http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/08/07/reilly0814/index.html?cnn=yes
I’m not usually one to just post a link and run, but this just makes me sick. At first, there seems to be an attempt to frame this as some sort of ethical dillemma but that approach seems nothing more than pure crap.
The coach of the opposing team is a scumbag for what he did. Sadly, the kids parents are also scumbags for making a big deal about this.
He was just showing who the “Big Dog” was, right?
I don’t have much problem with the parents making a loud ruckus about it. It’s an asshole move by the coach, and I cannot stand that kind of shit.
I don’t really get this. What’s a PONY league game? The kid who had cancer was not a pro ball player, right? He’s there as some sort of charity event? Why is it a bad thing to let him bat, then? Sorry, I’m really sports-ignorant, and I don’t get why this is an outrage.
It’s 9 and 10 year olds.
So these aren’t the “real” Red Sox and Yankees playing? It’s like a junior version?
Also: would it be considered unacceptable to have walked the really good player if the next guy was healthy, but really sucked at baseball?
It’s not a bad thing to let him bat. It’s a bad thing to intentionally walk the good batter in front of him knowing that you can win the game by striking out the kid with the shunt in his brain.
I was kind of hoping that the umpire would call four balls and give him the base.
It just further embarasses the kid. While it’s definitely an asshole move by the coach the kid shouldn’t be made to feel further shame or have his weakness emphasized. I mean the incident’s on National tv now. WHen I struck out in little league my parents didn’t complain so loud it got on tv.
That would have really sucked.
The teams had nothing to do with the professional Yankees or Red Sox. They’re just two little league teams that picked those names (which is pretty common) and were playing for the little league (well, PONY league) championship.
Ok, guess I’ll take the other side then…
It’s baseball. Them’s the rules.
Somebody’s got to win, somebody’s got to lose. It’s bad enough it’s one of those stupid leagues where everybody gets to bat in every inning. That isn’t baseball, that’s batting practice.
If it’s an asshole move to walk the slugger, it’s at least as big of an asshole move to put the crappy kid with a shunt in his brain right behind the slugger, so you can make a big stink about it if the opposing coach wants to use some strategy.
Okay, that clears things up quite a bit. I was picturing this guy pitching to someone like this, and that just didn’t seem fair no matter how much cancer the kid had.
If walking a good batter is a punk-ass move generally, then this is especially punk-ass. But if it’s an acceptable strategy, I dunno. Seems like the other team is giving itself an unfair advantage by having such a weak, yet sympathetic batter come up right after their best hitter. It pretty much forces the other team to pitch to him (and maybe lose the big game) or look like a bunch of assholes.
Also, the KID HIMSELF seems to realize it’s part of the game. From the column:
If he’s not broken up about it, why in the world should everyone else be? It’s the adults making this a huge deal that are the idiots here.
What did his mom say, the other coach had to know because “Romney’s cancer was in the paper …”? I sincerely doubt the boy’s cancer was in the paper – I’m guessing it was, you know, her son who was in the paper, and maybe they talked about the cancer he had. To frame the answer in that manner sounds a little bit like she’s made it an obsession to me.
That is an interesting point.
What if the kid after the good slugger was just a crappy hitter? He’s just as likely to be upset for losing the ball game for the team. Perhaps we need a new rule for little league. No intentional walking allowed.
So the coach is supposed to let the other team win, because they put a weak kid in the lineup behind their star player, knowing this choice would have to be made? What about the kids on the team playing the team with the ill kid? Isn’t their coach supposed to do what is best for them?
To my mind, if the kid was that frail, he shouldn’t have been playing in a regular baseball game that other kids are playing to win. And if he isn’t that frail, this is just a lot of spilled ink and excess outrage.
Them’s kids. Screw rules.
Them’s kids. No more strikes. Might make the batter feel bad.
Them’s kids. No more balls. Might make the pitcher feel bad.
Them’s kids. No more outs. Might make a runner feel bad.
Them’s kids. Why have a winner at all? Give em’ all a trophy. To paraphrase a recent movie: When everyone’s a winner, nobody’s “won” anything.
Was this coach-pitched or player pitched?
Because if it was coach-pitch I can see a good case for the pitcher not ever intentionally walking anyone…
(Wait a minute, when my kid was playing coach-pitched it was his coach who was the pitcher, so nevermind.)
Okay, it’s player-pitched. And they are there to have fun and to learn the game.
I think it’s okay. I’m more down on the parents. If the kid with the shunt in his brain can’t play the game he’s gonna be disappointed sooner or later or, more likely, every game. So what’s he doing there? He’s getting experience. If he can’t handle it physically or mentally his parents should get him out of there.
I really don’t approve of intentionally throwing the game. It’s bad sportsmanship, it says your opponent is not worth the best you have to offer. When I played games with my kids I never let them win. They had to beat me, and they eventually did, and they were proud of it. On the other hand neither did I win by great enormous amounts even when I could have.
And what somebody else said about the lineup.
Now having said that, my kid played at that age level. The pitchers were the players and there were a lot of walks. A. LOT. But there was also a certain level of strategy. That’s what you learn. If my kid had been pitching I’m sure he would have done that (although as a pitcher he was no more likely to intentionally walk someone than to intentionally strike someone out).
I think a competitive kid might have gone for that strategy though, and maybe apologized afterward. Scylla, you know a competitive kid. What would she have done?
