Follow up on the "too good" youth pitcher

From Deadspin via Romenesko.

There was the story some time ago about a youth pitcher, Jericho Scott, who was banned from playing in a youth league in New Haven because he was so much better than everyone else.

Well, according to this writer, the story wasn't quite what it seemed:

http://deadspin.com/5339976/the-ballad-of-jericho-scott

 

Good story.

You know, the story never is what it seems, is it? It's disheartening to see how often we can rush to report stuff like this and just get it all wrong.

 

Scott Boras is kicking himself while on the way to the bank to cash in the Strasburg commision.

 

Awesome story. I had completely forgotten about this kid, and, now looking back, it's amazing how the attention seemed to come to a complete halt so quickly.

 

As a youth sports parent, coach and BLOG!er, I will say that Fehrman's piece is spot-on, and that the problem of misreading of a youth sports blowup is not confined to the usual media suspects. In 99 percent of these cases, the "too good" player is a convenient excuse when a kid gets kicked out because of parental and league politics. The problem is that whenever these things get outside the league's hothouse, they're seized on by anyone with an agenda that is either:

A. Further evidence of the pussification of America.
B. Further evidence that parents are using youth sports to ruin children.

When, of course, it's always more complicated than that.

(For the record, I was once involved in a situation where another coach and I moved a kid up -- he was the kid's coach, and I was his coach the previous year -- an age level in a park district coed basketball league because he was "too good." It came after he blocked a shot that went back in one of my girls' faces and injured her right eye. We agreed that he was too strong and powerful for our league, and, more than that, that he wasn't going to learn anything playing against these kids. I'm happy to say it worked out well for everyone involved. And my girl came back and played the next week.)

By the way, ONE DAY after the Deadspin article appeared, WRTV in Indianapolis ran a story on a kid kicked out of a football league because he was, you guessed it, "too good."

http://www.theindychannel.com/sports/20458606/detail.html