Last night Caden had a game in a neighboring town. They played this team their second game and lost. The boy's were understandably anxious to play and win this time.
The first inning was exciting, but no runs were brought in by either team.
The second inning started and one of our best pitchers was up (they rotate most of the kids in and out of different positions throughout the game). He was throwing strikes and we had two outs when the boy up to bat jumped out of the way, kinda stumbled and got hit on the foot by the ball. He got walked to first.
Next boy up to bat, 1 strike, 2 balls and ducked from the ball and got hit in the helmet! He got walked to first.
Next boy up to bat, 1 ball and leaned away from it - the coach yells at him go get back in the batters box and let that ball hit him! I'm like WHAT? are you freaking kidding me? Another ball thrown and I swear the kid moved right in front of it and got hit on the hip! He got walked to first.
Bases loaded with kids that got walked! What in the hell is going on here?!
Next boy up to bat, 2 strikes and 3 balls before and I'm not even kidding you, it looked like he moved in front of the ball too and got hit on the arm! He got walked to first. One run in!
Through all this our pitcher is feeling like crap. You can see it in his posture. Like he is really screwing up. We all encouraged him that he was doing fine - shake it off, but it had to seriously mess with his head.
The boys finally got that third out and the inning was done. damn.
These are young boys. Most are nine and ten years old. They are learning the sport, working on technique and what I think is most important SPORTSMANSHIP.
Was it right for that coach to tell his boys to let the ball hit them? Does winning mean that much you would put the kids in harms way? Our pitcher had NEVER had any kind of an issue with hitting batters with the ball previously, so what was going on here?
The next inning that we were in the outfield I think our coaches had to put the same pitcher out to build his confidence back. He did very well and didn't hit any boys. Their team got a few hits but no one made it home.
Last inning of the game we were up and loosing 1 to 0. Our second batter jumps out of the way of a throw, gets hit on the elbow and falls to the ground. The other team starts laughing. Another ARE YOU KIDDING ME moment! When it was clear that he took a nasty hit they finally stopped laughing. He got walked to first in a hail of clapping from all the parents.
We lost the game 1-0. Our boys played wonderfully and held the other team to just the one run. I think they ended the game much better than the other team and held their heads high.
Caden struck out both time's he was up to bat, but was instrumental in getting all the outs to hold the other team to just the one run.
Who knew elementary school baseball would be so competitive or crazy?
and YAY it's Friday! Hope you have a good weekend. I've got the next three days off!
The first inning was exciting, but no runs were brought in by either team.
The second inning started and one of our best pitchers was up (they rotate most of the kids in and out of different positions throughout the game). He was throwing strikes and we had two outs when the boy up to bat jumped out of the way, kinda stumbled and got hit on the foot by the ball. He got walked to first.
Next boy up to bat, 1 strike, 2 balls and ducked from the ball and got hit in the helmet! He got walked to first.
Next boy up to bat, 1 ball and leaned away from it - the coach yells at him go get back in the batters box and let that ball hit him! I'm like WHAT? are you freaking kidding me? Another ball thrown and I swear the kid moved right in front of it and got hit on the hip! He got walked to first.
Bases loaded with kids that got walked! What in the hell is going on here?!
Next boy up to bat, 2 strikes and 3 balls before and I'm not even kidding you, it looked like he moved in front of the ball too and got hit on the arm! He got walked to first. One run in!
Through all this our pitcher is feeling like crap. You can see it in his posture. Like he is really screwing up. We all encouraged him that he was doing fine - shake it off, but it had to seriously mess with his head.
The boys finally got that third out and the inning was done. damn.
These are young boys. Most are nine and ten years old. They are learning the sport, working on technique and what I think is most important SPORTSMANSHIP.
Was it right for that coach to tell his boys to let the ball hit them? Does winning mean that much you would put the kids in harms way? Our pitcher had NEVER had any kind of an issue with hitting batters with the ball previously, so what was going on here?
The next inning that we were in the outfield I think our coaches had to put the same pitcher out to build his confidence back. He did very well and didn't hit any boys. Their team got a few hits but no one made it home.
Last inning of the game we were up and loosing 1 to 0. Our second batter jumps out of the way of a throw, gets hit on the elbow and falls to the ground. The other team starts laughing. Another ARE YOU KIDDING ME moment! When it was clear that he took a nasty hit they finally stopped laughing. He got walked to first in a hail of clapping from all the parents.
We lost the game 1-0. Our boys played wonderfully and held the other team to just the one run. I think they ended the game much better than the other team and held their heads high.
Caden struck out both time's he was up to bat, but was instrumental in getting all the outs to hold the other team to just the one run.
Who knew elementary school baseball would be so competitive or crazy?
and YAY it's Friday! Hope you have a good weekend. I've got the next three days off!
4 comments:
That coach needs to be replaced! He is NOT teaching his team a single "good" thing...If my kid was on his team, I'd be irate at what he was teaching him!
Oh I soooo hate kid sports. There is always an asshole who is living vicariously through his own kid or wants to win at all costs... ugh.
He's a bad coach.
First of all, these are really young kids and don't really need to be putting themselves in a situation where they could be hurt. They're supposed to be learning the game and having some fun. They need to develop the insticts to know when they are in a really dangerous situation and when it might just hurt a bit.
Second, he doesn't know the rules of baseball. And apparently the umpire doesn't, either.
I'm not sure what rules your league plays by, but back when I played (Babe Ruth was still a kid, I think...) we generally followed the standard baseball rules except where the size of the field and certain other particulars due to our age, like length of the games, took effect.
If the batter doesn't try to make an effort to get out of the way, they are not awarded a base.
From: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/batter_6.jsp
6.08
The batter becomes a runner and is entitled to first base without liability to be put out (provided he advances to and touches first base) when --
(b) He is touched by a pitched ball which he is not attempting to hit unless (1) The ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, or (2) The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball;
If the ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a strike, whether or not the batter tries to avoid the ball. If the ball is outside the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a ball if he makes no attempt to avoid being touched.
APPROVED RULING: When the batter is touched by a pitched ball which does not entitle him to first base, the ball is dead and no runner may advance.
Maybe you could ask them what the rules are they play by.
Good information, thanks Avery.
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