10. It's Not Really Even Baseball
BECAUSE THEY'RE KIDS. Leading off creates a HUGE advantage at this age. There are a ton of stolen bases or runners advancing already. If they could steal, singles and walks would become triples almost every time. The fence distance will be addressed later. Everyone "has" to play? He's mad because everyone gets the opportunity to be in the field for ONE at bat (out of what is ususally three) and ONE inning in the field (out of 6)? I'm sorry, you don't get to be mad about that. Parents/families travel thousands of miles for weeks on end supporting these kids. Sometimes they lose their jobs as a result. If you were following your kid around the continent and didn't get to see him get on the field, you'd be PISSED. And it's not like the backups are scrubs. Every one of these kids was an All-Star from their local league. Yes, there's a drop off from the 1 or 2 best players, maybe even 3 or 4, but 5 through 13 are usually pretty interchangeable.
9. Stop With the Breaking Balls
This one I can't argue with too much, though I'm not sure where his 65% statistic comes from. I agree, there should be way more fastballs (60-70% at least) and changeups (15-20%) with only occasional (if not altogether dismissed) curveballs for the sake of young, developing arms. But throwing off speed pitches is almost as damaging as the year-round play that most kids do, instead of taking time off to do other sports and help arms develop in more well-rounded ways like they used to before the specialization we see now; in addition to the amount of traveling, year-round teams. As for learning to throw a fastball over the plate: THEY'RE 12! It's hard. And none of them are full-time pitchers. If you're not practicing that over and over again like, say, professional players, then it isn't that easy. There's a reason there are no position players that are also considered pitchers in the pros, whereas EVERY little league pitcher also plays at least one other position, if not 2 or 3.
8. Horrible Catching
He didn't even address that the actual level of skill at the position is lacking, he just said the job is much harder because of all the pitching inaccuracy. Thanks for not making your heading confusing...
7. The Wall is the Same Distance All the Way Around
When I mentioned this to my roommate, he was confused as to why it WOULDN'T be the same all the way around. Every other sport has dimensions that are uniform. Admittedly, this is a uniquely baseball characteristic: for field dimensions to be abstract by design. I do not have an actual counter-argument to this one. I just don't think it's that big of a deal.
6. It's Only 225 Feet to the Wall
Somebody somewhere decided this was a good measurement for these kids. The writer says, "When I was playing little league only about 2 kids in the league could hit an actual home run." For the most part, there are usually only a couple kids on each team, coincidentally representing just one league, who routinely hit home runs. Yes, some teams have more, but some teams have less. The game has not deteriorated to the point where it's determined by home runs quite yet, so I think we're doing ok. Additionally, "Also the outfielders play like 5th, 6th & 7th infielders because of it." Wait, so, hitters hit the ball too far, so the outfielders are going to play further up? I haven't seen that strategy implemented, um, ever...
5. Inclusion in Top Plays
This is just pure pessimism in my opinion. This is the ONE shot most of these kids ever have to have a cool thing they do be on television. And can we not forget that THEY ARE JUST KIDS! Yes, those plays are easy and routine for professionals. And yes, they just might be easy and routine for kids, too. But these are the only two weeks during the entire year where these amateur athletes have the opportunity to be applauded. There's only so many times I can tolerate watching Yasiel Puig highlights and the absurd propensity of walk-off hits everyday before I get bored.
4. The Umpires
Umpires know what a strike zone is. And they know that if they called exactly what they were supposed to there would be walk after walk after walk. And NOBODY wants that. I can guarantee it would be mind-numbing to watch on television, or in person as a parent, or in the dugout as a coach, or in the field as a player. Umpires must have a forgiving strike zone in order for the game to keep moving. That's the way it is, and has been for a long time.
Umpires don't generally have outlandish strike calls. Some of them are over the top, some of them are indecipherable, but most are right in the middle. Calling out all umpires for this is like calling out all football players as domestically violent. Some are, most aren't.
As for dramatic calls of safe and out in the field, let's get something straight here: EVERY UMPIRE IS A VOLUNTEER. NONE OF THEM ARE PAID. They are normal people, with families and everyday jobs, who have this as a hobby in which they are generally attempting to help and provide a much-needed service. Some of them happen to be good enough to help and provide at the highest level. Most of them DO NOT feel the pressure of thousands of attending eyes (and hundreds of thousands on television/internet) on a regular basis. So if it takes them an additional 0.75 seconds to make sure they're getting a call right (even if they mistakenly get it wrong) I'm gonna let that slide. Because I know what it's like to referee in front of 30 people, and that was the most nervous (and least appealing) situation I've ever experienced in my athletic life. Is it easy for us to make quick judgment calls watching on TV? Yes, because we won't instantly be blasted with anger and outrage upon making said judgment calls. But let me know the next time you go do some volunteer work, and I'll be happy to come down and criticize every little thing you do wrong. See how easy the rest of your day is from there.
3. The Bats
I also have no counter argument here, other than I hope this guy also hates watching golf, hockey, tennis, swimming, and every other professional sport that is greatly enhanced by the improving technology of equipment.
2. Not Even the Best Age for Little League
That seems rather objective. But he recycles arguments he made earlier, so I'll move on without doing the same.
1. These Aren't Going To Be Major League Players EVER
I mean, do I even have to argue this point? You're telling us you're less inclined to watch because they will never reach the absolute pinnacle of what they are doing? That's preposterous. And it sounds like he's pushing for support of AAU-type teams. He must not realize how money-driven that gets, and how nobody cares about academics, and it's only about exposure and catering to the players, and players transfer teams and schools frequently if they're not in a situation they think suits them. Which feeds into the over-fed, under-developed psyches that create immature, poor-decision-making professionals. But sure, go with that. Seems to be working out for basketball.
Bonus 1: Uniforms
From what I understand, teams are supplied with a uniform as they advance through the ranks. The All-Star team from individual leagues gets a uniform that they sport through their district tournaments. I'm not sure if that same uniform is kept into the State tournaments. When teams get to Regional tournaments, they get uniforms representing which state they are champions of. When they get to the World Series, they get to represent which region they are champions of. That seems like a pretty logical progression. And if you really want to know which league, city and state they are from, you merely have to pay attention to the broadcast for a couple of minutes. Every player who steps up to the plate has his state abbreviation shown to the side of his info box. Announcers name leagues and cities constantly, because THEY KNOW YOU WANT TO KNOW that information. Lastly, I'm pretty sure kids love receiving new, cool stuff just as much as showing off old, dirty stuff.
Bonus 2: Radar guns
He misses the point. Especially considering his cat joke. Adam Dunn recently pitched in a game for the White Sox. He's been a pro for a long time, played in the outfield for a while, and was a top high school quarterback recruit (would have started at Texas) when he was younger. In his pitching performance, his fastball "topped out at 83 mph." Sir, if Adam Dunn is barely getting over 80, I highly doubt you yourself would reach 75. So if 12 year old kids are reaching 70, I'm impressed. Also, when showing the "MLB 99" speed, ESPN is not suggesting that this kid will one day reach that velocity, or any other foreshadowing. They are equating reaction times. A ball moving at 70 mph from 46 feet away takes the same amount of time as a ball moving at 92 mph from 60 feet away. Therefore, a little league hitter has the same amount of time to react to a pitch as a major league hitter, in this situation. It's simple math, nothing more than that.
"And when I say it needs to go away, they can still play it. It's great for the kids. I would have loved to have that experience."
Woah, woah, woah! After all the bickering and complaining, you're actually okay with all of it? And completely support it? What was the point of the article, then?
Did I miss anything? Let me know.
