Rick Reilly raises ethical dillema in youth sports

[suburbia]

I know it is Rick Reilly, but he does raise a very good, albeit hardly new, issue with his column here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/08/07/reilly0814/index.html

What would you have done, keeping in mind all parts of the context here?

 

[Songbird]

Take it easy on the kid because he has cancer? No, you treat every kid the same.

I loved the kid's line at the end. Sure, he cried himself to sleep, but he woke up with great clarity.

Good story.

 

[zeke12]

I'd have done what those coaches did.

As a coach, don't you have some obligation to try and help your team win? If it's the choice between pitching to their best hitter or their worst hitter with the game on the line, I'd have probably walked the kid.

When I played catcher in Little League with a rag arm because no one else wanted to, I don't recall anyone not running on me... Granted, I didn't have cancer, but the kid was healthy enough to play ball...

Flip it around. What do those coaches tell their own players if the best hitter on the other team gets a hit? And, if the kid with cancer gets a hit, doesn't he end up on sportscenter and the ESPYS? People can't have life both ways.

 

[FantasyAlliance.cm]

If the game is serious enough to have a championship, you try to win the championship. If you don't want any feelings hurt, and you subscribe to the theory that "it's just a game" at that age, than they shouldn't play a championship, because it is taking the game pretty seriously to play for the title.

 

[OTD]

You have to walk the stud. Why are they hitting the cancer kid behind the stud anyway? Was the Sox coach hoping they'd not want to face the cancer kid?

It's not fair to the players for the coach to do anything buy his utmost to win the game. And despite what Reilly says, this wasn't for fun, it was for the league championship.

 

[Ashy Larry]

Very good story.......and no way I wouldn't have pitched to the best player.
The coaches of the Yankees had a chance to teach their team (who are children) an important life lesson and they failed beyond belief. I guarantee not one kid playing on that field will come close to playing professional baseball....but they will all have situations in their life where they can choose to be compassionate and understand the plight of others, or be selfish and do whats best for them.

 

[beefncheddar]

Intentional walks in a game with 9- and 10-year-olds. God, that's pathetic. Pitch to the kid and try not to give up a homer. Get the next kid out and go to extra innings.

I'm ridiculously competitive, probably to a fault. But an IBB in that game, championship game or not, is ridiculous.

 

[beefncheddar]

Very good story.......and no way I wouldn't have pitched to the best player.
The coaches of the Yankees had a chance to teach their team (who are children) an important life lesson and they failed beyond belief. I guarantee not one kid playing on that field will come close to playing professional baseball....but they will all have situations in their life where they can choose to be compassionate and understand the plight of others, or be selfish and do whats best for them.

Not only that, but in five years they won't remember one damn thing about that game. And that's true whether they won or lost.

But congratulations to the coaches on winning that 9-and-10-year-old league championship. Maybe Texas will need an assistant coach or two in a few seasons. That'll look good on the resumes.

 

[zeke12]

What's the life lesson: Don't play to win?

I mean, it would be one thing if the coach asked the kids to throw at somebody or something. They walked the best hitter to pitch to the worst hitter with the game on the line.

If the other coach is doing his job, how does that even happen?

 

[Ashy Larry]

Intentional walks in a game with 9- and 10-year-olds. God, that's pathetic. Pitch to the kid and try not to give up a homer. Get the next kid out and go to extra innings.

I'm ridiculously competitive, probably to a fault. But an IBB in that game, championship game or not, is ridiculous.

My thoughts exactly....the "thrill" of that Championship will last for a few weeks at best...and they'll always know they won it because they chose to pitch to their peer with cancer.  That's a great lesson.

 

[Buck]

The kid's playing baseball. Those things happen when you play baseball.
Coach did the right thing.

 

[Ashy Larry]

What's the life lesson: Don't play to win?

I mean, it would be one thing if the coach asked the kids to throw at somebody or something. They walked the best hitter to pitch to the worst hitter with the game on the line.

If the other coach is doing his job, how does that even happen?

The life lesson is there is more to life than sports......especially when dealing with 9 and 10 year olds.  By Sept. that Championship will be a distant memory.........I'm willing to bet half the Yankees care more about Madden 2007 than the damn game, the coaches had a chance to show impressionable children sometimes doing the right thing is more important than getting a trophy, and in reality that right thing is the trophy.  

And the coach also showed how little confidence he had in his team, and pitcher.  If they're truly the best team, beat the best player.

Edit: I wouldn't have a problem with the coaches decision if the kids weren't so young, there 10 years old! But I'm sure they all got a trophy anyway.....probably every player in the league got a trophy.

 

[FantasyAlliance.cm]

Pitching to the weakest batter is no different than stealing a base on a bad catcher.  The fact that he was recovering from cancer shouldn't change the situation.  If he had recovered enough to play baseball, than you shouldn't treat him differently.

 

[Buck]

Baseball's a situational game. That one of the things the kids are learning.
When the kid's parents signed him up and kept him in baseball, they should have considered that disappointment is often a part of sports.

 

[zeke12]

Ashy, no offense, but that's ****ing stupid beyond belief.

If I was a player on the team and we needed one out and could pitch to either their best player or their worst player, I wouldn't have even looked into the dugout. I'd have stood up, put my hand out and walked the kid myself. And if my coach had come out and said we had to pitch to him out of some misguided code of honor, I'd have told him he was an idiot.

What about the pitcher if he gives up a home run to lose the game? He doesn't count because he doesn't have cancer?

Each coach looks out for his own players. The other coach ****ed up by having his lineup configured the way he did at the end of the game.

End of story.

 

[beefncheddar]

I agree in the sense that it's not about the kid having cancer. Frankly, he's probably used to making outs.

Maybe the league I played in was different. Or maybe my memory is just shot. But I can't remember anyone ever getting an IBB until I was in much older leagues.

I mean, seriously. No IBBs. No bunts. None of your freaking major-league strategy. They're 9- and 10-year-olds. Let them play the ****ing game and stay the **** out of the way. What's next? Drilling kids on purpose? Oh yeah, we've already had that, too, huh?

I love sports as much as anybody, but I'm DREADING getting my kids involved. Just because of jackasses like these guys.

 

[zeke12]

I bunted for hits in little league all the time, especially if I knew the other team was hiding a ****ty fielder at third. And I did it on my own.

One thing conspicuously absent from this story: Reilly mentions that everyone has to play. I'm wondering if the opposing coach had the option to hit for the kid with cancer, or if he threw him out there in the last inning and thus had to let him hit (that would go a long way toward explaining why he had his worst hitter hitting behind his best).

Something tells me Romney's coach is the one who screwed the pooch here...

 

[Ashy Larry]

Ashy, no offense, but that's ****ing stupid beyond belief.

If I was a player on the team and we needed one out and could pitch to either their best player or their worst player, I wouldn't have even looked into the dugout. I'd have stood up, put my hand out and walked the kid myself. And if my coach had come out and said we had to pitch to him out of some misguided code of honor, I'd have told him he was an idiot.

What about the pitcher if he gives up a home run to lose the game? He doesn't count because he doesn't have cancer?

Each coach looks out for his own players. The other coach ****ed up by having his lineup configured the way he did at the end of the game.

End of story.

I'm sorry if its "stupid beyond belief".....I fail to think so when dealing with kids.  

Pitch to the best kid, let him try to beat you.....I'd prefer that a 10 year cancer survivor doesn't need to feel like he let his whole team down.  But you know,....I guess he should just suck it up right.  ****, everyone's got problems....tough luck with the cancer, but man up and get a hit right?

 

[beefncheddar]

I bunted for hits in little league all the time, especially if I knew the other team was hiding a ****ty fielder at third. And I did it on my own.

One thing conspicuously absent from this story: Reilly mentions that everyone has to play. I'm wondering if the opposing coach had the option to hit for the kid with cancer, or if he threw him out there in the last inning and thus had to let him hit (that would go a long way toward explaining why he had his worst hitter hitting behind his best).

Something tells me Romney's coach is the one who screwed the pooch here...

How old were you when you were bunting for hits?

And, FWIW, I'm stunned this was even a pitching league. I could be way off, but I don't remember full kids-pitching leagues until around 12-years-old or so.

 

[zeke12]

He, or his parents, signed up for baseball.

If he's that sick, he shouldn't play. If he's well enough to play, play.

I suppose none of the other kids on any of the other teams in the league have problems or illnesses. Is every team supposed to keep a book and devise special rules so as not to emabarass them?

I'm sympathetic to not humiliating the kid, but what's humiliating about this? It's baseball. People strike out all the time. And, frankly, the kid had a perfect attitude about it. He's going to be a better hitter. Good for him.

I hope the next time, he hits one out.