The Baseball Observer - Jan/ Feb 2016
Are We Raising Cry Baby Athletes?
By Jim Bain
Unfortunately, with my age and schedule I don't have the time to watch little league baseball like I wish. So when the neighbors invited my wife and I to go to their twelve year old grandson's baseball game, we both jumped at the chance.
I almost wish I hadn't went. It'd be totally unfair to judge the state of our young athletes by what I saw at one ball game, but I was shocked at what I witnessed from the players of both teams.
By twelve years old players should be coming to terms with the basics of fielding, hitting and running, but that is not what I saw. Although the opposing team seemed to be the better coached team, most of their quality efforts were the skills of the individual players.
You're probably thinking "lighten up buddy, these teams may have been thrown together from the remnants of non-drafted players." I wish that were true, but this was a playoff game between undefeated and once defeated teams.
I was not impressed with the quality of coaching from either dugout, as there was little coaching to be impressed about. In order to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt, I can see the reasoning, although I strongly disagree,
with being a hardnosed coach during practices, then sit back at the game and see how well the kids have learned. Idiotic reasoning.
If you're thinking "I thought this was an article on the players, not lousy coaches," you were not wrong. Just wanted to set the scenario for you.
We all know the regulation strike zone called out in the rule book, but we also know each umpire has his own strike zone. This particular home plate umpire had a low strike zone, which I agree with, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the zone was called consistently and equally for both teams. You can not ask for anything any better from a plate umpire.
I guess it was the bottom of the second inning when what I began seeing astonished me. Despite a strike zone being firmly established, most players would stand and watch two called strike pitches go by without attempting a swing, which is not necessarily unusual.
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