A moment or game you will never forget.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I’ll bite. Last summer my kid was guesting for a team five hours from home, spent the night in the local hospital on IV antibiotics (a long story..), was released at 11 am Sunday morning, and begged to be able to play in the semis at 1 pm. The opposing team was one of the strongest in the region, and one of their best pitchers was on the bump. My kid went toe to toe with that pitcher, hit a triple oppo and got struck out by a nasty curve, then hit a homerun off the relief pitcher. Kid’s team ended up losing in the end (a walkoff in the seventh inning?) but the game was spectacular. My son loves that team he was guesting for- the coaches, players, and parents —all of them. It was a great game, and an honor to play with them. [the other highlight of last year was my son’s top-ten-in-county score on the MathLeague test 
]
My 2017 never hit a HR in HS. He had a couple inside-the-park ones in tournaments, but had not hit a baseball over a wall since Little League.
Freshman year, first game, first college PA, hits the second pitch he sees over the fence in left center.
Oh heck, why not. Need some good stories with all the bad or not so good news out there.
2012 District Championship game (HS) - son's senior year. Son's team is down 5-4 going into the bottom of the 7th. Bottom end of the line up is due up (8-9-1). First two batters are quickly put out. Top of the order - this kid is a 5 tool player with a 95 mph FB, can hit with power (7 HR's that year including a 2 run blast in the 5th inning of this game). Opposing coach calls time for a conference on the mound. First three pitches are nowhere near the plate. Coach motions to put him on. Son now up to bat. After two pitches the count is 1-1. Next pitch runner steals 2nd, now we are in business. Next pitch is inside for a ball. Count 3-1. Next pitch is coming inside and looks like it will nick the corner, but it tails back over the middle inside of the plate - son is all over it sending it over the 3B head deep into the left field corner for an RBI double and a tie ball game! First and only time I ever saw him pumping his fist after getting a clutch hit. Did I mention this was against our archrivals? Son's team would go onto win in the 8th securing the school's first district championship in 25 years.
They would go on to make it to the state quarterfinals, but lost in a close game 4-3 after taking a late game lead 3-2.
At the Juco he attended, his sophomore year he broke the school record for doubles (record was 23). Hit 24 doubles in the regular season with three more in the playoffs. Was ranked #2 in the nation among D2 JuCo's in that statistical catagory. That got him an offer from a D2 university where he had a very good junior year (6 HR's, 12 doubles and 1 triple) and they won the CIAA championship and placed 3rd in the regional playoffs.
Not gonna brag about my son, but I have a great story about his team and about a teammate. His D2 JuCo in Oklahoma was stacked last year and expectations were high. They were ranked as high as 3rd nationally before all the injuries hit. They lost 2 of their top 3 pitchers with season ending arm injuries and limped to a 3rd place conference finish, but qualified for a Regional. Fell into losers bracket in Regional but got hot and started winning. Somehow beat Western Oklahoma who was the most talented JuCo team I saw in 2019 at any level (entire IF was drafted). Made it to the finals but had to win twice. In first elimination game they were down 11-3 at one point but fought back. Going into the bottom of the 9th they were still down 11-8. By the time they managed to load the bases there were 2 outs. Coming to the plate was a seldom used kid that had entered the game in late innings as a pinch runner. He only had 5 hits all year and none for extra bases. On a 2-1 count he hit one over the LF wall for a walk off grand slam. Only the second HR of his life including Little League. The scene of the team waiting for him to cross home plate, to celebrate the most unlikely of heroes, shows the pure joy of playing team sports and is one of my favorite sports photos ever ( see attachment). Team went on to win Regional and the did the unthinkable and won a National Championship a couple weeks later. Kid that hit the walk off slam got a scholarship to an NAIA school in Kansas on the basis on that one hit. You could replay that situation a thousand times and it wouldn’t work out that way again. But it did once and that’s all that matters.
Attachments
Images (1)
I want to brag on all the spouses left at home to take of the pet(s), maintain the house, work from home and make sure the kids are doing their school work, not killing too many brain cells on video games or YouTube vids and not eat crappy snacks. I am grateful I still come home to a meal and hug. Some of us get applause at 7, but our spouses deserve the remaining 23 hours and 59 minutes of applause. Thank you!
My son has never been in a car wreck that was his fault.
adbono posted:Not gonna brag about my son, but I have a great story about his team and about a teammate. His D2 JuCo in Oklahoma was stacked last year and expectations were high. They were ranked as high as 3rd nationally before all the injuries hit. They lost 2 of their top 3 pitchers with season ending arm injuries and limped to a 3rd place conference finish, but qualified for a Regional. Fell into losers bracket in Regional but got hot and started winning. Somehow beat Western Oklahoma who was the most talented JuCo team I saw in 2019 at any level (entire IF was drafted). Made it to the finals but had to win twice. In first elimination game they were down 11-3 at one point but fought back. Going into the bottom of the 9th they were still down 11-8. By the time they managed to load the bases there were 2 outs. Coming to the plate was a seldom used kid that had entered the game in late innings as a pinch runner. He only had 5 hits all year and none for extra bases. On a 2-1 count he hit one over the LF wall for a walk off grand slam. Only the second HR of his life including Little League. The scene of the team waiting for him to cross home plate, to celebrate the most unlikely of heroes, shows the pure joy of playing team sports and is one of my favorite sports photos ever ( see attachment). Team went on to win Regional and the did the unthinkable and won a National Championship a couple weeks later. Kid that hit the walk off slam got a scholarship to an NAIA school in Kansas on the basis on that one hit. You could replay that situation a thousand times and it wouldn’t work out that way again. But it did once and that’s all that matters.
Love the umpire: great look on his face, showing respect.
Not my kids. But kids I know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbSU8xBRTFc
adbono posted:Not gonna brag about my son, but I have a great story about his team and about a teammate. His D2 JuCo in Oklahoma was stacked last year and expectations were high. They were ranked as high as 3rd nationally before all the injuries hit. They lost 2 of their top 3 pitchers with season ending arm injuries and limped to a 3rd place conference finish, but qualified for a Regional. Fell into losers bracket in Regional but got hot and started winning. Somehow beat Western Oklahoma who was the most talented JuCo team I saw in 2019 at any level (entire IF was drafted). Made it to the finals but had to win twice. In first elimination game they were down 11-3 at one point but fought back. Going into the bottom of the 9th they were still down 11-8. By the time they managed to load the bases there were 2 outs. Coming to the plate was a seldom used kid that had entered the game in late innings as a pinch runner. He only had 5 hits all year and none for extra bases. On a 2-1 count he hit one over the LF wall for a walk off grand slam. Only the second HR of his life including Little League. The scene of the team waiting for him to cross home plate, to celebrate the most unlikely of heroes, shows the pure joy of playing team sports and is one of my favorite sports photos ever ( see attachment). Team went on to win Regional and the did the unthinkable and won a National Championship a couple weeks later. Kid that hit the walk off slam got a scholarship to an NAIA school in Kansas on the basis on that one hit. You could replay that situation a thousand times and it wouldn’t work out that way again. But it did once and that’s all that matters.
Adbono - that is an awesome story! I love reading stories like that.
FoxDad posted:adbono posted:Not gonna brag about my son, but I have a great story about his team and about a teammate. His D2 JuCo in Oklahoma was stacked last year and expectations were high. They were ranked as high as 3rd nationally before all the injuries hit. They lost 2 of their top 3 pitchers with season ending arm injuries and limped to a 3rd place conference finish, but qualified for a Regional. Fell into losers bracket in Regional but got hot and started winning. Somehow beat Western Oklahoma who was the most talented JuCo team I saw in 2019 at any level (entire IF was drafted). Made it to the finals but had to win twice. In first elimination game they were down 11-3 at one point but fought back. Going into the bottom of the 9th they were still down 11-8. By the time they managed to load the bases there were 2 outs. Coming to the plate was a seldom used kid that had entered the game in late innings as a pinch runner. He only had 5 hits all year and none for extra bases. On a 2-1 count he hit one over the LF wall for a walk off grand slam. Only the second HR of his life including Little League. The scene of the team waiting for him to cross home plate, to celebrate the most unlikely of heroes, shows the pure joy of playing team sports and is one of my favorite sports photos ever ( see attachment). Team went on to win Regional and the did the unthinkable and won a National Championship a couple weeks later. Kid that hit the walk off slam got a scholarship to an NAIA school in Kansas on the basis on that one hit. You could replay that situation a thousand times and it wouldn’t work out that way again. But it did once and that’s all that matters.
Adbono - that is an awesome story! I love reading stories like that.
One of the coolest sports moments that I was ever a part of. And I have been fortunate to be at some really good ones, both as a player and a spectator.
The game I described was the first elimination game. We had to win another game after that one. In between games everyone there had gathered on the concourse, including the players, talking about the incredible finish. A kid had gotten the HR ball and brought it to Clay’s (#6) Dad, who was clutching the ball in one hand and Clay’s jersey in the other. He had tears in his eyes and I don’t know that I have ever seen a happier man. Dad told me he almost didn’t come to the game because Clay hardly ever got to play.
”How can you not be romantic about baseball?”
Thx for sharing the rest of the story.
This is not a baseball story. But some things are bigger than baseball and this is one of those stories. Occasionally people post things about what their kids have done in their professional lives after baseball, and I enjoy reading those posts. In hopes that others share that sentiment, I want to share something.
My oldest son was only a baseball player thru middle school. In HS he gravitated to swimming and was a really good freestyle sprinter. He was All State for 4 years in relay events. He also taught himself about computer circuitry. Specifically how information flowed thru a computer and where it is stored. Then he figured out how to retrieve it. All on his own. When he went off to college he tested out of 18 hours of computer science. Someone in the CS dept informed the local police and they hired my son to help them with cybercrimes when he was an 18 yr old freshman. This led to an assignment with the State Taskforce for Crimes Against Children, where he combats human trafficking. This week he attended a conference that was put on by an industry organization that teaches law enforcement agents tactics on how to better fight the fight. The event was attended by over 600 law enforcement professionals from all over the world. At this event they give an award (Be the One) in recognition of the officer that was the “one” most significant in changing someone’s life. Cases from all over North America are submitted, reviewed, and a winner is selected. The case this year involved an agent that went beyond the call of duty to locate a 13 year old girl that went missing. This agent refused to stop at dead ends and never gave up. He eventually found her trapped in a trailer house in an obscure rural location. He successfully freed her from her captor and effectively saved her life. That agent is my son. And this particular case is just one of many that are similar. The work he does is heroic and what he endures to do it is unthinkable to most of us. He has saved many young women from unspeakable atrocities and somehow does it without becoming jaded towards society. I have no idea how he does it. But my belief is that the discipline and resilience he developed as an athlete in his formative years have a lot to do with it. I’m inclined to share this to offer hope to those (including me, at times) that think the under 30 generation isn’t good for much. And to reinforce the importance of participation in youth sports.
Before all you kind people respond to me with congratulations please understand that I deserve none. All credit for what he has done goes to him. He is an incredible young man and I am as proud of him as a father can be. Literally.
Adbono Your son sounds like an incredible person. You should very proud. I think it's every parents dream that their child can contribute something back to make the world a better place.
For me it's going to sound silly because he's now a freshman in HS playing 15U majors.
But my son started playing late around 9/10. He was terrible, couldn't hit, couldn't catch. But he absolutely loved baseball and would practice constantly. Little league was over and he wanted to play travel but there was no way he was good enough.
Somehow a local single A team needed a 10th player so he was able to hop on that team. We played 16 games and he never got a hit. After every game he would cry in the car to let out his frustration on the way home then we would go to the cages and hit.
In the last game he singled just over the 2nd basemen's head. We cried and jumped for joy. It was his only hit of the season but it will probably be the one I remember the most. It was the little spark that helped him to keep going.
For my son it’s probably overcoming adversity as a “career accomplishment”. Freshman year started at catcher and developed a bad case of the yips. I was probably one of the few people glad to see the season canceled due to Covid. For some reason the best hitting and travel coach in the area agreed to work with him. These coaches gave him a reason to keep working hard and I can’t say enough how much they mean to our family. Sophomore year started the year with a bulging disc and had to overcome the injury and work his way back into the lineup. Junior year was going to be a breakout year. He’d put on a ton of muscle and was finally healthy. He got a freak hip injury in the preseason and couldn’t hit, run, or play catcher. He could throw and pitch though, so coach put him in and he did really well. Senior year was special. He was mostly a PO and he set the school record for wins and finished second in the state. He had the lowest ERA in the state for pitchers with over 40 IP, shut down 2 national top 50 teams, P5 commits were 1-22 with 10 k’s, only allowed 2 xbh all season, and won player of the year (and pitcher of the year) for his district and overall pitcher of the year for all districts in an area loaded with talent.
I posted this on another site last week:
Please forgive me for this shameless parent brag. Some on this site have been critical that I post too much about her so I've tried to stop posting anything about her. This might take some time so sit down, get some popcorn and ...
The kid just called and she has been selected for her universities' Hall of Fame. When she called to tell me, she was crying so hard that she could hardly speak. Then, I started crying. My kid's journey is like so many others so I don't mean to make it sound special. However, there were things that happened in her journey that made it different. So, here is where I might repeat myself for things I have posted here before:
When my DD was 9 years old, the rec program passed rules against her. They did so based on the fact that she is my daughter. I was and am so pissed about that. At first, she was not allowed to windup to pitch. Then, she was not allowed to hit at the top of the lineup. Thank goodness the first of many exceptional TB coaches took the team out of the league and we started playing TB with a rec team. The following year, the team had tryouts. A young lady sat down next to my DD and said that she did not have a best friend and would my DD be her best friend. That was at tryouts. Little did we know that this young lady and just lost her dad. That young lady was the Maid of Honor in my DD's wedding.
As I posted, my DD was eligible to play 12U a second year but that coach told us that she needed to move up and play against better competition. Enter the second exceptional coach. DD's best friend was already going to play on that team. That team was 14U but was going to play 16U and 18U. We didn't know that but the kid fit in and they traveled all around playing. In reality, she was playing ball with more girls who would be in her wedding. They won a lot and the kid was ready for HS ball.
In HS, she ran into a different kind of coach. He was very hard on her. He expected her to replace an all-state player and she battled trying to do so. She started every game in HS. In the circle, she went 29-1 and was all everything. She was 1st Team All-State. Her HS coach was exceptional in a different way. He never lowered his expectations for her regardless of year in school. There were times when it was not pretty. This coach's efforts made her tougher and she would need that for college. I think the world of her HS Coach. She started every game of her HS career. She was also All-State 1st Team.
Her TB team aged out for what the organization offered. The kid tried out for a nationally known TB team and made it. She received a phone call from her best friend who said that she was going to play for a local organization and that they wanted the kid as well. In fact, her best friend said to my DD that they were best friends and they had to play ball together. My DD hung up the phone and, again, started crying. She asked what she should do, my wife and I told her that she knew the right thing to do. She got on the phone and called the coach of the nationally known program and said that she was going to play with her best friend. They were seriously good and beat many nationally known programs. The coach got her name out there. A friend who you all know who is a D-I HC came to watch her. He was in the SEC then. He said that she could play in the SEC but not at his school. He got her so many offers. Suddenly, the offers stopped.
I've posted before what happened. A D-I coach took a photo of her wearing his school's new uniforms when we stopped by for an unofficial visit. He started telling everyone that she verballed to him and his school. We stopped by a D-I university on the way to Chattanooga to play at The Summit and the coach there was not nice to us. She wanted to know why we stopped by and the word was out about the kid attending such and such university. I was hot and let that coach know it when we got to Chattanooga. The kid had an offer from a school where my family lives. It was a huge offer. That coach came to see her play in a tournament and she tore it up hitting a bunch of home runs and was great in the circle. They won the tournament. That coach told me to call on Monday and he would have her offer finalized. I thought that it was already finalized. When I called, he made his offer which was a lot less than what he had said. He wanted to recruit two other players from her TB team and was going to give each of them equal percentages of tuition. IOWs, he had lied to us. With about 2 weeks before NLI signing day, the kid was without a team. The D-I Coach who is a friend contacted me and had several offers for the kid including some from the B1G. I have great friends.
We got a call from a Coach who was recruiting her for another school. He had become the HC at a D-II school 35 minutes from our home. He said that he knew what schools were offering the kid and that he would make us an offer we could not turn down. He did. At the same time, my mom went into Hospice and my DD was really struggling with leaving for college while my mom was that way. My DD took the offer.
When they say things happen for a reason, that is so true. The kid's freshman year was pure hell. I could bore you silly with what happened her freshman year but why? She had lucked into a great coach. In fact, my kid would go in and talk to him about everything. I mean everything. She once said that she felt like he was her second dad. The school was such a great choice. She wanted to be a teacher and that school was the top school in that state for training teachers. She received so many awards and left the school with several records. In the meantime, she played ball with some other young ladies who would be in her wedding.
Obviously, we are proud of her. She has worked so hard for this. I don't think many understand just how hard. I'll wrap up by mentioning that in our phone call, my DD talked about getting sick and almost dying. She had been bitten by a spider and the venom "attacked her heart." When she was released, she asked me what it would take for her to start varsity softball as a freshman. I told her she would have to hit 100 balls a day. She said, "Great, I'll hit 300 balls every day." She never missed a day from that day until the week before she entered college. Not one day. She is the toughest player I have ever coached and she is my kid. Congratulations BB on being selected to the UMSL Hall of Fame.
Thank you for reviving this thread! I won't congratulate you adbono and the rest of the parents but I am also vicariously beaming after reading your wonderful posts.
Chance of a 4.0 this semester.
In the last 4 months, my youngest son recently left the Army as a geospatial engineer, got a new job, bought a house (5 mins away) and got married last weekend. They'd been dating for 2 years. My wife and I are over the moon excited!
We don't want to jinx things, but we'd really like to be grandparents from any of our 3 (former baseball playing) sons. Until that time, we are going to continue to travel the world. We just got back from a hiking trip along the well-known TMB (Tour du Mount Blanc). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_du_Mont_Blanc
No doom and gloom here.
PS. .While we were at TMB in Chamonix, we got to witness the UTMB which is an incredible race...over 100 miles. The route of the Tour du Mont Blanc is used for that annual ultramarathon.
@fenwaysouth did you "step into the void?"
Each of my kids has won at least one HS championship which is super cool--working toward something all season as a team and achieving it with your teammates. But what brings me the most joy is the thoughtful, kind young adults they are and how much they enjoy each other. This offseason my son has spent time with each of his sisters and I love that for them!
@PTWood posted:@fenwaysouth did you "step into the void?"
Absolutely not! Not a fan of heights!
I saw this the other day, https://www.ndtv.com/world-new...n-indonesia-4524066, and thought of that glass skywalk. No thank you.
This may seem odd to a lot of posters with kids working their way up the baseball ladder. But unless a kid becomes a MLB player it’s not all that important.
My kids had a lot of success in multiple sports. Both went in to play P5 ball. But not one time ever standing at the plate matches what I felt watching them standing at the alter getting married. The first grandchild comes later this month.
Actually, if your kids do volunteer work as a result of being an athlete and impact one younger kid it’s bigger than any clutch hit they ever had.
Professionally my son has been very successful. But, being a business consultant isn’t all that exciting to discuss.
Before my daughter cashed in for the big law firm she was an Assistant DA. She put away a rich, privileged cadet who thought he was going to get away with raping a drunk coed after she passed out. His parents sent him into court with a legal team that would have made OJ proud.
The kid psychologically wrecked a young woman. He’s paying for it now in prison. Plus he wrecked his military career.
Out of law school my daughter quickly advanced to specializing in prosecuting violent crime. She had huge offers to become a defense attorney. Her experience as a prosecutor turned her against ever wanting to allow a violent criminal to wriggle free of the law. When she left prosecution she said she had to leave before becoming convinced half the world is filthy scum.
Add to grandkids: My daughter recently said she has no desire to coach kids. I told her wait until the first coach tells her kids to “squish the bug” before making the claim.
Sorry RJM dated your self with "squish the bug". It is now EV
2 college grads in 4 years each (much to their fathers surprise) 1 has masters the other will decide later. one in supply chain the other in insurance. Both seem to have transitioned well to "adulting" both on their own and finding their way. Golf has risen way up the ladder in time spent!
Baseball already seems like as long time ago and very unimportant.
@fenwaysouth posted:In the last 4 months, my youngest son recently left the Army as a geospatial engineer, got a new job, bought a house (5 mins away) and got married last weekend. They'd been dating for 2 years. My wife and I are over the moon excited!
We don't want to jinx things, but we'd really like to be grandparents from any of our 3 (former baseball playing) sons. Until that time, we are going to continue to travel the world. We just got back from a hiking trip along the well-known TMB (Tour du Mount Blanc). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_du_Mont_Blanc
No doom and gloom here.
PS. .While we were at TMB in Chamonix, we got to witness the UTMB which is an incredible race...over 100 miles. The route of the Tour du Mont Blanc is used for that annual ultramarathon.
We were there in August. Time was short so we took the aerial route.
Attachments
Images (1)
OK I will play: We are having quite the year here!
My guys:
No1 Graduated college and started with a Big 4 accounting firm
No2 Kicked butt in Fall at P5 and squatted 610 while great grades in business school
No3 4 point as Freshman engineering program
No4 4 point in HS and National Honor Society
N05 Families first pick six as a Freshman in HS
No 6 and 7 Standouts in preschool!
And son in law said to me: I sure hope my grandkids call me every day like yours!
Oh...we're bragging bragging!! I didn't realize. My oldest is an environmental scientist doing due diligence work for an engineering firm. She just bought her first place in a beautiful neighborhood in DC by the National Zoo. She love her job and they send her all over the country for assignments because she likes to travel. Middle daughter graduated with her Master's degree as a 3x big 10 all academic, 2x all defensive, 2x all Big10 basketball player plus one trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament and one trip to the NIT championship (and one Big 10 regular season championship). She is living her best life in TX working in basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs. Baby brother made it to AA this year and led his organization in some nice offensive categories. His goal was to stay healthy and to move up a level and he exceeded that goal. His offseason is probably like a lot if your son's who are still playing. Gain weight (he's on a 4800 calorie diet), get stronger, work on his approach and getting his bat speed back to its peak.
@JCG and @fenwaysouth I am trying to find my stepping into the void photos but here's my favorite shot from the level below in the Aiguille du Midi. 
Attachments
Images (1)
Great picture PTWood!
@JCG & @PTWood - We may have met on the trails JCG! We were hiking TMB Aug 27-Sept 2, and spent 2 days each in Montreux and Geneva on the frontend and backend of the hiking. Absolutely loved Montreux! My wife and I took over a thousand pictures. This one is my favorite because we hiked from the French/Italian pass to this little glacier lake (Lac Jovet) in the distance. We thought the lake was close.. so we decided to go off trail....big mistake....it was a field of boulders and really challenging for some already tired legs. When I got to the glacier lake, I soaked my feet for quite a while. The lake was crystal clear. Beautiful but also meaningful for us.
Attachments
Images (1)
Today I watched my son pitch for the first time in 18 months. The kid has dealt with more injury and adversity than he deserves. He has worked his ass off and is still dealing with it, but today he was great. He knew it, the coaches knew it. I cried. Small victory because he isn’t out of the woods, and I’ve now learned that expectations are futile. Today was a good day and I’m thankful that I got to see him pitch again. I’ll hope that there are more days like this, But I’ll also try to stay in the present and be thankful. Oh, and he is graduating in December…3 1/2 years. Very proud of him.
Son had a tough fall season on a new team playing very good competition there were ups and downs. He saw much better and 10-15 mph faster pitching than before. He definitely struggled with his bat. But did manage to contribute in couple of key moments in several close games.
Played up in several tournaments and even won one.
He ended his season at informal showcase hitting beautiful line drives, hustling his a** off. Was the dirtiest kid there from making diving catches in the outfield.
He wasn't the biggest or strongest kid there but I can honestly say he never gave up and showed a ton of heart.
He also has a 4.0 GPA.
@baseballhs posted:Today I watched my son pitch for the first time in 18 months. The kid has dealt with more injury and adversity than he deserves. He has worked his ass off and is still dealing with it, but today he was great. He knew it, the coaches knew it. I cried. Small victory because he isn’t out of the woods, and I’ve now learned that expectations are futile. Today was a good day and I’m thankful that I got to see him pitch again. I’ll hope that there are more days like this, But I’ll also try to stay in the present and be thankful. Oh, and he is graduating in December…3 1/2 years. Very proud of him.
I am happy for you. And for your son too. Baseball can be cruel so you are right to celebrate the small victories along the way. I hope there are a lot more of them.
@baseballhs posted:Today I watched my son pitch for the first time in 18 months. The kid has dealt with more injury and adversity than he deserves. He has worked his ass off and is still dealing with it, but today he was great. He knew it, the coaches knew it. I cried. Small victory because he isn’t out of the woods, and I’ve now learned that expectations are futile. Today was a good day and I’m thankful that I got to see him pitch again. I’ll hope that there are more days like this, But I’ll also try to stay in the present and be thankful. Oh, and he is graduating in December…3 1/2 years. Very proud of him.
Similar story here as our son was out for 14 months with two different shoulder issues (none of the bad stuff thankfully). He threw a scoreless inning this weekend against BYU. First time I've seen him pitch live since May of 2022 and the first time he's pitched to outside competition since then. I held my breath but he did well and similarly, you could see the confidence back. We went from hoping he makes the team to it looking like he will be a key arm.
Son who has been doing long toss for about 5 weeks now. 2027, just turned 15 threw a pr, 96 yards! He also threw 93 a few times and then 90 plus a few,
@Dadof3 posted:Son who has been doing long toss for about 5 weeks now. 2027, just turned 15 threw a pr, 96 yards! He also threw 93 a few times and then 90 plus a few,
That's awesome!
I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I would caution you about worrying about long toss distance.
I was born with the genetic ability to throw very hard - how hard? We'll never know, I didn't grow up in an environment where sports were an option, but hard enough that people use to watch me throw rocks - lol! Let's just say anomaly hard. I blew out my shoulder throwing high angle, high velocity - whatever tendons decelerate the arm are what had the issue - if you can't slow it down, your body won't let it go fast.
I've aways cautioned my son about this - maybe it's a genetic trait or weakness? I can't think of any reason why distance in long toss should be a thing. I would suggest a trajectory no higher than the longest throw to a cutoff man.
Also high spin rates will reduce the amount of throw carry (high spin rate pitchers will not throw long toss as far as lower spin rate pitchers). I've had a discussion about this on the board before, but science backs me up on this. That and I'd always wondered why kids with lower velocity could get better carry in long toss - my son's spin rate is in the 97th percentile, so there's some objective evidence too.
Lastly a 2027 approaching mid 90's in long toss is amazing - I wouldn't push too hard, he's got plenty of time...
@JucoDad posted:That's awesome!
I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I would caution you about worrying about long toss distance.
I was born with the genetic ability to throw very hard - how hard? We'll never know, I didn't grow up in an environment where sports were an option, but hard enough that people use to watch me throw rocks - lol! Let's just say anomaly hard. I blew out my shoulder throwing high angle, high velocity - whatever tendons decelerate the arm are what had the issue - if you can't slow it down, your body won't let it go fast.
I've aways cautioned my son about this - maybe it's a genetic trait or weakness? I can't think of any reason why distance in long toss should be a thing. I would suggest a trajectory no higher than the longest throw to a cutoff man.
Also high spin rates will reduce the amount of throw carry (high spin rate pitchers will not throw long toss as far as lower spin rate pitchers). I've had a discussion about this on the board before, but science backs me up on this. That and I'd always wondered why kids with lower velocity could get better carry in long toss - my son's spin rate is in the 97th percentile, so there's some objective evidence too.
Lastly a 2027 approaching mid 90's in long toss is amazing - I wouldn't push too hard, he's got plenty of time...
Excellent post from a guy whose son is a hard throwing MLB pitcher. And he is spot on. Long toss is an excellent way to build arm strength. I’m a big believer in it. But it’s important to maintain the same throwing motion that is used on the mound - which can usually be maintained at a max distance of 120’. When you get beyond that distance players often drop their elbow in order to carry the ball farther in the air. This results in rehearsing something different than throwing on the mound. And, among other things, that defeats the purpose.
Jucodad is correct. I learned that a long time ago in of all things football!
A friend of mine threw a football 86 yards. But because that is not important ...he played Guard!
So hs just started with winter practice. It’s about 1.5 weeks in. They pulled out the rapsido and had a fun contest. He was one of the few that hit over 90 (91). Still a long way to go, but he was excited when he got in the car.
@Dadof3 posted:So hs just started with winter practice. It’s about 1.5 weeks in. They pulled out the rapsido and had a fun contest. He was one of the few that hit over 90 (91). Still a long way to go, but he was excited when he got in the car.
Hitting 90 is a milestone and is something to feel good about. Training to throw hard and throw better is a good thing - no matter what position you play. But if you are a pitcher you need to do more than throw hard. That is the disconnect that exists between reality and today’s throwing instructors and their pupils. All focus is on velocity and zero attention is being paid to command. You can and should train both. Every throw should be at a target. Pull downs executed from a full sprint, thrown blindly into a net w/ no body control, are meaningless nonsense. No pitcher is successful unless they can get outs. And to get outs you have to throw strikes. That is the definition of pitching. Personally, I have a problem with throwing coaches (and throwing labs) calling themselves pitching coaches. I differentiate between throwing and pitching and a lot of people that think like I do wish that others would do the same.