Don't know if this subject been posted on but...
A nine year old is not allowed to pitch because he is "too good." What?!?! http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/sports/baseball/26youth.html?ref=sports
This is complete nonsense. The justification given...
Peter Noble, a lawyer for the league, said the only factor in banning Jericho from pitching was that his pitches were too fast.
"He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."
...
There are two problems with this excuse.
1. He has not hit anyone and supposedly has excellent control.
2. He is only throwing 40 miles an hour.
If you are worried about your kid getting hit by a ball traveling 40 miles an hour then don't let them play ball at all. Any decent 8-10 year old kid is going to occasionally, or even routinely, strike the ball hard enough to travel far beyond 40 miles an hour.
In the Little League World Series this past weekend there were plenty of kids throwing 70 plus. Those kids ranged from 10-12 (at least at the beginning of the season). Your head is not twice as hard at 12 vs 8.
At 40 miles an hour a ball is not likely to do much damage, unless there was some freakish incident. But baseball has certain risks and as a parent you either accept them or you turn your kid into a pussy.
Whatever parents are complaining about this should ashamed of themselves. In fact, if your kids are on another team and you are not protesting this you should be ashamed of yourself.
And the coach that forfeited and refused to play, he should retire from the game in disgrace.
Now, I don't know how this league is structured, but if it were setup correctly, this would be easily avoided. In my Little League kids from 9-12 played in either the Minor or Major Leagues. The Major League teams had first pick and would often take talented 9 year olds. Some of the kids at 12 stayed in the minors (though 12 year olds were not allowed to pitch in the Minor League). Major League teams often pulled kids up during the season. This was a good setup as the talented kids were challenged with better competition and the kids that were not so talented were allowed to stay with players closer to their skill level.
A nine year old is not allowed to pitch because he is "too good." What?!?! http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/sports/baseball/26youth.html?ref=sports
This is complete nonsense. The justification given...
Peter Noble, a lawyer for the league, said the only factor in banning Jericho from pitching was that his pitches were too fast.
"He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."
...
There are two problems with this excuse.
1. He has not hit anyone and supposedly has excellent control.
2. He is only throwing 40 miles an hour.
If you are worried about your kid getting hit by a ball traveling 40 miles an hour then don't let them play ball at all. Any decent 8-10 year old kid is going to occasionally, or even routinely, strike the ball hard enough to travel far beyond 40 miles an hour.
In the Little League World Series this past weekend there were plenty of kids throwing 70 plus. Those kids ranged from 10-12 (at least at the beginning of the season). Your head is not twice as hard at 12 vs 8.
At 40 miles an hour a ball is not likely to do much damage, unless there was some freakish incident. But baseball has certain risks and as a parent you either accept them or you turn your kid into a pussy.
Whatever parents are complaining about this should ashamed of themselves. In fact, if your kids are on another team and you are not protesting this you should be ashamed of yourself.
And the coach that forfeited and refused to play, he should retire from the game in disgrace.
Now, I don't know how this league is structured, but if it were setup correctly, this would be easily avoided. In my Little League kids from 9-12 played in either the Minor or Major Leagues. The Major League teams had first pick and would often take talented 9 year olds. Some of the kids at 12 stayed in the minors (though 12 year olds were not allowed to pitch in the Minor League). Major League teams often pulled kids up during the season. This was a good setup as the talented kids were challenged with better competition and the kids that were not so talented were allowed to stay with players closer to their skill level.
