• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Would you walk a star player in order to face the cancer kid?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
I'm with the non-politically correct side here but with a different flavor; it would be a sin to take away that child's opportunity to win the game as well. Further, sounds as if his and the teams reward will be far greater than the trophy....
 
Upvote 0
I coach 2 youth baseball teams. My oldest is on a travel team while my youngest is on a rec team. While the talent level of each team is different (obviously the difference between travel and rec), the desire to win for each team is basically the same. Once an official score is being kept, it is only natural that most kids desire to win. If any parent doesn't want their child to be in a position to lose, or to possibly be the reason for a loss, then they shouldn't have them play a sport where a score is kept and there are winners and losers. Get them in a sport where every game ends in a "tie" and the only real concern for the kids is what the snack is after the game.

The biggest problem with both teams I coach, and I believe that this universally true in the US, is the parents. On both of my teams, I can assure you that within 10 minutes (if that long) of a loss, the kids are over it. It is usually some asshole parent that allows a youth sports team loss to affect them to the point where an incident like this becomes a "story".

In this case I wouldn't have walked the "slugger" to get to the weaker hitter because it is youth baseball at a rec level. However, I do not fault the coach for doing it. I wouldn't fault the coach if he did that to me and my team. I do fault all of the adults involved who are making this a big deal.

For me it is a recurring theme, but parents/adults are the worst part of youth sports.
 
Upvote 0
fourteenandoh said:
i totally understand what you are saying, but the ultimate goal in sports is to win no matter what level you are at. play the game the way it was meant to be played and exhibit good sportsmanship along the way, but at the end of the day you are there to win.
Click to expand...
I disagree.

jwinslow said:
I'll make sure to teach my kids that winning is not everything, it does not define them, and they play for the love of the game.
Click to expand...

An everybody can play, instructional type atmosphere is there for kids who love to play the game. They might be competitive and love to win but above that, they love to play the game.

I think kids can accept the fact that they lost a game a lot easier than the parents can/do.

I'm sure that the winning team would have felt even better about winning if the team would have pitched to the best hitter and struck him out instead of walking the guy to get to the worst hitter. The winning team would know that they were the best team because of their ability instead of their strategy. If they lost, they would know that they need to work harder to get better like the winning team.

I frankly don't even care about the kid with cancer in this story. I know that he is the only reason this story made the news but I don't see him as the problem with this situation. The problem is that the parents are so focused on winning that they are taking the fun, the pride, and the feeling of true accomplishment out of the game for these kids. Strategy is all good when you are in a traveling league that is all about winning but it does not belong in an everybody can play type of league.

I agree that kids need to learn how to loose gracefully but I don't believe it should be done by taking the fun out of the game for them.


My son is likely going to play everybody can play baseball within the next year or two. He is only 6 but the kid can already hit really well because he practices and loves to play the game. I would hate to see some opposing coach take away his fun of the game by continuously walking him and not giving him that chance to bat.
 
Upvote 0
1) Alot of youth league parents are troublemakers. Alot have never played, but they're the first to bitch about something after a game. They offer nothing to the team but dropping off their kid for babysitting practice.

2) Too many of the same parents that bitch about the game, think it's our job to make their kids better ballplayers. We're there to teach fundamentals, you're there to make sure they practice at home every day to get better. Alot of the kids I coached this year never touch their glove away from the game/ practice field. Any decent coach can tell after 2 throws and a couple of swings, which kids are working with their parents and which aren't. Get your ass out in the backyard dad and work with your kid.(mom if asingle parent).

3) What kid in his right mind uses his "Make A Wish" wish on meeting G.W. Bush?
 
Upvote 0
Lay it all on the line with your best effort...
Get back up when someone gets the best of you...
Realize that there will be another fight tomorrow...
Work harder to make sure the outcome is different next time.

That is sport. I believe in the lessons competition can teach.

In this case, I'm with Prof, I would not do it, but I do not fault the guy for doing so nor would I be upset if he did it to my team.

Romney already knows how to get up...he will be fine as long as the people around him give him his own room to grow.
 
Upvote 0
I dont get it...

I coached my daughter's softball team last year. We made the championship game. And, my job as coach was to attempt to win that game. Obviously. Now, I took no joy in watching the girls from the opposition cry at having lost, but I took great joy in watching the girls on MY team celebrate. They worked hard all year long, and they were rewarded with a championship and memories of winning. And, like I say, it would be "nice" if both teams could win the championship, but only one can win... and I'd prefer it it's the team that I have seen all year long... the team of - in this case - girls who I had come to feel close to as their coach.

This past year, most of the girls off of my daughter's team ended up on opposing teams this year. We'd play them, and I'd want the girls I coached to do well, but not at the expense of my team losing. I told my daughter, when she was worried about this, you can be friends before and after the game.. but when you're out there, your "friends" are wearing the same color jersey. You go out there and do the best you can and don't you worry one bit about there feelings right now.

So, anyway... one of the girls I coached ended up striking out on a pitch that should have been called a ball. She was so upset she was crying. She knew it wasn't a strike (and, again, it clearly wasn't) And I felt good because we were one out closer to the win. And, after the game, I told this girl, "You were right, that wasn't a strike." That's pretty much all she wanted to hear... she smiled said, "I know. It's OK, I guess." and that was it.

I digress... bottom line... We do not participate in sports to be nice to the opposition. We participate in sports to win, to build relationships with our team.. to learn how to BE a team... And, between the lines, it's US against THEM. At the consession stand afterwards? We practice good sportsmanship by not being "sore winners" or "Sore losers" And, hopefully, these lessons help us relate to the world later in life. Life isn't about people opposed to you watching out for your feelings. Life is one group of folks trying to take advantage of your weaknesses. And little league softball (in this case) is a great teacher of - if you don't wanna get fucked over, get better.
 
Upvote 0
I think my opinion has been said again and again already:

1. Sad the kid struck out. That team lost.
2. That's life.
3. The other team won. Their strategy probably helped.
4. Good for them.

I think, though, that my only problem with the story comes from one of the things that I think is a problem with baseball: intentional walks. I know the strategy and stuff, and I'm sure it's more often than not a smart strategy to use. I just dislike the idea, in general, in giving the other team more opportunities to score runs, in hopes to prevent them from scoring runs (and, in the long run, win the game). You never see a football team let the other team get 5 extra yards to set up a third-and-two instead of a third-and-seven. I know, I know - it's a very different situation. But that's the closest thing I could think of to bring the situation into football.

If you want to win the game, have your pitcher beat their batter. If you don't like their batter, then too bad for you. I know it's a "choose your battles" issue, and I wouldn't plan on winning too many games, if I were a coach/manager.

But it's 9-10-year-olds. Throw pitches. Try to hit the ball. Try to catch the ball.
 
Upvote 0
The coach was a dumbass. Should have hit the best hitter in the middle of the back with a fastball to setup a slider down-and-away for the next batter. No way the cancer kid isn't bailing out after that. :)

I prove, yet again, why I'm not allowed to babysit the nephew and nieces. :biggrin:
 
Upvote 0
Bucky Katt said:
The coach was a dumbass. Should have hit the best hitter in the middle of the back with a fastball to setup a slider down-and-away for the next batter. No way the cancer kid isn't bailing out after that. :)

I prove, yet again, why I'm not allowed to babysit the nephew and nieces. :biggrin:
Click to expand...
Wholeheartedly agree. The bean ball is such an underutilized tool in these situations. I mean, you're going to put the kid on 1st base anyway. Why not give the little cancer kid something else to think about while you're at it?
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
By the way, the next morning, Romney woke up and decided to do something about what happened to him.

"I'm going to work on my batting," he told his dad. "Then maybe someday I'll be the one they walk."
Click to expand...

Um, remind me again why this is even a story? The kid is obviously more mature than the adults bitching about the game.


3) What kid in his right mind uses his "Make A Wish" wish on meeting G.W. Bush?
Click to expand...

:lol:

Blame the parents. :wink:
 
Upvote 0
Great points all. Reilly often writes this puff crap, trying to draw sympathy for people who really aren't asking for any extra.

If the kid would have gotten the hit to win the big game, would we still be talking about how horrible the guy was to walk the hitter? It would garner national attention like the basketball kid with autism, and win the goddamned ESPY.

This is total crap...I'm glad the kid is able to play ball, and he is really doing well with the whole thing, and I wish him nothing but the best. The whiny adults who have nothing directly to do with the situation, but like to whine about it anyway, can buy themselves a fucking life.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top