Aug 28 2008
Too Good?
The fight between youth baseball league officials and one of its teams over a player whose pitching is said to be too good for batters is moving from the ball field to the legal field. Leroy and Nicole Scott, whose fast-pitching son, Jericho, 9, is at the center of the dispute, met Monday, along with another player’s parents, with prominent attorney John Williams to see whether the season could be saved. Williams said Monday he will take legal action to try to get Jericho’s team into the upcoming playoffs, where they belong after an 8-0 season. He also will sue the league over the pain and suffering of Jericho and the other young players.
League officials offered to move the team’s 13 players to other squads after they tried to dissolve the team last week because the coach, Wilfred Vidro, refused to pull Jericho off the pitcher’s mound as requested by league officials.
Jericho’s pitches are so fast and accurate that league officials and some parents feared their kids weren’t able to play freely, league attorney Peter Noble said recently. All the players on Jericho’s team declined to move and are sticking together.
Williams says the league officials are out in left field.
“This is a terrible, terrible thing happening to these kids,” Williams said. “Not only does it spoil their summer and their childhood, but it tells them it’s more about winning than doing your best. Everything we value children in athletics for, this is the antithesis.”
Leroy Scott said Jericho remains sad about the situation, blaming himself for the team’s troubles, troubles that keep them from playing ball.
“He’s trying to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Leroy Scott said. “The kids are suffering because they were looking forward to the playoffs.”
Scott said no one from the team of 13 has sided with the league, and league officials have declined to answer their many questions, leaving no choice but to approach the situation legally.
Parents will hold a car wash and other fundraisers to offset the cost of hiring Williams, known for being willing to tackle out of the ordinary cases.
Noble had no comment Monday, but said over the weekend the league has only the best interest of kids in mind and it is intended to be fun.
[From me]
What kind of message does this send to children? When the going gets tough make the better player quit? Life isn’t fair! The sooner we understand that the sooner we can learn how to adapt. I think way too many American parents coddle their children and bail them out. Jesus said following him was like giving your life away. What kind of message does it send to the young boy who is so talented? This is misguided at best. Jealousy will do some strange things.
My first football team I played on I scored the only touchdown for our team the entire season! Not everyone wins. There is always someone who finishes 2nd. Failure is a part of life and if children don’t learn that early on then they won’t know how to handle failure later. I should know I have a lot of experience with failure! 
What do you think?
8 responses so far
This story bears a strong resemblance to Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” which tells how anyone who stands out from the ordinary is legally required to wear “handicaps” so that other more ordinary people won’t feel bad.
Benjie’s last blog post..Oh, and BTW
You summed it up pretty well. I wish when I played little league the really good kids would have been pulled. Then maybe I could have gotten a hit.
I wish all the really good students in my grad classes would be sent home so I could be the smartest.
Too bad life isn’t that way.
Michael’s last blog post..Battle in the Basement
Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” should be required reading in order to graduate from high school. That way functioning adults could see the end result of punishing those who excel.
At this rate we will only achieve a nation that will be able to surrender faster than the French.
Please excuse my bad attitude but this is reidiculous.
Maybe the Astros could go ahead and draft him. Problem solved. :>)
bloginafogpastor’s last blog post..Hope vs. Expectations
Kevin-
I haven’t seen this anywhere but was this guy given the opportunity to move up to the next level? That’s what we do in school with those who excel.
No one seems to be asking why Jericho wasn’t allowed to move up to face more challenging hitters. It really seems that the door should swing both ways on this.
But, I probably couldn’t hit him either…
Marty Duren’s last blog post..JOURNEYS authors, Todd Wright and Marty Duren, to appear on Atlanta television
Where were all of these parents when I was 6 years old getting pitched to and hit by 10 year old pitchers!
I really think my parents failed me. Wonder how in the world I have survived this long based on their actions!
M. Steve Heartsill’s last blog post..Does This Offend You?
When I was a kid, we played baseball at the corner of Lincoln & Waltham Streets, using the streetlight as the back stop and the strike zone. Lincoln was left field, and Waltham was right field, and we couldn’t hit to center field because the folks that owned that apartment building didn’t want us on their lawn. We were OUT if we hit it there.
We always had great fun, even inventing games when there weren’t enough for teams.
I think all kids ought to go back to that kind of ball and if they want to get good, get on their school teams.
Oh yes .. we never had any adults around. I suspect somebody always had an eye on us, in case we ever had trouble, but we never even knew that.
Bob Cleveland’s last blog post..They’ve ALL Already Been Born….
Benji,
I don’t remember that book. I probably read the Cliff Notes!
Michael and BIFP,
It is strange. Life isn’t about fairness. What if they implemented this in MLB?
Marty,
I’m not sure about that. Maybe moving up would be a good option.
Steve,
I’m with you.
Bob,
Did you walk to school uphill in the snow both ways?
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..Too Good?
Kevin,
“Harrison Bergeron” is a short story that I used to teach at the beginning of the year to sophomores. If you found it in a collection somewhere, it would entertain you for about fifteen to twenty minutes–depending on how fast you read.
Benj.
Benjie’s last blog post..Kingdom & Culture