10 Reasons This Guy Doesn't Know What He's Talking About

You can either read the article all the way through and then read mine, or go back and forth between the two. But here's the article: 10 Reasons The Little League World Series Needs To Go Away

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.

6 of the Most WTF Moments in Sports (That Counted)

Sports are awesome for a lot of reasons. With the recent completion of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, we are reminded how people from all over the world, from different cultures, belief systems and training habits, can come together in the spirit of competition and coexist peacefully. We also get to watch the most incredible moments of drama play out on fields, courts, rinks and pitches across the world; athletes overcoming personal tragedy and physical limitations to excel at the highest levels. And there are no two better words in the English language than "Game Seven" for excitement and intensity.

Sports also allow us to see the most physically gifted people in the world perform the most amazing feats of athleticism that us common folk can only dream about. Sometimes they leave us in awe, dumbfounded by what we just witnessed. But some plays are so far out of the realm of normalcy that we are left pondering, "What the ----?"

June 6, 1999
"Love The Glove"
Orlando Hernandez

The Yankees are hosting the Mets in an afternoon game at Yankee Stadium. The Mets are already up 1-0 in the top of the 2nd, having just scored a run that inning and threatening for more. Mets third baseman Robin Ventura is the runner on third as shortstop Rey Ordonez comes to the plate. On an 0-1 count, Ordonez hits a sharp one-bouncer back to the mound, where Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez is the Yankees' starting pitcher for the day. (El Duque, roughly translated, means "The Duke." I doubt Hernandez actually has governing power over any body of constituents, but you never know.) Hernandez quickly stabs at the ball. Then something I've never seen before or since happens.

The best part about this play is, as you can see at the end of the video, Hernandez is completely focused on the play from start to finish. When he first fields the ball, he takes a split second to check Ventura back to 3rd base. As he makes his move towards first, he becomes aware of his odd situation and without a moment's hesitation references in his mind the words of Sherlock Holmes: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Ok, that's not exactly relevant, but the idea is something crazy just happened so the only logical thing to do is go along with it. He then proceeds to launch the ball as is, lodged tight in the webbing of his glove, over to Yankees' first baseman Tino Martinez to record the out. Martinez is similarly professional about the situation, which makes this slightly less entertaining. (Or more so if you're announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, because they are clearly VERY entertained.) Hernandez being able to consider all of this in his mind in mere microseconds, (that's a thousandth of a thousandth of a second for you non-sabermetricians) is impressive. Actually getting the blob that was the ball and glove over to first base is even more impressive. Making weight calibrations on the fly isn't the easiest thing in the world; that's why the players warm up before every inning. But the first thing Hernandez does after ridding himself of the mitt-ball monstrosity is look back at Ventura to make sure he hasn't tried to take advantage of the strange situation and advance home for a run. Awareness win. Strangeness double win.

January 4, 2007 
"Open Net Bungle"
Patrick Stefan
There are 12 seconds left against the Edmonton Oilers when Dallas Stars centerman Patrik Stefan controls the puck after an Oiler turns it over at the Edmonton blue line. The Stars currently have a 5-4 lead, and Edmonton has already pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in hopes of tying the score. This means there is literally nobody between Stefan and scoring a goal for an insurmountable 2 goal lead and effectively ending the game. Things didn't turn out as he'd expected:

There are bad bounces, there are really bad bounces, and then there's just bad luck. Stefan experienced a bit of the latter, because of multiple things. First, the ice at the end of the period becomes pretty rough. With all the skating and stoping and sliding and chipping, the ice gets beat up, especially in the crease where the goalie normally is. That's why Zambonis have to work on the ice at the end of each period, to smooth the ice for premium playing conditions. Stefan had the unfortunate circumstance of the puck lying perfectly flat on the ice one second, then doing it's best jumping bean impression right over his stick the next second. Now, this normally would not have been a big deal. Mishandled puck, there's only a few seconds left, just suck it up, collect yourself, and let time run out. Instead, Stefan has a mental freakout and reacts instinctively with the mindset of absolutely having to score a goal. In his desperation to right the ship and still get a shot on goal, he completely wipes out and goes sliding into the boards. The Oilers are on it and immediately start a fast break the other way. After some deft passing and a slick maneuver by Alex Hemsky past the goalie, in a process that takes about seven seconds, the Oilers tie the game and both teams go into overtime. Dallas ended up winning the game, but you can bet Patrik Stefan will be reliving that moment in his nightmares.

March 20, 2005 
"The Greatest Basketball Shot Ever" 
Blake Hoffarber

Some kids spend a good amount of time in their driveways or at their local parks pretending to count down the seconds at the end of a basketball game and throwing up a crazy shot that miraculously goes in for the fictional win. Most of us can only dream of one day being in a position that lives up to that wild fantasy. Others of us are Blake Hoffarber, competing in the 2005 Minnesota High School State Basketball Championship tournament, fulfilling this destiny to an unprecedented degree.

Hoffarber's Hopkins High team is down by 2 to Eastview High with time winding down in the first overtime period. Hopkins has the ball, trying to force another overtime or go for the win, when their possession goes awry and a mad scramble occurs. Enter Blake:

What you saw there was a moment that won the 2005 ESPY Award for Best Play, keeping some incredible company with the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, David Tyree, Derek Jeter, and another entry later in this article. Hoffarber fancied himself a liking to these types of situations, earning another Best Play nomination (to this point the only individual to receive two such nominations) a couple years later for this game-winning shot against Indiana University while playing for Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Unlike his play against the Hoosiers, Blake's high school shot did not win the game in that singular moment. It did send the game into double overtime, however, where Hopkins High team eventually prevailed over Eastview High. Crazy plays and buzzer-beaters happen all the time, but it's not often they combine in this fashion AND win you a state championship.

December 22, 1994
"Play of the Decade"
Isaiah (J.R.) Rider, Jr.

Isaiah Rider's career had it's series of ups and downs, peaks and pitfalls. The greatest of which might have been his 1994 Slam Dunk Contest championship. But even better than his between-the-legs, self-titled "East Bay Funk Dunk," the moment that he may be remembered for in history is this: 

As insanely good plays are want to do, this one started with a bad pass from Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Winston Garland. What appears to be a miscommunication between Rider and Garland results in the ball being passed behind Rider. In his desperation to recover, Rider knocks the ball away from himself towards the sideline. He launches off of his right foot, corrals the ball in his right hand, swings it across his midsection and flings the ball way into the air, all while soaring towards the scorers table. Multiple players from the opposing Sacramento Kings take off towards their own offensive basket, anticipating a quick fast break opportunity. Much to their chagrin, and the shock of all 17,000+ people in attendance, the ball sails directly through the net. Kings guard Mitch Richmond can't help but come over and high-five Rider in congratulations afterwards. It's not often you get to witness that kind of play in person. Well, if the announcer is to be believed, once in a decade.

September 10, 2005
"The Catch"
Tyrone Prothro

Football players make ridiculous plays all over the place. Whether they're doing backflips, front flips, or stopping on a dime and using one hand, the athleticism and hand-eye coordination of wide receivers is remarkable. Then sometimes they do things that make no sense and have no explanation and you just have to accept that he scored a touchdown and move on. This is the best catch I've ever seen, and Tyrone Prothro couldn't even see it himself:

This bears less explanation and more revelry, but for my own selfish conceitedness (and redundancy?):

Alabama is down by 11 to Southern Mississippi with halftime quickly approaching. That's important because Crimson Tide quarterback Brodie Croyle isn't just roaming around throwing up hospital passes for no reason. This is Alabama's second game of the season, and they're losing to a Conference USA team. That's not how Alabama rolls. (See what I did there?) He's trying to make a play and avoid a humiliating loss.

The Southern Miss defender has nearly-perfect coverage, though you could argue he was face-guarding and deserving of a pass interference penalty. Prothro has to adjust back to the ball, but has almost nowhere to put his hands to have a legitimate shot at catching the ball. So, he puts his hands around the defender, and manages to close them on the ball at the exact moment that the ball hits the defender in the back. For those curious, this does qualify as having possession of the football. The amazing thing that follows is Prothro manages to maintain that possession through falling to the ground and FLIPPING OVER THE DEFENDER ONTO HIS HEAD. Enough said.*

*It's also important to note that those were the first 7 points in an unanswered 20-point run to eventually win the game 30-21 and create some major momentum for the rest of their season.

January 16, 2006
"When It Was No Longer Possible"
Alexander Ovechkin

What I could do is present you with a long list of impressive goals scored by talented hockey players. I could even just show a highlight reel consisting of nothing but Alexander Ovechkin, and that would be fairly satisfying. But this is the single greatest goal I have ever seen scored in my life, and there's no point trying to stack it up with anything else out there, because they all fall laughably short:

As if it's even necessary, though it's clearly not, I'm going to point out a couple things from that play:
-He's sliding ON HIS BACK.
-He can't see the net, goalie, other defenders, or his teammates, because he's ON HIS BACK facing the boards.
-He finishes ON HIS BACK with one hand on his stick.

The icing on the cake, or cherry on the sundae, or whatever your favorite metaphor for pinnacle is, is that Wayne Gretzky, the greatest goal scorer in the history of hockey (and the single most dominant athlete ever) is sitting on the Phoenix Coyotes' bench as the opposing team's head coach to witness this play. Nothing could be more perfect. Well, maybe if Ovechkin's Washington Capitals weren't already winning 5-1 in the 3rd period, so adding a sixth goal didn't really do much for them, but who's counting?

Alex Rodriguez and Steroids.

Let's get one thing clear. No one is surprised. I will not be surprised if anyone else ever tests positive for steroids or other performance enhancing drugs from now on. Only disappointed. Now, some thoughts about A-Rod.



1) What an idiot. It's an over-the-counter drug, from the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, that you know NOTHING about, that you are INJECTING into yourelf. HELLO! And no, you were not "young and stupid." You were 25 years old with over 6 years of professional experience. You should know better.

2) He says he felt the pressure to perform and live up to the contract he signed. Alex, you were given that contract for a reason. You had already proven you could perform at a high level (actually, one of the highest). There was no need to give yourself an added boost.

3)There are more details that he is not giving us, which is unfortunate. He has a chance to be the first guy to really stand up and take blame for what he's done. Granted, he has told quite a bit already and that is commendable on its own in relation to what the other offenders have done. But there are so many more details that he is glazing over that it is still difficult to fully take him at his word. If Rodriguez really cared about getting this out in the open, he would've done it in 2004 when he was informed that he had failed a test. Obviously we don't expect anyone to come forward with this information, but don't try to tell us how good it feels to put this out in the open when you've had more than enough opportunities to do it in the past.

Other aspects of this issue:

Bud Selig- Yes, you are somewhat to blame. You are the Commissioner of baseball, it's your job to make sure things are running smoothly. When they're not, you have to fix it. This issue is 10+ years in the making, and we are just now starting to see significant change. Where were you at? Congratulations on being the Commissioner who allowed steroids into baseball and did little-to-nothing about it.

Punishment- There shouldn't be any. Obviously I don't approve that 104 players tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, but at they time they were not banned by the league. As for future positive tests, I go with David Ortiz and Ozzie Guillen (that's a first): 1-year suspension for 1st positive, lifetime for 2nd. If you're gonna keep Pete Rose out because he bet on his team to win, then you gotta keep out performance enhancers whose play actually has an effect on the game.

The Leak- What self-righteous prick decided it was his duty to out Rodriguez and none of the other 103 players? The only reason the player's union agreed to these drug tests is if they were kept confidential. Good job dude, now the next collective bargaining agreement is gonna be incredibly difficult to agree on.

All-Star Game

What a game. First off, congrats to the American League for this year's victory (that's 12 years without a loss, for those keeping score at home). Use home field wisely.

The only comment I have about this year's game is this: everyone get off Dan Uggla's back. None of the three (yeah, 3, it happens) errors mattered as the NL got out of all those jams. The second one would've been hard for anyone to handle as it was hit ridiculously hard. And the third one took a stupid bounce. If that bounce happened on the second one, Uggla would've had a broken nose. He messed up, it didn't amount to anything, leave him alone. Hopefully he doesn't let it get to him, as he's one of the most talented young players coming up right now. Go torch 'em in the second half, Dan.

This sentiment has been uttered by a large contingency recently, so I figure that it's my turn. The All-Star game needs to be fixed. Don't get me wrong, the game in and of itself was awesome. However, the fact that it matters for something detracts from the aura of the game itself. It was established as an exhibition in the middle of the season for fans to come out and see their favorite players compete in a game for fun, with nothing on the line, so we could see them being themselves and having fun. While they still have fun, it definitely doesn't have the feel of an exhibition anymore, because it isn't one. It matters. Because it matters, we have to stick to traditional rules.

Not that there's anything wrong with rules. They just mess stuff up sometimes. This year, for instance. Game goes 15 innings. Both sides run out of hitters. Both teams use pitchers that they had no intention of using (Brandon Webb, Scott Kazmir). Say we change a rule. Say we allow position players to come back into the game once all others have been used. We could use them to pitch (i.e. Wade Boggs, right). This may not result in the best pitching exhibition, but it would be incredibly entertaining. If it were strictly an exhibition, it would just add to the fun and enjoyment of the game. And, managers wouldn't be put into the sticky situations of using players they don't want to. Kazmir and Webb could've kept resting, and that tie in '02 would not have happened.

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com wrote an excellent article about other improvements for the All-Star game, all of which I approve of:http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page=rumblings

In the end, I just want to go back to watching a game where everyone can enjoy every moment because it's just fun baseball with nothing to play for except the love of the game. Here's to missing the Wizard of Oz, Ozzie Smith, and his pregame ritual:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztz0NLY_MLI