming up with names for both sexes.

5. Don’t get your signals crossed.

In high school, it was one for fastball, two for curve and a touch of the cap was the sign. During your wife’s pregnancy, there is no play-by-play announcer pointing out the finer nuances so you have to learn to read the signs yourself. For me, an empty ice cream containers left on the couch was like getting a brush back pitch to the head. It signaled loudly and clearly that I should back off the plate and tread lightly around our house. And any complaints my wife had about her legs were always the sign to make some time to massage her feet.

6. The right equipment is essential.

Some ballplayers have up to four different baseball gloves and spend long hours tending to their bats. A car seat can’t be bought just anywhere. My wife clearly pointed this out to me one summer’s day in Los Angeles as I started to slow down at a yard sale in our neighborhood. The need for proper equipment cannot be overemphasized and there is a lot of it — so start to stock up now and don’t forget to register at the baby stores of your choice for the upcoming baby shower.

7. Set the table.

8. It’s the only game without a clock.

At month nine, my wife and I were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our son. It was time. It was week forty - let’s go! We were ready!

 Unfortunately, our baby wasn’t. Almost two weeks later, with more pressure-cooked moments than the Yankees-Red Sox ALCS Series we finally made that hurried trek to the hospital. Remember, it’s a time estimate, not a clock.

9. Touch all the bases. 

Unlike pregnancy, the parenting season goes a lot longer than nine months, so look at this as a lifestyle change and come into the Spring Training of your fatherhood in the best shape possible.

Play Ball!