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April 21, 2014Indians activate Jason Giambi, send Blake Wood to AAA
April 21, 2014I’m going to submit this video as evidence as to why MLB should never consider doing away with the intentional walk. (Not really.)
By the way, my favorite part of this video? Who is working audio production in little league baseball? Playing “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” while the kid rounds the bases? I don’t know whether I’m impressed or horrified.
Also, I’ve got to say in all seriousness I ended up feeling really badly for the pitcher. I know those parents were having tons of fun with it, but it was at a kid’s expense. Yes, kids need to learn how to lose and lose with grace, but that might not necessarily have to include having a kid hit a homer while being intentionally walked. I mean, really, he was attempting to walk the bases loaded anyway.
I’m getting soft in my old age. I’ll be against keeping score in no time, I’m sure. (Again. Not really.)
21 Comments
It’s funny because of the parents,though they sound like they’re hardly the encouraging type, and the song.
But
as someone who was a “late bloomer,” I feel the pain of the kids who
are likely the same age as this guy but half the size. When you watch
the Little League World Series every year you figure out real quick how
those teams got there, there’s a 12-year-old with a pubescent mustache
playing first and a kid who is 6-2 throwing 12-to-6 curveballs on the
mound. I didn’t need to shave really until I was 18, alas. Even the
Japanese bring 180-pound 12-year-olds these days.
Anyway, it’s
funny but I identify with the kid who’s trying to walk the early
maturer, who is probably lauded by the parents as a star but really just
hit the genetic lottery for little leaguers. Maybe the big dude is a
great kid. But hitting that homer was sort of a dick move. If I was
counseling the pitcher after the game, I tell him to remember this day
and go steal that kid’s girlfriend when you’re both 17.
I remember Danny Almonte in the Little league world series back in the day. They probably should have figured he was too old when he used to drive to games.
Such a tough age window for leagues. That said, the pitcher needs to pitch better. When you can’t even pitch *around* a kid, you know you’re in trouble. The fact that that kid went yard is excellent.
This^. Absolutely. The pitcher might be embarassed here, but I hope his coaches instructed him on the proper way to intentionally walk someone. It’s a learning opportunity, administered by another kid. I mean, it’s not like the batter stepped over the plate to hit it – it was an INSIDE pitch (or at least over the plate). No harm done whatsoever (except on the scoreboard).
After thinking about this all day, I really don’t like this video anymore. I’m probably making a mountain out of a molehill (as my mom would say) but I just feel sorry for the pitcher. I hate how much joy the opposing parents took in it as the music production played in the background.
I would never tell a league to stop keeping score or do away with real competition and winning and losing, but this just feels unnecessary and at one kid’s expense.
For those who feel sorry for the pitcher, or better yet, dont like the batter’s/parents response, I have a question: Can’t this situation be solved by the coach telling the kid, “Don’t feel bad, we’ll work on it so it wont happen again. Ive seen worse things.” I mean, the batter is just doing his job, and the parents are proud of their kid. No harm in that. And the pitcher can learn valuable lessons in life and baseball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LCpdeOOLE4
I don’t think hitting the homer was a D move. The batter is supposed to stand in the box and if there is a pitch he can hit, hit it. I don’t want teams to let up on other teams. I think that sends the wrong message. If your team is constantly getting crushed, figure it out in the offseason whether it be work out harder, or practice the fundamentals.
All’s fair with pro players.
I don’t want teams to let up on each other either, but there’s a difference between pulling punches and clowning a kid by hitting what’s supposed to be an intentional walk and then having hype music blaring as you round the bases.
I guess I don’t have much problem with the kid as much as I’m kind of grossed out by the whole scene that the “adults” have created around these kids. It feels like it’s less about the realities of baseball here and more about clowning this kid pitcher. At that age, it seems wholly unnecessary. I really wouldn’t have a problem with it if it was a varsity game in high school, for example.
Having been around Little League for a while, I would bet anything that the PA system is run by 13 or 14-year old brothers of the kids playing the games. They likely play music after every home run, irrespective of the team – and aren’t paying enough attention to know how each home run is hit. Your point is valid, though, that this is a silly construct created by presumed “grown ups,” and it’s stupid – but I wouldn’t read too much into it.
I’m overly sensitive and I know this. 🙂
Yeah, I am quickly approaching this issue. I know the kids were just trying to have fun, but there has to be balance. My wife bought my two boys (almost 5 and 3 yo) handmade overalls. The boys were pissed to wear them because they thought they looked like girls (i did not argue with them on that one). Then when we get to church, a lot of the men were laughing at them out loud right in front of them. Some people just have no class.
If this baseball game was part of a tournament, or some other fun league, i can see where music is ok, but the parents are sometimes ridiculous. Not something I am looking forward to.
What league are they playing in where they actually throw the pitches for an intentional walk? I have literally never seen that in youth baseball- hell, I believe in Ohio High School, you can still just say “I want to walk this guy”, and they put him on first base without the pitches.
Texas Pony Leagues make pitchers pitch the intentional walk. It is part of the game and the pitcher should be responsible to do it properly.
it’s definitely a fine line and it’s tough as a coach to figure it out most of the time where to fall on the competitive/sportsman side of things. Some of the things you can do to win are definitely in a gray area.
in this case, I would always instruct my hitters to be ready even when being intentionally walked. the pitcher could try to sneak one over the plate (or do it accidentally as above) and if they get ahead in the count, they may actually pitch to you from there. and, do you ever tell your batter to not hit a HR?
however, I get the aftermath and how it hurts the pitcher and that is up to the coach to instruct the parents to cheer but to know the situation. the music is likely just an every-HR thing. if I was the pitchers coach, then I’d be out of the dugout immediately and on the mound. instruct him to the obvious (gotta keep those pitches outside), but also encourage him in that mistakes happen and it’s no big deal. now, they got you, so go and get this next batter (and leave him in for it). kids often surprise you in how resilient they are when you give them a chance to be.
i always thought that Little League had the ol’ 4-fingers rule, where you just throw up the 4 and the guy gets first base. wouldn’t that just be the better thing to do here?
I don’t like dumbing things down so that more people can participate. I want the cream rising to the top. It’s amazing what human beings can accomplish if they are challenged. blah blah blah.
The moral of the story: don’t throw the ball over the plate when you’re trying to intentionally walk someone.
Best advice I have (not that you asked) is to be your boys’ coach. You can’t control how other parents act, but you can influence how your sons and their teammates respond to it.
uptick x1000.
and, you do somewhat control how the parents react. the major pains will be major pains, but you still set the bar to how off the handle the parents go.
I’m of the mind that the batter did nothing wrong. He didn’t appear to be hot-dogging at all, and the pitch was right down the middle of the plate. What’s he supposed to do?
The DBs in this video are the adults running the camera, who clearly have NO affiliation with the batter (or presumably his team), since they call him “kid” at least once (implying they don’t know his name, which in turn implies they are not parents of any kids on the team, as you would most likely know all of your kids’ teammates’ names). They are actively ROOTING for the pitcher to get embarrassed, and then laughing about it when it happens–presumably loud enough that the pitcher and/or his parents could possibly hear them.
I have a two-year-old son, and I sometimes worry what the climate of youth sports will be in 5-10 years when he’s old enough to get into a sport he likes. And I’m referring to the parents around the sport, not the kids themselves. Kids act like their parents act, so trash-talking, show-boating kids probably have trash-talking show-boating parents (or at least parents who are tolerant of it).
The second my son wins or loses without class we will have us a sit-down.
As for anyone upset over the kids not letting up, there’s a mercy rule.
God knows my softball team needed it last year.