2023 High School Baseball Season

Finally found out which teams everyone made yesterday. Son received his Varsity uniforms. They will open the season with a tournament Thu, Fri, and Sat this week, with another three day tournament next week. They went 5-0 (2 4A teams and 3 5A teams) in the preseason scrimmages. Looking good so far.

Regular season started in FL this week. I have a 2025 playing his first year on varsity.

I've been Game Changer stalking a lot of our future opponents and one thing has stood out to me.... Really surprised at how many 85-95 pitch starts I am seeing in week one.

Now I get we only have around 25 games but you can't win or lose a district title in week one. Seems a bit extreme for a first outing. Hopefully these kids have prepared for that kind of workload.

@DaddyBaller posted:

Regular season started in FL this week. I have a 2025 playing his first year on varsity.

I've been Game Changer stalking a lot of our future opponents and one thing has stood out to me.... Really surprised at how many 85-95 pitch starts I am seeing in week one.

Now I get we only have around 25 games but you can't win or lose a district title in week one. Seems a bit extreme for a first outing. Hopefully these kids have prepared for that kind of workload.

I saw one of the best 6A teams in Texas play twice yesterday. Their HC (who is one of the best HS HCs in Texas) was very responsible about managing pitch counts. In the 2 games they played I don’t think any of his 4 pitchers threw more than 60 pitches each. If that. Both were close games and in both games his starters were 89 - 92 with FB velo. Scouts were there and it would have been easy for some coaches to get caught up in those games and extend those outings. But not this coach. His game one opponent was different however. In a 1-0 game on Feb 23 he let his best starting pitcher (OU commit) throw 90 pitches in 48 degree weather. Within the rules? Yes. Being concerned about the long term best interest of his players? Not so much. The HC that did it right won both his games btw and the 4 pitchers that he used responsibly combined to throw 2 no hitters on the day. So doing it right early in the season doesn’t compromise a team’s chances to win. It provides opportunities to see what more kids can do.

We will be facing a real DUDE tonight. One of the top 2024's in the country making his first start Sits 94-96 with secondary stuff.... Excited to see him up close and I pray he has the right people around him to not run him into the ground this season.

How is it going for everyone so far?

Much to my surprise, 2026 son made JV (school with 4 teams).   This is pretty rare at this very large school.  They specifically told him NOT to change his approach at the plate (another thread).  Should make for an interesting spring.

@ILoveBaseball04 posted:

How is it going for everyone so far?

Much to my surprise, 2026 son made JV (school with 4 teams).   This is pretty rare at this very large school.  They specifically told him NOT to change his approach at the plate (another thread).  Should make for an interesting spring.

Congrats on making JV (or any team)!  How big are your teams?  Would be nice to have that extra team at our school to help more kids get on the field.  We have a lot of kids that could develop but won’t unless they put in work outside of the team.  

Season is so much fun so far but I guess it would depend on who you ask.  Luckily my son has turned it on and is a big contributor.  There are only 10 kids that play more than 80% of the innings and probably will be a higher % going forward, with the rest riding the pine.  

Well my son's program kept all 18 seniors.  They told 4-5 that they would be on a "practice squad" and wouldn't be on the roster for regionals and state, that they wouldn't get as much BP etc.  3 underclassmen are on Varsity and they will have 2 more floaters.  There are 4 teams total and I think there are 60-70 total in the program, they cut about 15-20 kids.

First game is March 17th and the boy is on the bump for game 1.

@TexasLefty posted:

Congrats on making JV (or any team)!  How big are your teams?

Congrats to your son - glad he is seeing playing time!  The team is still working out some PO players (which will not include our son), so the final roster has some play. Still, from years past it looks like a roster of 20ish players for JV, which is much larger than what we are used to from travel.  I do wonder whether our 2026 will see much playing time, but this is not our call.  We are simply hoping for the best at this point!  I do think practicing with some of the players on this team will push him to continue to get better (but of course we all like to see our sons play).

I agree about the teams, as it allows the development of a deep pool of talent.  We are very fortunate that so many want to play baseball in our community.  Some of the freshman will undoubtedly get bigger, stronger, and better this year and the fact that there are teams for them to develop on only helps the school program in the future.

@Master P posted:

Well my son's program kept all 18 seniors.  They told 4-5 that they would be on a "practice squad" and wouldn't be on the roster for regionals and state, that they wouldn't get as much BP etc.  3 underclassmen are on Varsity and they will have 2 more floaters.  There are 4 teams total and I think there are 60-70 total in the program, they cut about 15-20 kids.

First game is March 17th and the boy is on the bump for game 1.

Man, keeping 18 seniors is a recipe for disaster. There will be at least one who is a malcontent and figures he has nothing to lose. All it takes is one of those to ruin team chemistry. And teams with bad chemistry always underperform. That’s the dilemma that HS coaches face at large schools. If they keep all the seniors they have to deal with an unruly player or two that can ruin a season. If they cut seniors they have to deal with rogue parents that might go after their job. That’s a thin line to walk and almost impossible for it to work out good for the majority.

@adbono posted:

Man, keeping 18 seniors is a recipe for disaster. There will be at least one who is a malcontent and figures he has nothing to lose. All it takes is one of those to ruin team chemistry. And teams with bad chemistry always underperform. That’s the dilemma that HS coaches face at large schools. If they keep all the seniors they have to deal with an unruly player or two that can ruin a season. If they cut seniors they have to deal with rogue parents that might go after their job. That’s a thin line to walk and almost impossible for it to work out good for the majority.

It will be very interesting to see how the first few weeks of the season go.

@adbono posted:

Man, keeping 18 seniors is a recipe for disaster. There will be at least one who is a malcontent and figures he has nothing to lose. All it takes is one of those to ruin team chemistry. And teams with bad chemistry always underperform. That’s the dilemma that HS coaches face at large schools. If they keep all the seniors they have to deal with an unruly player or two that can ruin a season. If they cut seniors they have to deal with rogue parents that might go after their job. That’s a thin line to walk and almost impossible for it to work out good for the majority.

Our high school kept seniors who hang in there all four years. The coach had a talk with them to understand they are cheerleaders and ball chasers. They were typically not playing full time on JV as juniors. One or two per year would agree to stay on the team. Some would quit midseason.

One was a genuine leader from the bench. I can still picture he was about the fourth player in the championship dog pile sprinting from the bullpen.

tryouts are tonight and tomorrow, teams announced wed.  Should be a very interesting week.

Our first scrimmage is March 15.  When my grandson was on his first travel team at 10 years old, he was assigned #9 without being asked and where most of the other players were given a choice.  Obviously, numbers are not going to change the price of rice in China.  I remember telling him at the time, make #9 special regardless of how that number came to you.  He has been #9 ever since on every travel team he has been on.  The only exception was last year on JV where a senior varsity player already had the number.  He let me know yesterday his number this year is #9 yet, we would have been thrilled with any number.  That being said, we are happy this number came back to him.  Did not realize at the time that #9 was Ted Williams number.

So 2027 made the freshman team!  Coach said a lot of positives and has pretty high expectations for him.

Season still going good. 3-0 in district play. Son has been playing well, splitting time behind the plate with a Junior.

It’s opening day of the HS season!  39 degrees with 15mph winds, “feels like” 30.  But the sun is shining!  The team has strong bats down the line-up and solid defense; with average pitching.  Very excited to see what this season brings!

The wind was angry that day. Like an old man returning soup at a deli.

varsity won their first two games.  my 2023 had a walk off single for the scrimmage and had a great scoop at first to end the non-conference game.  another game today.  high of 48 but windy, sunny.  But the game is on!  2027 has his first game tomorrow.  They still don't know the lineup.  Freshman baseball is second fiddle.  I get it.

@RJM posted:

The wind was angry that day. Like an old man returning soup at a deli.

NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Son's team is off to a 12-5 start. Their starting pitching has been excellent. The bats are Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde. Runs have been a premium. Also seems that they get up for big games, and lowly teams they just go through the motions. They have knocked off two teams that were nationally ranked at the time and two other teams that were top 20 state ranked. But then they go up against a team that should not be on the same field as them and it's like they are sleep walking.

Individual wise, 2023 son is closing in on a couple of milestones for his varsity career (4 year starter). He is on the bump tonight and if he can get the W, it will be his 20th varsity win. He is six hits away from 100 career hits. These were two of his goals coming into the season. So good to see that he should hopefully accomplish both, especially since he only played 7 games freshman year because of the shutdown.

I marvel at how blessed other states are with how many baseball games you all can play.  We are only allowed 20 regular season games, with a max of 25 if you go to the state championship.

Writing this more for myself as a humbling reminder how hard baseball is, and that one learns more from "failure". Hopefully, son will learn from this, and turn it into a positive moving forward. Season had been goin very well, esp from pitching perspective. Came up against bigger, stronger, good hitting team. Usual approaches against hitters didn't work as well. Lots of errors and soft contact that ended up as hits, and some HHBs that brought runs in. Suboptimal adjustment off of particular pitch that hitters were getting contact on despite movement. Loss of emotional control, lack of focus and garbage body language after things snowballed. He's been summarily punished, not for end result or errors, but for inexcusable & selfish body language leading to loss of focus. Tale of the tape reveals much that can be improved upon as far as approach to hitters. Execution was there, mental focus and adjustment were not. What's the definition of insanity? Repeating the same... no it's a 15yo. Often times seemingly, the WORST thing that can happen to a young mind is success out of the gate, much like winning the first time in a casino...

HS baseball in PA starts this week.  Today is opening day for my son.
I'm just glad that it will be 60F temp today, not the 30F that we had on Sunday.

Last night in the 50's with cold northerly breeze... today in the 70s... tomorrow 80s... I was very glad to have learned taking the layering approach and that my outer shell could accommodate a tshirt, underarmor, jersey, and "cold weather" jacket...   My friends from up north say I've gone soft now - there's something to be said about getting used to a certain temperature.

@Grateful NTX lurker

I was talking to one of my son's coaches the other day. He's got well over 25 years experience coaching at a collegiate level.  We were talking about batting averages and other stats. and how I don't share my son's with him during the season. ( He has since figured out how to get them on game changer). He said it's important never to get too wrapped up in the highs and lows of game and try to remain on even keel. Easier said than done.

Also the 14/15 yo brain is still very much learning emotional regulation no matter how much they appear mature on the outside. Our sons are so driven and motivated that occasionally frustration and disappointment poke through. After all no one is perfect. But it's just part of learning experience of growing up. It's just tough to watch sometimes. But I think we tend to learn much more from our failures than our successes.

I feel the pain, 15 year old brains are hard to deal with sometimes. Mine is very hard on himself and it has been leading to confidence issues. He can hit a left center gap double on a second pitch and on the car ride home he talks about the swing and miss he had on the first pitch of the at bat that he says was a better pitch.

We are playing our first outdoor scrimmage today.  The item of note today is where we are playing - League Park.  You might say, League Park - so what?  League Park opened in 1891 in Cleveland and the first pitch was thrown by Cy Young.  Babe Ruth had some of his greatest games at League Park.  As far as I am aware, only three parks still exist where Babe Ruth played and that is Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and League Park (new Yankee Stadium is not where the old one was).  League Park is on the same grounds but in no way does it remotely resemble the way it looked when Ruth played as most of the original structure has long since been torn down.  There is a museum there and surrounding the park is some of the old stone walls that were there when the park was built.  My Paul Harvey story for the day as it relates to this thread...

Here is a nice article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Ruth at League Park.   

https://www.cleveland.com/trib...indians-history.html

Update:  our season is going really well, which is totally a subjective thing to say.  It’s going really well for my 2026 (fr) and the starters, that is.  Personally, I’d like to see more game time for some quality players not on the first team, but I hear there are other factors contributing to their lack of playing time like being in time or attitude.  

My son has done really well and I’m really enjoying seeing him progress.  Everyone started the season as mostly unknowns and things have worked themselves out for him by proving it on the field and in practices.  His progression so far - he started at the bottom in every category possible:

Fielding: a non starter in preseason to shared time to owning 1B.  He has shown he’s the man to dig out nearly everything thrown his way and made some heads up plays.  His hitting probably a big factor here too.

Batting: non starter, nearly last in line up in preseason (everyone hit in scrimmages, all 18) to hitting 7-8th in lineup, to batting cleanup as a starter.  His stats are great but I personally like that he changed his approach on his own or by listening to the coaches.  I like to talk about stuff with him but I’m not knowledgeable enough to give advice, and when I ask about something, he usually chuckles and says I still don’t know anything 🤣.  From my eyes, I like that he barrels more 1st pitch strikes and also has the best QAB stats.  

Pitching:  middle of the pack in preseason, worked up the ranking pretty fast.  He’s middle of the pack in velo, so could’ve been a factor early on.  He is a command/control guy and that proved to be what gets outs.  The other successful pitchers are also better at command/control too.  The varsity coach randomly struck up a conversation with me recently and commented that he likes to see his pitchers work efficiently and that too many of the younger pitchers are chasing strikeouts rather than weak contact, which gets them deep in counts most of the time (I’m paraphrasing).  My son chases Ks as do all the rest.  The most challenging part of pitching in HS for him is understanding he isn’t going to pitch every inning.  He gets to start but the coaches hold them to 50-60 pitches and sometimes just 2 innings.  There are a lot of arms that need to get work and I like that approach.  

We are about 3 weeks into district play.  What I’m really interested in seeing is if he can maintain this level of success through the next month or if he fails somewhere, how he handles it.  He failed in some categories in 14u and did well to adjust but hated not being near the top, which is great motivation.  

One last note, there are a few players that belittle or talk s$$t to their teammates.  None of them are starters.  All of them probably think they should be starting.  I don’t think the coaches know because I think it happens away from the field.  Coach is very adamant about being a great teammate and supporting your team.  Son and I talked about it because there’s a lot of social BS that happens at this age (14-15) and through HS.  So it’s not all about baseball.  

And in some parts of the country, the HS season is just about to start!

Temperatures with the wind have felt like 30s for games - brutal.  To my surprise, son, a 2026, has been lucky to start in nearly every game for the JV team at his very large school (roster is the largest by far of any team we've ever been on, so we certainly did not expect this).  He has been contributing and has helped win games.  Now hoping for warmer weather!

@TexasLefty posted:

One last note, there are a few players that belittle or talk s$$t to their teammates.  None of them are starters.  All of them probably think they should be starting.  I don’t think the coaches know because I think it happens away from the field.  Coach is very adamant about being a great teammate and supporting your team.  Son and I talked about it because there’s a lot of social BS that happens at this age (14-15) and through HS.  So it’s not all about baseball.  

Congrats to your son on his good season.  With respect to your quote above, I suspect it is happening in every dugout in the country because the same things are happening here.  Maybe a kid is not gracious enough to actually pull for a teammate when they are sitting on the bench - I get that.  At least don't open your mouth then and say negative things to someone.  Of course, I forget, the guys sitting all would be hitting 1000, never make an error in the field, and all have 0.00 ERA's if only the coach were smart enough to play them.

@ClevelandDad exactly🤣🤣🤣

The dugout talk can be tough. Here's another sort of talk. Son is a starter and is one of the top performers in AVG, OBP, RBI, SB, etc. Yet, he's the only one pulled in the 4/5th inning for unknown reasons. Son is pondering in silence "why him"? The dugout talk is all about his situation. Teammates repetitively saying, "Why'd you get pulled?", "I had no idea it was possible for someone that is 2 for 2 to be benched", "I have no shot at ever playing if this guy's not even getting to play", "Does Coach hate you?"

@Momball11 posted:

The dugout talk can be tough. Here's another sort of talk. Son is a starter and is one of the top performers in AVG, OBP, RBI, SB, etc. Yet, he's the only one pulled in the 4/5th inning for unknown reasons. Son is pondering in silence "why him"? The dugout talk is all about his situation. Teammates repetitively saying, "Why'd you get pulled?", "I had no idea it was possible for someone that is 2 for 2 to be benched", "I have no shot at ever playing if this guy's not even getting to play", "Does Coach hate you?"

Just watching our games and from what we have observed, is this possibly when his team has a healthy lead?  I have observed early on in the season that the coaches are giving more kids opportunities than they have in the most recent games.   We saw a bit of this early on, but it is gradually diminishing as coaches seem to be settling into a lineup with starters.   

@ILoveBaseball04 posted:

Just watching our games and from what we have observed, is this possibly when his team has a healthy lead?  I have observed early on in the season that the coaches are giving more kids opportunities than they have in the most recent games.   We saw a bit of this early on, but it is gradually diminishing as coaches seem to be settling into a lineup with starters.   

Yes, still early on in the season for sure. Inconsistent with the "healthy" lead though. I would say justifiable if the lead was comfortable because that's a perfectly good time to let players on the bench get some playing time. But that hasn't always been the case. Last year son was in the first man off the bench position, but when the team had a healthy lead he didn't get put in. Guess the coach has changed his tactics, but it's definitely odd that my son is the only one that gets pulled. I question if maybe it's attitude/behavior...but no, that's something we/he gets complimented on the most. I sort of wonder if it's to appease the parents of the one replacing him and they figure my son will be "understanding" and/or his parents won't throw a stink. I just tell myself and son that sometimes life just isn't fair, keep working, support your teammates and make sure you encourage positive conversations/talk in the dugout.

@Momball11 posted:

I sort of wonder if it's to appease the parents of the one replacing him and they figure my son will be "understanding" and/or his parents won't throw a stink. I just tell myself and son that sometimes life just isn't fair, keep working, support your teammates and make sure you encourage positive conversations/talk in the dugout.

Your intuition is probably right.  There are only two things a player can control - his attitude and his effort.  Your son's attitude sounds great and that reflects nicely on his parents as well.  It is up to him if he wants to be the hardest worker on the team but it sounds like he checks that box very nicely as well.  You cannot control what other parents or players say and it can be ugly at times.  Cannot control a coach's decision.  I encourage kids that even in practice, if you are shagging balls on the infield or outfield, dive for a ball if you can get to it.  Carry the water cooler if necessary with a smile on your face.  I gave my son that same advice when he was originally redshirted in college.  In high school, he had to scratch and claw his way into the lineup as a junior.  Might only see one at bat in two games.  That is the lot he had.  He had to produce with one at bat and it was the same in college.  Imagine your whole career depending on what you did with one at bat.

One of the most frustrating things about HS baseball is trying to understand what is going on in the coach's mind. They don't explain much - and, given how much guff they take, you can't really blame them, since anything they said would probably be misinterpreted by someone.  But that leads to even more frustration and speculation.

We understood some of it better by the end of senior year.  Some of it we have never understood.  But you know what, we see the coach occasionally and I could now ask him about those things - but it never even crosses my mind!

I read an article about the do’s and don’ts about getting drafted back when my son was around 10 or 11. I wasn’t being prophetic, just one of those reads that sticks with you.

There was a bunch about not wearing your college gear, don’t bring a car if you can avoid it, and strategies for eating healthy. What really stuck with me was “Don’t play the GM game”. Which boiled down to keeping a positive mental attitude while others advanced and you didn’t, even if your stats seemed to indicate you should. I still feel like this is great advice for parents and players.

@JucoDad posted:

What really stuck with me was “Don’t play the GM game”. Which boiled down to keeping a positive mental attitude while others advanced and you didn’t, even if your stats seemed to indicate you should. I still feel like this is great advice for parents and players.

From fighting his way back into the baseball class after playing basketball as a freshman, not making JV, only pitching 12 innings his juco freshman season and the host of setbacks that most every competitive athlete suffers, he stayed driven and positive. .

Thanks for sharing this.  I’m not as knowledgeable as most of you and my son is just getting started in the high school realm but I think these words are gold.  Thanks

Got some nice words from one of the assistants about both of my boys.  Hard workers, great kids, and least important, good ball players.  2023 hit the ball real hard yesterday but a diving catch by the cf robbed him of a hit. Played a great game in the field.  2027 ( playing on freshman) is going very well.  Game tonight, weather permitting 🤞