What, a Tee in Minors?

[ohiogray]

I manage a team in the boys minors (ages 7-10), in my hometown Little League organization, this year being my first. In the past I have managed T-Ball. Having a son in the system I have done just about everything to help this league out. Not only do I manage but I also serve on the board as public relations and boy minor division commisioner. I believe in teaching the gentlemen (players) the correct way to play and educating them in hopes that they will learn something and continue to build off of that in the following years to come. I have also surrounded myself with just as equal assistants. I have the players parents who have no complains about our team or the way in which we conduct it.

In the years past I have been told that former managers, which most are out of the boys minor system, complained that scores got out of hand. So they enforced the 10 run rule which did nothing but end the game sooner. I can respect this rule and understand it.

The Board decided that something needed to be done to stop the walkathons. This year the Board decided to try the following: The pitcher will pitch to the batter and if after ball four is called, if not called out on strike 3 prior to that, the batter will no longer be awarded 1st base. Instead, the tee comes out and the batter is given one swing at the ball and if hit fair resume with regular rules. If swung at and missed, or hit foul the batter is out.

This ruling has me along with my assistants and some parents terribly upset and displeased with their lack of thinking. I have stated that the problem lies within the "so-called" baseball managers who do not take the time to educate their pitchers on the art of stance, windup, delivery, follow through and then recovery or fielding. I have also stated that the umpires should open up the strike zone to force the players to take more swings. I have already instructed my players to swing at balls that are 2 maybe 3 ball widths on either side of the plate. I refuse to have my players golfing or swatting flies though.

What the mentally challenged board also cannot understand is they think they may solve the problem in the boys minors when in all actuality they have moved it upward and into the boys majors. At this I chuckle. To me this hurts the players. They have lost the true pride of America's sport. Players leave Tee Ball to go to the minors in hopes of no longer hit off of a tee, use a ball that is not so spongy (RIF), have an umpire calling balls and strikes, base advancing, sliding and keeping score. Their claim to fame is the boys minor division is now an instructional system. As you notice I have referred to Boys Minors, this rule for some reason does not apply to the girls minor. To me our league has a T-Ball lower division and a T-Ball upper boys division. When registering the players the cost difference between Tee-Ball and Boys Minors is $5.00 but at time of registration they failed to inform the prospective boy minor players' parents of this rule.

Yes, other solutions were talked about to try like coach pitch or machine pitch, but the problem there is the pitcher is now not given a chance to develop and the majors would be relying on a player that has the given talent to pitch.

I have been asked to umpire some games in the minors but have refused to do so for 2 reasons: most importantly I manage a team in that division and it would not be just let alone what others would think. Even though the UIC has said if I wanted to ump he would clear it with the 2 managers. The other reason why I will not is because to me, I would not be doing my job as an ump in stopping this travesty of stripping a walk away from a batter after he has earned it and then call him out for hitting a ball foul off of a tee.

Sorry for the length. Does anyone out there have any suggestions. I have every intention of finishing this year with the players being I did make a commitment to my players, parents, assistants and myself.