First Baseball Practice

[King Crimson]

i played on one of those de facto all-star teams stacked by the draft organizers. hehe.

man, if kids don't learn the fun of jumping yer bike of some crazy nonsense without a helmet and the thrill of a good roman candle fight down at the river....they are like fat, prissy house cats.

[War Wagon]

If a kid wants to quit the game because he plays on a winning team, he's a fucking quitter.

No, he's a dumbass.

[Dinsdale]

Mike

It's April 19th, you live in Texas, and you're having your first practice?

Somethings wrong with this picture.

Yeah, there is something wrong...your fucking IQ. Might want to reread that ol' thread title, and make note of the author while you're at it.

Or was that supposed to be some clever variant of "I know 88 is starting practice, but what is Mike?"




There's something else wrong with this pictute, too --

And the tie came in the last game of the season, on the road, against an undefeated team. And it knocked them out of the playoffs.

Wow, competitive league. Undefeated doesn't even get you a sniff of the playoffs.


The older a man gets, the faster he ran as a boy, eh 88?

[War Wagon]

Yeah, there is something wrong...your fucking IQ. Might want to reread that ol' thread title, and make note of the author while you're at it.

Or was that supposed to be some clever variant of "I know 88 is starting practice, but what is Mike?"

I was misinformed.



Swap Mike for 88 and Texas for Ohio, and it's what I meant to say, you ASS.

[SoCalTrjn]

the 15 HRs and his play at short shows that he hasnt quit, he would just rather play on a real team than the team he has played on which is full of 9 and 10 year olds but is supposed to be a Majors team.

My oldest sons travel team lost in the National finals last year in Orlando, he knows what its it like to lose. Before that he played on other travel teams and little league teams that didnt win it all, I dont think he has won a season end championship since he was 8. My younger son has never been on a great team.
Neither of my sons were on teams where the parents are asking the coach to quit and the team gets blown out by 8 or 9 runs every game. Thats the case for my cousins sons team, theyre on their third coach through 12 games or so. The kid likes baseball and he is great at it but he doesnt take it very seriously, he races MX and BMX nationally Baseball is just something he does 4 months a year, he would rather do something else than show up to have his team get stomped twice a week

[KC Scott]

Mike

It's April 19th, you live in Texas, and you're having your first practice?

Somethings wrong with this picture.

No shit.

My 6 and 8 yrs. olds both started first week of March. The 8 yr. Old just had his first practica game last night.

And we're behing some of the tourny teams out here. They started indoors at Dugout sports / sports city and the new place in Lee Summit back in January. There were teams in 7 yr. Machine pitch that played 60 games last season.

fuckin' insane.

88 - since you've got an older boy, you already know this - but the first season of kid pitch is wiithout a doubt the most boring 90 minutes or 6 innings you'll ever spend on a diamond. Walk, Walk, Walk, Hit by pitch, walk walk, strike out, HBP, walk, walk, etc.

[Mister Bushice]

Yeah, there is something wrong...your fucking IQ. Might want to reread that ol' thread title, and make note of the author while you're at it.

Or was that supposed to be some clever variant of "I know 88 is starting practice, but what is Mike?"

I was misinformed.

It's spelled "malformed"

You're welcome.

[Terry in Crapchester]

There's something else wrong with this pictute, too --

And the tie came in the last game of the season, on the road, against an undefeated team. And it knocked them out of the playoffs.

Wow, competitive league. Undefeated doesn't even get you a sniff of the playoffs.


The older a man gets, the faster he ran as a boy, eh 88?

Back in the day, going undefeated didn't guarantee you a spot in the playoffs. Ohio started a state football playoff system in 1972. Until the 1980 season, Ohio only had three divisions (I, II and III), and only 4 schools in each division made the state playoffs (total of 12 teams in the entire state). The teams were selected based on a complicated computer scoring system in which you got primary points for wins, but secondary and tertiary points based on the wins the teams you beat got later in the season. In 1980, Ohio expanded the playoffs to 5 divisions (I, II, III, IV and V) and to 8 teams in each division (total of 40 high schools). Even then, occasionally an undefeated team would not get in if they didn't get love from the computer, and 1 loss or a tie was almost certain death in terms of post-season playoff hopes. Now, 32 teams in each of five divisions (160 schools) make the state playoffs. In 2001, a 6-4 St. Ignatius team snuck into the playoffs and won 5 in a row to win the State Div. I title.

Since we're going Al Bundy and all . . .

Back when I was in high school, New York didn't even have a state playoff. In fact, there weren't even sectional playoffs until I was a freshman in high school. When the sectional playoffs were added, there were only two schools per class (at the time those were AAA, AA, A, B, C, and D). Your class was based on your enrollment, and you were where you were, you couldn't change it. In my senior year they expanded the sectional playoffs to four teams, but every team lost a regular season game as a result.

Somewhere along the line after I graduated, they added a state playoff, I'm not exactly sure when that happened. Each of the eight sectional winners in each class qualifies for the state playoffs. Along the way, the AAA and AA classes disappeared and then re-emerged, although the AAA class exists only at the sectional, not state, level, so there's a playoff between the AAA and AA sectional champions for the right to go to the state playoffs.

The sectional playoffs now include eight teams per class. They're chosen based on a points formula that factors in both wins and strength of schedule (at least in theory). You get +5 points for a win against an opponent in your own class, -5 points for a loss against an opponent in your own class, +6 points for a win against an opponent in a higher class, -4 points for a loss against an opponent in a higher class, +4 points for a win against an opponent in a lower class, and -6 points for a loss against an opponent in a lower class. With six classes and eight teams per class qualifying for the sectionals (48 teams total), it's not uncommon to see a team sneak into the sectionals with a losing record, particularly in the lower classes, where the point system sometimes rewards those teams if they beat a bigger school along the way.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Swap Mike for 88 and Texas for Ohio, and it's what I meant to say, you ASS.

Fwiw, until yesterday the temperature never made it out of the 30's in these parts. IIRC, Cleveland's weather is pretty similar to ours.

Completely understandable that baseball practice didn't begin until recently under those circumstances.

[Mr T]

He wants to quit baseball because his team sucks so bad, his mom wont let him and her dad has started coaching after the original coach quit and took his son with him to the local Pony league out there. Thats the kind of stuff I have tried to avoid with my sons and have been selective of what teams they have played on. I tried to get my nephews mom to let him come play on my team, even told her my wife would come pick him up for practice and games so she wouldnt have to drive the 30 miles, but she wouldnt allow it.
That poor kid has asked to be traded after every single game and told his mom he was going to quit baseball if she didnt allow him to play on Uncle Erics team.
winning matters to kids

Yeah fuck life lessons. If you aint winning, it aint fun.

:roll:

Dude, these kids need to learn life is hard and you dont always win.

Nah fuck it you are probably right, teach your kids if they arent having everything go their way then cry home to momma or shoot up the place.

[SoCalTrjn]

He learns that he cant win every time when he races MX nationally, there they will have 60-70 riders and only 1 will win.
What he learns from his little league team is that no matter how shitty and weak certain pieces of the puzzle are, weaker parents setting the rules will kepp that weak link on the team.
If that was a life lesson why isn't there a 10 play or 2 inning rule in High School, College and Pro Sports? hell why not let the weakest surgeons operate on your heart? The worst lawyers plead your case?
That kid knows winning and losing, what he doesnt need to be bothered with is being the only one on a poorly coached team that knows what he is doing.
Since his stepgrandfather took over as coach they have ran 0 laps, 0 wind sprints, done 0 pushups, 0 pull ups and have had 0 pitching coaches come to work with their pitchers and no hitting instructors working with their batters. That kid is wasting his time on that team.

[Mr T]

If that was a life lesson why isn't there a 10 play or 2 inning rule in High School, College and Pro Sports? hell why not let the weakest surgeons operate on your heart? The worst lawyers plead your case?

You are comparing little pre-teens to grown ass men doing a job.

You are a dumbfuck, just in case no one has told you

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

You are comparing little pre-teens to grown ass men

Works for me.

-eccf

[SoCalTrjn]

compared a 12 year old to a HS freshman as well, I guess the 2 years he has til he is in 9th grade are going to be years where he develops by leaps and bounds. When to they stop being only 10 or only 12 or only 14? Is there some kind of manual or slide rule? Set higher expectations for them and they will achieve more

[smackaholic]

so let's see if I get socal math.

10=12
12=14
14=18
18=22
22=30

therefore, according to some fukking rule I learned in about 3rd grade,

10=30

[SoCalTrjn]

He learns that he cant win every time when he races MX nationally, there they will have 60-70 riders and only 1 will win.
What he learns from his little league team is that no matter how shitty and weak certain pieces of the puzzle are, weaker parents setting the rules will kepp that weak link on the team.
If that was a life lesson why isn't there a 10 play or 2 inning rule in High School, College and Pro Sports? hell why not let the weakest surgeons operate on your heart? The worst lawyers plead your case?
That kid knows winning and losing, what he doesnt need to be bothered with is being the only one on a poorly coached team that knows what he is doing.
Since his stepgrandfather took over as coach they have ran 0 laps, 0 wind sprints, done 0 pushups, 0 pull ups and have had 0 pitching coaches come to work with their pitchers and no hitting instructors working with their batters. That kid is wasting his time on that team.

The lesson to be learned is that no little league coach knows how good any of his players will be when they reach high school and that he needs to work with every kid, make it fun for them, and give them a chance to develope their skills and fundies. I've seen and coached a number of kids at age 13-15 who were not the most talented of players, but who developed into quality high school players. I've also seen the "star player" get passed over by the lesser talented kids by the time they reach high school. Some kids mature earlier than others and no one can project their future talent level. Little League coaches should be developing all of the players, not just the good ones, and turn all of them on to baseball, not turn them off.

Mace

My nephew is a going to be a late bloomer, he's tiny at 5-1 and 85 Lbs, I just dont think the kid is going to play baseball many more years because he has so much going on with the other things he is involved in.
I went to one of his games and that team was horrible, they had kids who tucked their pants in to their socks. They had 2 kids that were afraid of the ball when it was pitched to them and a third of the team couldnt even catch or throw the ball when they were warming up. They would drop routine pop flies, one kid was even sitting down in right field during the game.
If there was anything there to develop then the coaches could develop it, they have a team of ADD kids that would rather be at home playing play station. The coaches cant even get them to pay attention to the game when their team is at bat. Its the effort that I would not be able to handle if I was that teams coach
If I was the coach Id take the 4 real real bad kids and just run them all day at practice, then tell them the game starts 2 hours after it really does so they stop hurting the other kids chances at having a good time.
Luckily I dont have to worry about that with my team, even the dreaded 9 am start this morning didnt keep my team from giving 110% and playing their hardest for each other
My nephews team has about 4 decent players, they had a real good catcher at the start of the year but he left with his dad to go play in the Pony league out there.
That team is a disaster and Id just hate to see something like that spoil the kids enjoyment of baseball, luckily he doesnt have to suffer through more losses this and next weekend because his dad is taking him to Bakersfield, CA and Gonzales, LA for races.

[SoCalTrjn]

my kids are big for their age, the 11 yr old is 5-2 and 125 lbs, the 9 yr old is 4-11 and 90 lbs. My nephew is just teeny tiny skinny but is strong as hell and would whoop my 11 yr old, his dad was that way til 10th grade then he bulked up, dudes 6-3 and close to 230 lbs now but still acts like a little guy.
Brendons mom is tall too, that kid will probably hit 6-5 but will likely be under 200 lbs til he is 19 or 20.
I dont think my kids have ever been in a fight, I know my nephew has been in a few, when he was about 3 years old for Xmas I did that thing with him where he's running through the trees, theyre on the left and theyre on the right then i tapped him on the forhead and said "you hit a tree." Lil shit punched me in the nose and then again in the face, I bit my lip and was bleeding, he might give your kid a run for his money, my kids would just make friends with yours.

[Cicatrix]

Lil shit punched me in the nose and then again in the face, I bit my lip and was bleeding,

RACK the lil' shit that hit paydirt.

[Mr T]

compared a 12 year old to a HS freshman as well, I guess the 2 years he has til he is in 9th grade are going to be years where he develops by leaps and bounds.

Its called puberty you fucking moron.

When to they stop being only 10 or only 12 or only 14?

The law says 18, you may say 10 but I am going to have to go with 18 on this one.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

my kids are big for their age, the 11 yr old is 5-2 and 125 lbs, the 9 yr old is 4-11 and 90 lbs. My nephew is just teeny tiny skinny but is strong as hell and would whoop my 11 yr old, his dad was that way til 10th grade then he bulked up, dudes 6-3 and close to 230 lbs now but still acts like a little guy.
Brendons mom is tall too, that kid will probably hit 6-5 but will likely be under 200 lbs til he is 19 or 20.
I dont think my kids have ever been in a fight, I know my nephew has been in a few, when he was about 3 years old for Xmas I did that thing with him where he's running through the trees, theyre on the left and theyre on the right then i tapped him on the forhead and said "you hit a tree." Lil shit punched me in the nose and then again in the face, I bit my lip and was bleeding, he might give your kid a run for his money, my kids would just make friends with yours.

Jesus, dude. Get a fucking grip. Thanks for the literal and analytical breakdown. That post from 88 was called a "joke."

[Quad McWheels]

Ohhh man, love all the chatter about high school ball.

I loved my playing days in little league. I was mostly a bullpen catcher/pinch runner but I was pretty fucking good. I remember the day I got called up from T-ball to the show cause Jason Knolte's birthday party was on the same day as one of our games and half of the team didn't show. I played first base and not much happened, baseball-wise, out in the field. I did manage to get in a pretty good fight though. Some dickhead tried to score from third when I dropped a pickoff play at first. It only rolled three feet away and he broke for home. I threw home and gunned him down. I mean the ball hit him in the mouth. The first base coach was like his dad or something and started getting all up my face and our coach was yelling "look at him, there's no way that was intentional" (yeah, I get what he meant all these years later). Anyway, I was kind of laughing and then while the two coaches were yelling at each other I pretty much got my ass kicked. That was pretty embarassing.

Now I get the good seats at MLB games due to not being able to walk. Scoreboard.

[Mister Bushice]

SoCalTrjn got beat up by a three year old. Lets focus on that.