Good post. I’ve seen many cases of what you are saying but that is the way it is. Players are different and we can’t (and shouldn’t) set one standard for the many different types of baseball players. I know this is hard to accept but it’s OK if a player doesn’t want to sacrifice things in his life to take his game to the next level. Every step up the ladder in baseball eliminates a large group of players for various reasons. Some players WANT to become the best they can be. They seek out quality instructions, practice in the off season, focus on getting better, and accept the challenges of the best teams and the toughest colleges in the nation. They thrive on these challenges. They improve. They LEARN how to do the things they need to do to take the game to the next level and move up. Other players may not have the physical talents to play at the next level or they may not want to make baseball more that a recreational sport. Some want to improve but can't and some can improve but won't. They usually quit playing (or are asked to quit) and simply do other things. Included in these players are the ones that cannot hit the curve ball or cannot run fast or has the weak arm. In sports no two players have the same physical talents and no two players put forth the same effort to improve. What may come easy for one player may be a huge challenge for another. One player may be obsessed with getting better and another may look at baseball as nothing more than fun and games. Thank goodness there is no established benchmark that defines the relationship between the game and the player.
What becomes more vexing is trying to understand why the highly talented player has no desire to take his game to the next level --- or watching the untalented player works his tail off attempting to take his game to the next level only to fall short.
Fungo