Straighting out the kid

stmaryrams · #1 (**permalink**) Tue May 08, 2007, 01:21pm

Had a situation Sunday, second game of a double header. I am assistant coach on an 8th grade team. My son gets called out on a third strike that he took. Great pitch, inside and at the hands, very hard to hit or swing at. Identical to the previous pitch which was also called a strike.

Kid comes over to the dugout, in tears, complaining that it wasn't a strike. I being a basketball and volleyball official, say "you should have tried to foul it off". The last pitch was in the same spot and also called a strike. He is still complaining about the call. I finally say "you can think what you want but you are sitting here and are still out". He's now so angry he heads to the car.

On Monday when he was calmed down a bit we finally discussed the situation. He now states he can't hit that pitch. It's too far in on him. I again suggest starting early and trying to foul it off or backing out a bit. I also expressed how well the opponent was pitching him. Started outside corner and then busted him inside.

He just started officiating soccer and I asked if he would put up with his behavior on the pitch. He seemed to get the point. Little bit of tough love but I will not put up with questioning and blaming officials for your failure. Worst part is he let his team down by getting so upset he couldn't play anymore.

johnnyg08 · #2 (**permalink**) Tue May 08, 2007, 01:32pm

Thank you for not being the "mommy and daddy make it okay and make excuses for him as to why that pitch was this, that or the other thing, we'll continue to see that..." Tough...if you're going to play baseball, get used to a pitcher making a great pitch every now and then...and taking a called 3rd for a borderline pitch.

waltjp · #3 (**permalink**) Tue May 08, 2007, 01:34pm

Sounds like you nailed it. Explain that the reason the pitcher tries to place the ball there is exactly because it's difficult to hit.

DG · #4 (**permalink**) Tue May 08, 2007, 09:25pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by stmaryrams

He now states he can't hit that pitch. It's too far in on him. I again suggest starting early and trying to foul it off or backing out a bit.

Coach - instead of suggesting stuff why don't you take him down to the batting cage, get behind an L screen and throw him some high inside strikes for about an hour or until he can consistently hit them, ever how long that takes. Suggesting is not nearly as good as doing and if it's a strike it is hittable

David B · #5 (**permalink**) Wed May 09, 2007, 07:08am

Quote:

Originally Posted by waltjp

Sounds like you nailed it. Explain that the reason the pitcher tries to place the ball there is exactly because it's difficult to hit.

Good advice. That's part of the game - there are places that are a strike which give the pitcher the advantage - that's part of the beauty of the game.

Maddox, Clemens, Glavine come to mind as masters of those spots.

The low outside pitch right above the knee comes to mind as my favorite when I was F2. When the pitcher could hit that spot we had a good night.

Thansk
David

mississippiump · #6 (**permalink**) Wed May 09, 2007, 07:48am

The kid started "crying"???? THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!!!!!

kengibes · #7 (**permalink**) Wed May 09, 2007, 08:22am

When I'm teaching younger players about the strike zone, I will ask them to describe where they think the strike zone is. Invariably, I get a lot of quotations (or attempted quotations) from the rule book.

I then tell them, "The strike zone is where the umpire is calling strikes today." I try to get them to understand that every umpire has his own application of where the strike zone is and it's very benificial to spend the first inning determining exactly where the umpire is calling strikes today.

stmaryrams · #8 (**permalink**) Wed May 09, 2007, 09:19pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by DG

Coach - instead of suggesting stuff why don't you take him down to the batting cage, get behind an L screen and throw him some high inside strikes for about an hour or until he can consistently hit them, ever how long that takes. Suggesting is not nearly as good as doing and if it's a strike it is hittable

Trust me DG, we hit tons. Machine at The Cage, me pitching to him, hit stick. I should acutally own one of the cages at the local park as we've spent so much time and money there. He's also working on switch hitting. He's always hit left and thrown right. He's getting much better at right but for now it's all or nothing. He crushes it or it doesn't leave the infield or the catcher's glove. We'll likely be back working on just pulling the inside pitch by starting early.

DG · #9 (**permalink**) Wed May 09, 2007, 10:06pm

8th grader who looks at two consecutive high and tight strikes, cries and heads for the car because he can't hit that pitch, but is working on switch hitting. What the heck does he think he is going to see from the other side of the plate? Sounds like he is 50/50 from the right side so if he is batting 250 left handed he should bat about 125 right handed so this is time wasted.

Don Mueller · #10 (**permalink**) Thu May 10, 2007, 09:41am

Quote:

Originally Posted by stmaryrams

Had a situation Sunday, second game of a double header. I am assistant coach on an 8th grade team. My son gets called out on a third strike that he took. Great pitch, inside and at the hands, very hard to hit or swing at. Identical to the previous pitch which was also called a strike.

Kid comes over to the dugout, in tears, complaining that it wasn't a strike. I being a basketball and volleyball official, say "you should have tried to foul it off". The last pitch was in the same spot and also called a strike. He is still complaining about the call. I finally say "you can think what you want but you are sitting here and are still out". He's now so angry he heads to the car.

On Monday when he was calmed down a bit we finally discussed the situation. He now states he can't hit that pitch. It's too far in on him. I again suggest starting early and trying to foul it off or backing out a bit. I also expressed how well the opponent was pitching him. Started outside corner and then busted him inside.

He just started officiating soccer and I asked if he would put up with his behavior on the pitch. He seemed to get the point. Little bit of tough love but I will not put up with questioning and blaming officials for your failure. Worst part is he let his team down by getting so upset he couldn't play anymore.

Sorry, but I'm looking for the tough love part, did I miss something?
14 year old kid gets rung up and starts crying, then gets angry and disses his team mates, coaches and Dad in a totally selfish act and walks out on everyone. The next day he's "calmed down a bit" and the discussion centers around the mechanics of how to hit a high and tight fastball.
The kid is 14 not 4, a summer away from high school. If a 14 yr old on my team pulls this stunt we're not talking mechanics, we're talking sportsmanship, respect and being a good teammate. Then based on his reception to this discussion I'd be informing him how many games he'll be keeping score in the dugout.
This type of behavior doesn't just appear at age 14 and if analogizing his actions to something on the soccer field is the best you can come up with then this type of response is bound to repeat itself.
How a parent and coach deals with this type of behavior is normally no one eles business, but since you posted it I feel the freedom to put my two cents worth in.