Dilemma averted...or not.

Babe Ruth is where he made a commitment.  As a dad, we love to see our children get a chance to do great things; but our most important thing is to make them men or women of their word.  

 

A man is only as good as his word!

       
       
Right up til they become real world adults and take the bigger better deal for the sake of their family when it comes along.  Go where the better opportunity is.  Most of those buddies he will never see again at some point of his life.

I agree, tell him to stick to his commitment.  Quick story- we were in a similar situation.  my son is a 2017.  He was invited by a big national team (won't say who) to come play in Georgia last week at the PG national, he had a commitment to his local U18 travel team to play in an impact tournament in North Carolina.  He wanted, and I wanted very badly to go to GA, that's the place to be for exposure.  He stuck to his commitment.  First game in NC, two ACC programs, and a high level Big South team- all head coaches were there.  Glad he stuck to his commitment!  more importantly- loyalty is important- he learned a good lesson.

 

Keep to original agreement.

curious if son is a P, how many innings is he pitching this Summer while on 2 teams? 

Did he pitch a lot in HS team? 

Is he P only or is he playing other positions on both teams. hes only a 2018 so he has time to improve/be seen, why does he need to play on two teams?

my 2017 was asked to go to GA with good squad, he would be there right now. The problem was his team is playing in a local event this weekend. He didn't think twice, he said "I am not leaving my squad" and declined I was very proud of him...do the right thing it will treat him well in life.

 

your boy will get seen if he is good, you will make sure he has plenty of chances to be seen...he is a 2018 there is plenty of time.

In high school, he was the #3 pitcher on a very good senior-laden team. He only pitched 14 innings because it was rare that they needed to go to a #3.

 

Team #1 is his Babe Ruth all-star team who also plays in a wood bat league made up of other southern Colorado. Because we lose eight starters and have weak junior and senior classes next season, this is basically the varsity starting team next year. However, exposure is not the purpose of this team and the schedule they play doesn't offer any.

Team #2 is made up of upcoming seniors and (mostly) guys who graduated from both our high school and another high school last year. They played in high profile tournaments this summer with the main purpose of exposure. The competition they played was among the best 18u and 19u teams in the country. The attention he has gotten from pitching, and performing well, against those squads has brought inquiries through his coaches from several D1 schools.

 

The schedule also miraculously worked out well. He only had to miss two of twelve wood bat league games because of a fortuitous two week hole in the schedule that coincided with a Phoenix tourney and a San Diego tourney. For the most part, he's been able to follow exactly the schedule I want him on - pitching once every 5 to 7 days. There was only one exception. He pitched recently on only 2 days rest (really 2 1/2 due to the first game being a 10am game and the second an 8:30pm start). He threw complete games in both. A no-hit shutout for a 2-0 win in the wood bat game that gave his team the championship and a 0ne-hit 2-1 win I the semis of the Farmington Connie Mack league.

 

He also threw for his BR rec team that I coach (he had to play 6 games to qualify for post-season), but didn't pitch in that league and one tournament for a third 18u team in Omaha both because he otherwise would have had an 11-day pitching rest and because I wanted to see the Razorbacks in the CWS . Basically, arm health has been good and I've kept him on a good schedule.

Playing the competition that team #2 has provided has offered benefits beyond my imagination. Putting him in situations where he can't just blow the ball by batters (those guys feast on 85mph fastballs down the pipe) has taught him how to work the strike zone and sequence his pitches in a planned way. Further, his velocity has actually picked up a couple of ticks. A month ago, he was sitting 82-83. Today, he's sitting 84-86.

 

Now, my wife wants to leave the decision up to him, but I'm not buying that. He'll keep his commitment, but, I'll admit, it would be harder if it were team #2 earning a spot or if he were a year older and needed the immediate exposure. All he knows is that 100+ colleges will be represented at the CMWS and zero at the BR Regional. Additionally, he pitched that one-hitter in front of 3K fans. That's a first for him and I'm sure it was addicting.

It would be one thing to look at his BR teammates and tell them that he is going to choose his CMWS team over them and play CM.

 

A completely other to tell them that he's going to be a pickup player (likely as a PO) for a random team.

 

Also, can the other team even pick him up?  AABC has pretty stringent roster rules.  I believe (for national competition) that he has to have been with the team continuously since not later than June 15 and appear in at least one game prior to July 1.

The only rule is that you have to be on the roster by June 15 and play at least one Connie Mack game prior to June 1, but they allow teams to roster players from within their region that are otherwise eligible with another team, as long as the roster meets the other requirement of no more than 10 players from outside your "recruiting area" and at least 405 of the roster is from inside that area. Further, a host World Series team (as this one would be) can take players from outside the region. Strange rules. Another strange twist is that if he chooses to be picked up by the host team, he would be ineligible to play on his team next week in the Regional. Bottom line is that it isn't going to happen anyway. Now, I just secretly hope they don't win the region, so I don't have to deal with this.

He's a PO on the current CM team as well, but doesn't mind that at all. I also had to explain to him that if he were picked up, there's a decent chance they go out in two games, you never see the mound, and pissed off you hs teammates for nothing.

I read it differently, but then again, I'm certainly not a rules expert.  Everything that I saw was specific to their National tournaments and specified "his team" throughout.  I was looking at rule 106.  My son's team qualified and is going, and prior to this year, had never done AABC or Connie Mack, so I had been looking at all their rules just out of interest when I saw your post.

 

If he makes it, PM me and me and we can chat over an adult beverage.

Playing on two teams can be a tough balancing act. My son has had the same problem this summer.  He's playing on a collegiate league summer team but on their off days he plays with his travel team from last year.  He pitches for the travel team but not on the college team.  Sunday he pitched and then monday the college coach wanted him to catch.  Needless to say the college coach was not happy he couldn't catch due to pitching the day before.  

 

I tell my son that he needs to decide what is best for him.  You can't make everyone happy is these situations. 

He made a commitment to the BR team. Do commitments mean anything to him? There's a maturity issue at play here. If he opts for the CM team I would require him to call a BR team meeting to tell all his teammates and coaches to their face what he's chosen. How would your son feel if a teammate bailed on him and possibly cost him a chance at the BRWS?

 

Several years ago a kid I know blew off his Legion team in regions for a showcase. The coach decided to let the players vote on his return. His teammates voted him off on island. The sub who got the opportunity to play got the game winning hit in the ALWS. He was also named tournament MVP. He went from a bench player to a college prospect In a week.

Yeah, AABC rules are complex and seem to conflict with themselves a few times. Rule 105 reads:

"

Teams that have qualified for National

Competition may alter their sanctioned roster from their first

qualifying event (a State Tournament, a Regional Qualifying

Tournament, or a National Qualifying Tournament) any time

except during play of any tournament, up to the beginning of their

final event by up to 40% of the maximum roster limit of their

respective age division, provided the total players on the roster

does not exceed the maximum number of players allowed: ten

(10) roster spots in Stan Musial, nine (9) roster spots in Connie

Mack, Don Mattingly, Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. and

eight (8) roster spots in all other age divisions. All roster spot

additions or changes must come from their region and a Host

Team for a World Series shall have first priority of additional or

substituted players outside the leagues of the other qualified teams

within their region."

 

Then Rule 205 talks about adding "extra players" who haven't even been certified yet. It's confusing.

 

It's not going to matter what he decides, if you get my drift. I'll let him think that as long as he makes the right decision, though.

The CMWS is a once in a lifetime chance to really experience something unique. These type of venues help to fuel the fire within to the young player.

See how it goes, have him go to his teammates, have a sit down and let him tell them how he feels and let them tell him how they feel.

You might be surprised at what they might decide upon, as true baseball players tell their buddies never to give up great opportunities!

Son played CM in HS and they came out two seasons one win away from going to play in the WS. Heartbreaker.

Are we talking about the Connie Mack oldest division games, Root? The one DBAT Gallegos won last year -- or a younger division?

 

 

Yeah. That's the one. His team played out of the Farmington league and, had they won the tournament, would have secured the host spot. Instead, they play in the South Plains Region next week. But, there is little chance of winning that one. However, his performance in the semis was apparently impressive enough to convince the host team to inquire into his availability as a pickup for the roster.

Maybe next year don't let your son play for more than one team?   

My son was asked by an American Legion coach if he could pitch or catch for them during the week.  I told my son no since he needed to be 100% for the team he is committed to on the weekends.  

That and he would have to quit his summer job that his paying for his car.