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Pitcher throws too hard, banned? Check. Coach refuses? Check. Lawyers? CHECK!

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by TheSportsPredictor, Aug 25, 2008.

  1. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Agreed. Greatness should be appreciated, not penalized.
     
  2. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    My favorite memory of high school baseball is coming back a year later and watching a game with a friend on my old team.

    It was the last inning, we were down by 1 and the opposing pitcher was throwing BBs.

    Coach has my friend pinch hit with two outs. He strikes out. Not even close.

    He throws his helmet, smacks his bat against the dugout and yells, "Dammit. Why did he put me in there anyway?"
     
  3. StraightEdge

    StraightEdge Guest

    Eeeeeeeexactly. He's too good too close to championship time (as if that should matter at this age level).
     
  4. StraightEdge

    StraightEdge Guest

    Re: Pitcher throws too hard, banned? Check. Coach refuses? Check. Lawyers? CHECK

    That's better.
     
  5. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    From the AP story ...

    "Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators."

    Another team (the one in second place right now) invited him to the league, too. Apparently, they didn't think this kid would pose a safety issue, because otherwise, they never would have invited him.
     
  6. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    I'd really like to ask these parents if they are afraid of their kids getting bruised or their kids' egos getting bruised.

    When I was 10, I bugged my LL coach all year to let me pitch. He saw my wicked sidearm motion and held me off as long as he could, but we played an "exhibition" game after the regular season, and he sent me out for the fifth inning.

    Fifteen (15) straight walks, I worked through. And the coach had heard enough all year; he was leaving me in to twist in the wind. Finally, I called him out there and told him my arm was sore.

    That took care of me for about four years. Then at 14, I got the itch again. I thought I had really good stuff. One summer afternoon, we were playing home-run derby at the Senior Division field. I went out to pitch, and my best friend was the hitter. I was determined to show I could pitch. I mean, I threw strikes now. And I had a good arm. Really I did.

    My best friend, a .350-hitting, line-drive, singles-slashing outfielder, took his first full swing of the entire damn summer and hit my first pitch 350 feet over the right-center field wall.

    I never pitched again.
     
  7. Wenders

    Wenders Well-Known Member

    I've been to many a LL game where it's the parents in the stands yelling that is embarrassing the kids more than the kids' actual actions.

    The solution: either let the kid pitch with his current team and the rest of the kids can learn to battle through it, or move him up to a higher level. Penalizing the kid for just being slightly more advanced is crazy. Think about it: when a kid is slightly smarter than the rest of the kids in his class, do they kick him out of school? No, they're more likely to move him up into more advanced classes.
     
  8. dog428

    dog428 Active Member

    Re: Pitcher throws too hard, banned? Check. Coach refuses? Check. Lawyers? CHECK

    I love the idea that somewhere there is a "developmental league" for 8- and 9-year-olds.

    It's LITTLE LEAGUE, for God's sakes. The whole thing is a developmental league.
     
  9. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    Not necessarily. Some of these kids started at 5 and are already traveling. The kid who just picked up a bat and ball, competitively speaking, at 8 or 9 has no chance against these kids. Yes, it's all developmental, but you wouldn't know it by watching some of these travel leagues.
     
  10. Seahawk

    Seahawk Member

    Travel leagues by the time kids are 9 is silly.
     
  11. Brooklyn Bridge

    Brooklyn Bridge Well-Known Member

  12. KG

    KG Active Member

    Around here, if you don't start out by four years old on the t-ball team, you'll be the kid that is behind and no one wants on the team.
     
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