Irrationalities

You're not alone in ir-rationalizing like that.  I think that comes standard to parents with student athlete kids.  My 2021 is just starting off in college Juco ball and I'm definitely realizing it's time for me to shave as much of that off as I can.  But such is the struggle when you're the person who has - by far - the largest sample size of your kid's abilities.  No one has logged the total viewing hours we have.  Others likely have better eyes than we do, but none of them were there for each and every peak moment like we were since age 4.  When you have that dense a picture of your kid's abilities, it makes it incredibly hard to let them go.

That’s EVERY parent at some point or another!! For me… The strike zone is different for my son. Every. Single. Game. 😂 I still firmly believe that (of course I don’t say it to him) and in my mind, when he’s playing really well it’s because the refs are better. Hahahahaha He (as most kids are) is much more honest with himself.

There are a lot of really really good baseball players out there; many of them don’t get to play beyond HS. I watched HS games and lots of times I didn’t understand/see the distinctions that others saw.

Smoke, I hope/know you are proud of your sons and know what a huge distinction/honor/big frickin deal it is that they are playing beyond HS. Congrats and we can wait to see pix.  

Oh, and every team in the world is way better when my daughter is on the court. No matter what. LOL. This is actually very freeing to share. Hahahahah

Again, many congrats to C and family with his recruitment, commitment, and upcoming acceptance.   Each one of your sons has very nicely leveraged their baseball skills to get into some great schools....ain't that what it is all about!

This is old hat for you...   Parents are and always will be irrational when it comes to their sons (and daughters) skills and talents.  Really, really hard to be objective for those we love.  I've learned that when we try to put that objectivity aside then we are too hard on them.   So, it is always a  balancing act between rationality and irrationality with our kids.....

JMO, and best of luck with the next steps!

Congrats, 3 times over, plus doing it from a gazillion miles away! Plus you live in a calming/laid back environment (a lil haters gonna hate on my part). My better half was borderline "irrational" (luckily for me she does not surf this site so I won't be wife woked) but had/still has a more naive understanding the level of play between the divisions. It did cause some friction and flare ups between mom and child; I would repeatedly try to educate her a la Ground Hog's Day and also remind him of not being an irrational teen and weaponize her words. 

It’s amazing what you can see as you go through each level and look back. You see all the irrationality and insanity. Then, when you try to be the been there, done it advisor for others they think you’re crazy and out of the loop since your kid isn’t at that level of the process anymore. They see you as out of touch without realizing they’re the ones who haven’t grasped reality yet.

At some point they hit consciousness. They get to “if I knew then what I know now.” Hopefully parents get to this stage without being too hard on their kids and harming their relationship.

Great topic, and I wasn’t going to click. My wife has the hardest time when former teammates/friends are having success in the MLB. Not because she isn’t happy for them and all the hard work that they put, but because she feels her son somehow got left behind. When I try to explain the reality, she gets upset and doesn’t want to hear the truth.

This game has a way of showing you the door no matter how “Irrational” you are about your child. Three years baseball removed, we are so grateful for the many years watching them play.

Even though, everybody gets a full scholarship, and will playing in the MLB….hahaha

@RJM posted:

Then, when you try to be the been there, done it advisor for others they think you’re crazy and out of the loop since your kid isn’t at that level of the process anymore. They see you as out of touch without realizing they’re the ones who haven’t grasped reality yet.

Boy, is this ever true!  My son is a 2021, but I have lots of 2022 dad friends because my son has a June bday and he sometimes played "up" and "down."  With all I learned as my son went through the recruiting process, I have a strong desire to pay everything forward that I can.  When I share something with them that they like/agree with, I'm smart.  When I share something with them that they dislike/disagree with, I'm simply wrong, crazy, out of the loop, etc.  Or the ever-present, but intentionally silent "yeah, but my kid is just better than your kid so we don't have to worry about it."

There were four 2022 dads that I regularly shot emails to this spring and summer.  Usually info on the transfer portal and other things mostly learned here on HSBBW.  With every email I sent, I always tied it back to what I consider to be priority #1 - go where you're loved.  One of the 4 dads never once responded to any of my emails and I got the sense he was writing me off as out of touch, etc.  I should also mention that the dad VERY much felt his son was D1 (and better) caliber.  But I was clear that D1 offers this late were not "love" offers so they wouldn't actually want them.  Especially in the Covid era.  Well, his kid had a huge tourney one weekend in August when an SEC team was watching.  They offered late August and the jumped on it.  He's a C/3B/1B, so NOT a pitcher.  I hope things work out for the kid, but I don't like his chances all things considered.  He seems primed to end up in the portal after 0.5-1 years at the school.

This weakness is not limited to children.  It is hard to express how many people completely overvalue their capacity for almost everything they do or have.  Work, appearance, driving etc.  Look no further than Facebook to find how everyone in the world is simply beautiful has perfect family, house and job and is tracking the CEO suite.

There is no such thing as an "Ordinary American" anymore.  We are all so exceptional.

Except this...as it has been for all of human history 5% or less of people organize the other 95% so that everyone doesn't die.  The key is getting the right 5% in charge and the one thing the US proved for about 200 years was that if you can avoid too much nepotism (the point of this string) everything is better.

Sorry for the veer but it was a good original post that had a bigger unspoken point IMO,

@luv baseball posted:

This weakness is not limited to children.  It is hard to express how many people completely overvalue their capacity for almost everything they do or have.  Work, appearance, driving etc.  Look no further than Facebook to find how everyone in the world is simply beautiful has perfect family, house and job and is tracking the CEO suite.

There is no such thing as an "Ordinary American" anymore.  We are all so exceptional.

Except this...as it has been for all of human history 5% or less of people organize the other 95% so that everyone doesn't die.  The key is getting the right 5% in charge and the one thing the US proved for about 200 years was that if you can avoid too much nepotism (the point of this string) everything is better.

Sorry for the veer but it was a good original post that had a bigger unspoken point IMO,

Social media promotes narcissism. How many pictures of themselves did your parents take each day? Just because social media provides a public megaphone doesn’t mean what the person posts has value as opinion or fact. More than half of the information on social media misleading or false. Same for cable news. Now that news is more opinion than news less of half of the news you’re provided is accurate.

Of course, if you don’t like the left leaning news get the right leaning news and vice versa. Or only get news in social media memes from your “like believing” friends. Then, most of the people can argue misleading “facts.” You can always find news you prefer to believe to be true and ignore the news you prefer not to be true.

Some of the worst arguments I had with my kids were when I found out they posted "Dad" video starring me without my knowledge.  It was a big funny to them when I was upset about it.

They were actually shocked by how angry I was - they had never seen anyone that did not want their picture taken.

Now they politely ask if they can take my picture before they lift a phone.