Dear Coach

Vandlandingham -

Best. Post. Ever.

I can only hope that was a joke. Either you made it up or one of your buddies emailed that to you.

Unfortunately, I know it is probably from a parent that is absolutely serious.

Best of luck with that dad. And the lefty shortstop!

Rich
www.PlayInSchool.com
www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool

Dear Coach

My son is looking to change teams. He has played the last 2 years for the Turlingua CopperMouthRattleMoccasins and he is just not getting any looks. He is 15, but has played up since he was 3. He is coming off of Tommy John and should be ready by May. He didn't have an injury, but we heard on the internet that most players come back stronger, so we had the surgery anyway. We have had laser hair removal on his face, so that scouts won't think that he has already matured. That's a detriment you know. He batted 1067 last season with Game Changer's new bonus program for wearing your shirt tucked in and if you actually touch a base, it is considered a hit. Please let me know what Pro Scouts attend your practices. The Mets saw him when he was 12 and really liked him as a left fielder. BTW, we only pay by 2 Party, Posted Dated, Out of State Checks. Payment will be submitted once we assess your programs performance.

Thanks,

Meg Ryan's Dad

quote:

Johnny Baseball

hahahhahahahaha

Vanlandingham- That was greatness.

Lynn,

That was awesome! I'm sure that those are not far from the truth as I have had some doozies as a high school coach!

LOL... too funny!

Tryouts are on Sunday. See you at church!

Wow! This should be a good training letter for all parent meetings

This one is from years back, but is a true story:

Coach,
My son is obviously the best player in this age group in DFW. We are looking for a team that will fit his abilities. We have watched your team play and it looks like you have your 3,4 and 5 hitters bunt some of the time. "Little Johnny" does not bunt. We can not afford to have scouts in the stands and have him bunt. I'm sure you can understand that we do not want to jeopardize his future by having him bunt with the Yankees in the stands (The kid was 15 at the time). Also, "Little Johnny" should have the ability to help you with the lineup. He has a great feel for the game and his team mates and would provide insight on the best line up for the team. Since he also catches, he will have the best idea on what pitchers are hot and which ones should be used in relief. Also, he will start switch hitting this year. As you know, the fastest way to the big leagues is as a Switch Hitting Catcher (There are so many of them????) and he will need to hit left handed most of the time. Let us know if these terms are acceptable with you as we need to move forward with our decision.

My Response:
This is not the place for you. Good luck to you.

BTW my 3, 4 and 5 were:
Jacob House - Texas A&M /Diamondbacks
Mike Marshall - Stanford / Phillies
Garrett Buechelle - Oklahoma / Giants

I've never had one quite that bad, and I've also never coached kids who have accomplished what those 3 boys have.

But I have had parents tell me that their 13-14yr old doesn't need to learn to bunt (really? since he's the biggest kid now, I guess that means he'll always hit in the middle of the order and never have the need to lay down a sac bunt as a HS, college, etc player?), and some who should "never play OF. He's too good for that." Really? College/Pro OFs aren't considered "as good" as pro INF? My response was like yours... funny, b/c I've tracked some of those players over the years. Some are not even playing any longer. Others ... they won't be in the pros, either.

Do you know whatever came of this player from a baseball perspective?