An article with a top college prospect on why he left baseball

Good for him. More kids should quit baseball and go do what they want.

Confusing story to me. If it's not your passion, fine move on. Him saying I hope we lose so I can go fishing  shows he's not feeling it. He goes on to badmouth C of C, which is a good school. There r kids who Party at every college. My son is not a partier at all and has managed to make friends, and  still remain true to his Christian values at College. Glad this kid finally cleared the air w the Charleston coach, he should have acted with  a bit more maturity and done that when he left instead of writing a letter for teammate to pass on. To not inform his dad  showed a lack of respect in my book. I would feel  disappointed if my son quit, took off for two days, and had to hear about it from coach. 

On one hand he seems to dislike playing baseball, and everything assoc w the sport, yet says he would play again if God wants him too.  Very confusing. 

Kid has talent, but so have many others like him.  Just move on, fish, hunt, attend church and get degree.  Baseball is not for everyone.

 I am thinking that there is a lot more to the story that he didn't tell us. Was there an influence there that made him change his mind sometime that year, the girlfriend (now wife) or the church he became involved with?  Not doing as well as expected on the cape, Lee leaving to go to Clemson?

Not discussing any of this with anyone (dad or his coach) and just walking away (just writing a note) is really weird.  

Yes, I agree you can still hold onto your christian values (or any) and still play a sport, if that is what you really want to do. 

I love it. Coach wanted them to do 6 am conditioning on the opening day of duck season. .  It's like when I scheduled my wedding in November.  My uncles said there would be a problem.  It was the start of deer season.  Priorities.  

He wanted his team to lose. He didn't face his coach with his decision. He didn't face his father with his decision. He either lacks courage or needs to be treated for depression.

If he had married my daughter I'd be afraid she married an immature basket case. Taking off without telling his coach and father was very immature and disrespectful.

In the end, playing baseball is a job that requires a lot from a person. If you don't want to do the job, you shouldn't. That doesn't mean I agree with anything about how he left his job.

It takes passion to apply ones self to the utmost degree, which is what college ball requires. Kid is apparently a natural swinger from early on. We've all seen them, from rookie ball through high school. The easy going, loose limbed kid who seemed to give no effort other than what was absolutely required by the coaches, could just step up and poke one outta there. Played the game because that's what his friends did or because pop's insisted he go out for the team. Our kid's envied his swing and talked about the game long after the lights went out but the easy swinger never gave it another thought until it was time for the next practice.

Most went away from the game well before high school but this kid was apparently too good to be missed by the game changers. He continues on as that seems to be his destiny but finally decides to take control of the direction he wants his life to roll. I find his easy going nature humorous in that considering his talent, he takes a left turn without giving the world a blinker.

I agree with TPM's suspicions that the story is incomplete, but why not take it as it's written since we have no other knowledge nor insight into this young man's life. It could be that the opposite sex and sudden interest in religion, that wasn't apparently present before, may have influenced his decisions. However, he is of age. I only hope he doesn't regret it as he gets a little older and wiser. It surely does seem to be an opportunity missed to bank a little off the game and then hunt and fish the rest of his life, at nicer 'Lodges'.

Hunter10 posted:

It takes passion to apply ones self to the utmost degree, which is what college ball requires. Kid is apparently a natural swinger from early on. We've all seen them, from rookie ball through high school. The easy going, loose limbed kid who seemed to give no effort other than what was absolutely required by the coaches, could just step up and poke one outta there. Played the game because that's what his friends did or because pop's insisted he go out for the team. Our kid's envied his swing and talked about the game long after the lights went out but the easy swinger never gave it another thought until it was time for the next practice.

Most went away from the game well before high school but this kid was apparently too good to be missed by the game changers. He continues on as that seems to be his destiny but finally decides to take control of the direction he wants his life to roll. I find his easy going nature humorous in that considering his talent, he takes a left turn without giving the world a blinker.

I agree with TPM's suspicions that the story is incomplete, but why not take it as it's written since we have no other knowledge nor insight into this young man's life. It could be that the opposite sex and sudden interest in religion, that wasn't apparently present before, may have influenced his decisions. However, he is of age. I only hope he doesn't regret it as he gets a little older and wiser. It surely does seem to be an opportunity missed to bank a little off the game and then hunt and fish the rest of his life, at nicer 'Lodges'.

Well said.

Speaking from experience, depression can really mess with your head and make you question your reality. Depression hit me so hard that I quit baseball in 7th grade and didn't pick up a bat again until freshman year when it was more under control. I thought I quit again last fall (sophomore year) when my depression got to its worst and I told myself that the only way I'd be happy is if I wasn't alive. Fast forward a year and I'm a junior with a passion for the game that outdoes everyone I know. 

I sympathize with this kid because I've been through it. I know some time away from everything laid back at home can help and I hope that it helps him and he finds the desire to play again.

Funny, I was thinking about this very thing quite a bit yesterday, driving to son's next town, next series.  I was actually trying to come up with an interesting way to frame it in the form of a question or statement here to open up dialog. 

From time to time, I think many players and parents question "Is it really worth it?"  I think the answer is different for each and there are an infinite number of scenarios.  I just wish that this particular example didn't have all the "mismanagement" issues that others have pointed out.  It sort of dilutes the message that it isn't for everyone and it is often the right decision to take another path.  But, when choosing to do so, one should properly exit the first path before moving on to the next. 

Young man, I hope your parents are aware of your issues. Depression is a lonely affliction that is only truly understood by those who've experienced it. It is not a battle to fight alone nor is it anything to be embarrassed about, it is serious though. Please message me or anyone on this forum if you need to talk, at any time. I will give you my number. Depression sometimes has to do with chemical imbalances experienced during puberty, often temporary.

Thanks for contributing NYCT, we need to hear from the young players as you can probably tell we're a bunch of old Mom's and Pop's reminiscing on our kid's glory days. Keep playing ball and posting on the site. Hunter Out!

NYCTBaseball posted:

Speaking from experience, depression can really mess with your head and make you question your reality. Depression hit me so hard that I quit baseball in 7th grade and didn't pick up a bat again until freshman year when it was more under control. I thought I quit again last fall (sophomore year) when my depression got to its worst and I told myself that the only way I'd be happy is if I wasn't alive. Fast forward a year and I'm a junior with a passion for the game that outdoes everyone I know. 

I sympathize with this kid because I've been through it. I know some time away from everything laid back at home can help and I hope that it helps him and he finds the desire to play again.

Hunter10 posted:

Young man, I hope your parents are aware of your issues. Depression is a lonely affliction that is only truly understood by those who've experienced it. It is not a battle to fight alone nor is it anything to be embarrassed about, it is serious though. Please message me or anyone on this forum if you need to talk, at any time. I will give you my number. Depression sometimes has to do with chemical imbalances experienced during puberty, often temporary.

Thanks for contributing NYCT, we need to hear from the young players as you can probably tell we're a bunch of old Mom's and Pop's reminiscing on our kid's glory days. Keep playing ball and posting on the site. Hunter Out!

 My reply was meant for NYCTBaseball. I'm not the techiest fellow on the web or I could'a fixed it. lol

Thank you Hunter. Yes, I am always on the same page with my parents on this issue and I'm pretty open about my experience because it's important to make sure others going through this sort of thing know that they've been there and that it can be beaten.

“I hated every game we played,” Pappas says. “I couldn’t relate to anybody. Most of the players were going out partying and trying to get with girls and I would be in bed by 9 at my host family’s house.”

Sounds like his baseball environment wasn't conducive to being close to God. 

Glad to hear it kid. Depression suuuucccckkkkssss. I hope it's temporary for you as it probably is. Good luck!

First time poster...really enjoy the wisdom and insight available here.

Just because you are gifted in a particular discipline doesn't mean that you love it. I was fortunate enough to play two sports in college with football paying my way. I LIKED football but LOVED baseball. In order to be great, I believe that you have to be extremely (top 1%) talented or work extremely hard. From what I've seen as a player and coach, usually the hardest workers enjoy the process. The only thing I enjoyed about football was Saturdays. I enjoyed everything about baseball, including practice. I hated football practice but was good enough to play. 

It sounds like this kid just doesn't love the game and that's okay. I just wish that he would have handled it differently. 

lionbaseball posted:

“I hated every game we played,” Pappas says. “I couldn’t relate to anybody. Most of the players were going out partying and trying to get with girls and I would be in bed by 9 at my host family’s house.”

Sounds like his baseball environment wasn't conducive to being close to God. 

...or, he was missing the girlfriend/wife...

...or, playing at the Cape is hard...and you have to work at it.  All. the. time.

Keewartson played against CofC 4 times last season.  They are a tough team.  But I agree with HSHULER (welcome, btw) you have to LOVE it.  

Sounds like his Summer experience was not a good one. Maybe it was first time he experienced a slump, and then an injury. Wouldn't worry what other teammates were doing. If they were partying during season, it will show in their performance. 

I think he just didn't have passion for baseball, and did not like school/major so he found excuses to leave. Now there's a scholarship/position open for someone who has the dream. 

“My biggest wish is that the people in baseball would understand that the sport isn’t their life,” Pappas says. “It doesn’t love you the way you love it. I just hate seeing people put all their eggs in one basket.”

Hogwash

Regardless of why, he didnt love baseball, thats fine, but the generalized quote above is just not true, maybe for him it was but not for alot of others, they are not hoping to lose. He did what he should have done, quit. BTW, there's plenty of hunting to do Nov-Jan for the rest of your life.