Major Mound Meltdown

It was 1 outing. Get over it. He can focus on the blow up or his next outing - it's his choice. Work your butt of fin practice

Baseball is a humbling game. You cannnot get too high or too low.

As a parent, you can deliver the message as you see fit but this should be the gist of it.

This could'nt have been his first bad day, maybe it was his worst. No matter, it won't be his last bad day. It's all part of the process.

Amnesia is your friend

Next batter, one pitch at a time.

Not one, successful player I know hasn't gone through the equivalent of your son's experience. As Redbird5 is suggesting, the question becomes one of what he learned from it, and how he'll use the insight to get better. If he'll consistently take that approach, he'll only get better.

Krakatoa,

Not exactly a fond memory, but I have a son who holds the all-time "AAA" Pacific Coast League record for giving up the most walks in one inning. The league has been around for over 100 years.

He gave up 7 walks in one inning. Still can't figure out why they left him in that long.

Next time out he gave up one hit in 7 innings with 10 strikeouts and 0 walks.

This may not seem comparable to your son's experience, but walks are walks be it little league, high school, college or Major Leagues. In fact, walks are probably a more comparable stat than any between all the levels.

Most all the posters on the HSBBWeb, even those with kids playing at the highest levels, will tell you that their son has "stunk up the place" at least once if not more. Those that haven't experienced this should hang on because absolutely no one is immune to it.

Better days are ahead, best of luck.

find out what went wrong and learn from it. it is his freshman year, and it is a great oppurtunity to learn and get better. but something obviously went wrong and you might try finding out what that is. the minor blow-up may also be a blessing in disguise because he may have had a fault all along that has been holding him back, and now it just was magnified. stay positive. only freshman year, try to learn so this doesnt happen in front of a ton of scouts his junior year.
hope this helps a little

s2fmf,

Actually, if it happened in front of some scouts, it gives them an insight into his make up. Does he compete or does he just give up? It is not as damaging as you might think it would be.

Part of the game. Mine has stunk it up on the mound, at the plate and behind the plate. They have to get over it. My son was in a major “non-productive period” earlier this month. He told me he was not going to allow a bad performance ruin his career. He said he has figured out that to be successful in baseball you have to have a short memory! Following this “revelation”, he has gone on a eight game hitting streak and earned SEC player of the week last week. Baseball is a game of averages and the only way to improve you averages is to keep on playing!
Fungo

Krakatoa,

As others have said, all successful players have those games where it seems nothing goes right. My son once walked 12 in 1 2/3 innings in a high school game. Like PGStaff, I don't know why his coach left him in so long. In a big high school game, he struck out with the bases loaded, and his team down by 2. It was his only strike out that season. Now a college outfielder, he's had a few games in which he struck out 3 times on the way to an 0-4 or 0-5 game. Many parents of successful college players have received that phone call after a game in which their son is feeling horrible after a poor performance. In one such call I got, 2 years ago, his first words were "I suck!", followed by "I'm the worst player in Division 1 baseball". But by the next day, he was ready to play, knowing it was a new day, a fresh opportunity. He just needed to vent. By the way, he's had a pretty good college career, is 9th on the all-time batting average list for his school, a college career avg. over .330, currently hitting .343 and leading the team in stolen bases, in a good Div. 1 conference (C-USA).

Remind your son that he's had 2 good outings. Think about a few things. Was he missing in the same place (up and away, low, etc.)? Was a particular pitch not working for him, yet he kept trying to throw it? Film him over the next few outings. If he has successful outings, you'll have a good reference for the future. If it's another struggle (hopefully not) you'll have something to study or to show to someone more knowledgeable to see if some small mechanical problem is creeping in. My son had a mechanical problem in high school, but no one, especially me, knew enough about pitching to spot it.

Above all, kept your head up! Better days will come!

All the best.

For what it's worth, IMO

Unless there was something noticable that was different, chances are it was a mental thing. Best to file it in the experience bank, but to forget it as a current event.

If it becomes a consistent problem, then revamp (small adjustments at first). If it just happens once in a great while... that's baseball!

The greatest basketball stars in the world have 3 for 20 shooting games. They don't change everything, they just keep on shooting and things work out.

The greatest hitters go 0 for 20 at times. Some hitters in that situation go to the plate thinking they're 0 for there last 20. The greatest hitters go to the plate thinking they're 0 for 0.

Tell your son to just keep shooting!... going after it!

This is a great topic and PG is right...
It happens to everyone...pink glasses or not

And it should make you feel better when you examine the Major Leaguers who struggle!
They are getting paid all the big bucks but some days...well, they would rather just forget!

There was a Spring Training game on the other night where the starting pitcher didn't get out of the first inning....walked 4 batters in a row and left the game losing 6-0 with two outs.

They are pro's.
Your son is normal, god bless him.
There is nothing harder to witness....it even hurts to watch another player do it because we can certainly empathize.

I don't know a ball player that has not had a horrible day! Treat it lightly, if you act as though it is a major thing--it will be that way for him. Don't dwell on it, or disect it. It's done and over, move on to the next day. In my experience the worst thing that can happen is to keep talking about it and making it an issue. Even though they look like adults---they are still young and take alot of cues from our actions. So brush it off and go on.

By the way, Krakatoa.

Thanks for starting this thread and sharing the story. I think it's a great topic for discussion.

We always hear about the great accomplishments of our boys. Congratulating each other on many wonderful success stories.

There are a lot of parents involved on this board that have outstanding sons who have achieved a lot of success. They all know what it's like to experience the way you and your son might feel.

I always wonder about those that aren't tearing up their league, those who are in slumps and those who are very disappointed. After all, we don't hear all those stories even though I know there's a ton of them to be told. We all know about that side of the game!

It's refreshing to share some of the not so great experiences. Everyone has experienced them or at least will experience them. Learning doesn't always have to be about great success. There's always the other side.

Krakatoa, Thanks again for bringing up a topic we are all very familiar with, yet seldom want to discuss.

krak...

Tell your son to "hang in there".

Everyone has bad days. Coach probably figured that he wanted to see your son "work through it" and come back.

Best thing about baseball (agree with everyone) is that you have a chance to make up for a poor performance almost immediately.

As often happens in high school, if you don't figure out the umpire's strike zone early enough, you are doomed for that day/game.

Pitchers have bad days---hitters have bad days-- fielders have bad days-- umpires have bad days--bosses in the office have bad days--the dad of the pitcher in question has bad days at the office--mothers have bad days--get the picture !

It happens--just log it in the experience bank and get on the the next day, the next game-- you cant change what has happened

Believe or not I dont worry about my kids individual performances. Don't get me wrong, I don't like when he has bad outing anymore than he does, it stinks!

Over the past year or so I've been lucky enough to develop an honest relationship with one of the frequent posters here regarding my son. At first, I would whine to him when my kid was slumping or having control problems. He has seen my boy and would just repeat the same thing to me, He'd say "You worry too much, the boy will be fine"

I finally took his advice and wish I had the same advice 10 years ago. I started repeating his advice to my son when he would start pissing and moaning to me about a bad day on the field or when something political seemed to interfere with his plans. "Don't worry kid, you will be fine."

This season his HS coach tells him that he is neck and neck for the #1 spot in the rotation. This past Thursday coach tells him hes got the spot. Needless to say I'm looking at one very happy kid. Then on Friday in the last scrimmage before the season starts, the kid he was neck and neck with has an absolutely stellar day on the mound. Coach changes his mind, my boy is #2.

My son says he's dissapointed but would have done the same thing if he were the coach. Tells me the #1 spot is HIS next year.

"Besides dad, there always gonna be someone better than me." Then he tells me "Don't worry dad, I'll be fine."

I don't worry anymore, I want him to do well, but I don't worry. I know he will be fine, he told me so.

Krakatoa, you worry too much, you're boy will be fine.

I am going to get in to reality here. the kid walked 12 batters in 4 innings. the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. t is a baseball game. Yea I know we all sometimes put this life and death thing on it but sometimes that is the problem for some. It plays with our mind. I always knew who my better players were when they stunk up the place. You have to know how to handle failure. Fear of it is the roadblock to success.

Krakatoa - We've all been there...not once, but multiple times. I've become a believer that the best players have a very short memory and KNOW they will do better next time out, next at-bat, next groundball. Your son will be fine. Try not to dwell on it with him because you want him to get over it quickly and move on. You don't want him thinking you are disappointed in him or worried about him. Let him lead the way!

I can tell you the player has a much shorter memory than the dad or mom---I have been there done that

EXAMPLE:

In Florida this past fall we had a stud soph pitcher with us (6ft 5---225lb RHP) who threw upper 80's low 90's--he has nothing in his game and we take him out of the game after the first inning--- after the game he comes to me and says "I am ready" --I said "Ready for what?", He answers as he looks me in the eye "The next game or whenever you need me--I only threw one inning and I stunk up the joint. I want to show you what I can really do"

Now tell me they dont forget it all very quickly

Thanks for sharing your words of advice and encouragement and especially to look for the silver lining and move on.

In retrospect, had this happened a year or two ago, he would have dissolved on the mound. As I said, he kept his composure. He just kept firing away. So, jeez, right there is something I hadn't thought of - he's matured!! In fact he struck out the last two batters he faced, the final one on a full-count table-top CB. In hindsight, it took a lot of courage to throw that pitch under the circumstances.

Lastly, he shared with me that he was having some pain in the 'behind' area. Apparently, the older players often come up behind the younger players, grab them by the shoulders, ask, "Hey, ever been humped by a RHINO!?" at which time they jam their knee solidly into the victims backside. Turns out my son has a nice bruise on his tailbone. We were able to piece together his bad pitches (low and away) with a stride that was too short. When falling into the power position, he'd get this zap of pain in his tailbone every time, thus seizing up his flow.
He hadn't wanted to say anything earlier, cause he was embarrassed.

So I think it was several things......and he's already looking forward to his next outing. Those who say things like this bother dads more than the kids themselves are right!!

PG, agree that it's difficult to post up when things aren't all rosy, but I'm glad I did as the advice from you and everyone else has been really special and helpful. Thanks all.

I was and still am a believer that if you fall off the horse you get right back on. Once I had a kid who had a great arm but had to become a pitcher physically and most of all mentally. He pitched 3 innings once walked about 7or 8 and hit a few. got him out of there. did not say anything to him till the next day. I said to him he really stunk the prvious day. It was one of the worst pitching performances I had seen.( I really poured it on today I would probably be sued for verbal cruelty or possibly fired because I hurt his self esteem) In the next sentence i told him he was going to start such and such a day the following week and if he tried he could not duplicate his previous performance so go out there have some fun and let it rip. He pitched a complete game shutout 10 or 12 Ks only walked 2 or 3. I guess you can say i lucked out but baseball is a game of confidence. negativity breeds bad things.

The best pitchers have the worst memories.

Keep on keeping on.

If he is going to keep pitching maybe you had better consider not watching - cause it is gonna happen again. That's why teams don't just forfeit when Roger Clemens is scheduled to pitch - ANY pitcher is going to have a bad day that's what makes the game challenging.

I will ease your pain - I can assure you that within an hour he was already looking forward to his next start. Don't worry about him.

what a fitting day for me and my son to log on and read this thread he enterd yesterdays
game with the team losing 5-4. his line...2/3 of
an inning pitched, 5 hits, 4 walks, and an error. he departed and his team was losing
11-4.
on the offensive side he hit a 3 run homer, a
single and an RBI sac fly. needless to say in his mind the bad outweighed the good and he was
bummed out. My postgame talk had an emphasis
on taking the good with the bad and moving on
and forgetting about the pitching performance.
It had little impact, but when I opened this
thread and told my son to sit at the computer
and read away, a sense of calm took over and his whole mood changed. he realized what a small
deal his performance really was.
He was really pleased to see PG staffs sons
7 walk 1 inning outing, as it really reinforced
the fact that all players at all levels stumble and struggle...thanks so much PG, Krakatoa,fungo
and the rest for the comfort this thread gave
my son.

Krak - as several have pointed out, the most telling part of your post is the fact that he kept his composure. Several have alluded to it in the thread, but I have read that a scout/coach likes to see a kid fail, if only to see how they handle it, since failure is inevitable. It's great to see that he handled it well - maturity seems to be a rare commodity in youngsters.

Had a similar experience last week, but for a different reason. Junior started game #2 - bottom line: Opposing pitcher leads off the game with a 308 ft wind blown HR, then procedes to throw a no-no!! Junior gets the CG [along with the 9-1 L, naturally]. He throws LESS pitches than Mr No [7 hits, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3K - only 2 guys had a 3 ball count], but thanks to 8 errors, 1 WP, and 3 PB, doesn't have a snowball's chance. I actually counted up the extra pitches he threw - 41 came after the 3rd out COULD have happened, meaning theoretically, he would have completed the game on 51 pitches. But as your guy did, he kept his composure, not once showing a hint of frustration as the hockey goalies masquerading as infielders, made kick save after kick save. But these kids are his friends - I'm glad he didn't show any of them up. You used the word MATURITY - Mrs and I spoke of the same thing that evening - it's amazing when it finally arrives. I am sure Lil Krak will be back to normal next start - let us know!!.

Ya'll are all fortunate to be given a second chance. My Junior son had a great summer last summer pitching, with a couple of wins.

This season he did some relief pitching for varsity during the preseason tournament (in losing situations, but did shut things down)

He started a game in the JV pre-season tournament the following week and couldn't buy a strike. He hasn't been given the opportunity to pitch another inning.

Baseball , more than any other besdes maybe golf, is a 'failure ' based activity.

It's just the nature of the sport. Even the best hitters fail 60% of the time.

If you can't deal with failure,you better stay away from baseball.

In the book "moneyball', Billy Beane tells some great anecdotes about Lenny Dykstra. One of the thing that made him sucessful at baseball was that he never bought into personal failure.
Oh-for 4? It was bad calls or bad luck or he hit it right at 'em or soemthing else besides HIS failure.

Any pitcher who plays in any league where there are aluminum bats <meaning most> better be prepared for some shellings and better have a little Lenny Dykstra in him.

I, like all these other posters, can tell you that it does happen to everyone.....my son has pitched wonderful games, one hitters, striking out 16, walking none, and then another game he hits two batters, walks five or six...its never one thing...concentration, not enough warm ups, etc.....last year a college scout came to see him...and he pitched...not horribly by most standards...but for him it was not his usual performance...after the game the coach told my son...he had seen what he came to see..not a perfect pitching performance, but how my son reacted to a subpar performance and how he reacted when one of his teammates made an error...he told my son that that was one of the most important things he was looking for...that he didn't get rattled...he pitched each pitch as if everything was going great.

This is such a timely topic that I'm going to print it out for my son. Last week he walked 10 in 3 innings, his worst performance ever and has been feeling down about it. His teamates told him he sucked all week, and he had to listen to the "you're not as good as you think you are" also. (He is nationally ranked in his class). This thread is just what he needs to read. Thanks to Krak for starting it, and to everyone for their replies.

Ohbaseball, having a nationally ranked kid is awesome!! You know, and he must know, that the best is SO yet to come! Let us know about his next outing.

Krakatoa -

Great thread - thanks for starting it. I'll chime in and add that while my son has had many great appearances on the mound, he has also had many that were pretty bad. Heck, when your MOM wants the coach to pull you, you know it's bad... . Fortunately, as so many have said before me, the pitchers that will 'stick' are the ones with the short memories (much shorter than mine is for sure).

After a wild, disappointing fall, my son got his first chance to pitch this weekend. Bases loaded, one out, and we were behind 8-1. He walks the first batter and then HITS the next (score now 10 - 1) . I'm on gametracker, internet radio AND getting a pitch-by-pitch account from a dad who is at the game. (Needless to say, I poured myself a BIG glass of wine at this point...) He then strikes out the next batter (WHEW) and causes the next to hit a HHHHIIIIGGGHHHH fly ball that the 3rd baseman loses in the lights - it falls hard and sticks right on the foul line.... score now is 11 - 1. Next batter grounds out for the third out(I am on my second BIG glass of wine by now). Next inning, son strikes the first guy out, second at bat gets a single and then he rolls a double to the third at bat to end the inning. The agony and the ecstacy in less than two innings... Point being, this outing he managed to keep his composure and trusted his stuff - and it sounds like your son did the same, regardless of the outcome. Congratulations to him!

UKMB - Thanks for the blow-by-blow. Now you're over the hump and you will switch to beer like me next time.

Great topic. Trust me, I know about major mound breakdowns
I agree with Will, if you fall off the horse, you get right back on. It happens to everyone, and will make them better for the experience.
How you handle it as a parent is the most important of all, you let them know that you support them 100% and they will LEARN from the experience. No lectures, no this is what you did wrong, this is what you should have done, etc.
URKMB,
I am happy to hear he finally got out there and trust me, things will get better. Justbaseball is right, time will soon come when you can go from wine to beer!

quote:

Originally posted by amom:
Krakatoa- I think we can all relate!

My son had a stellar junior year and then got rocked in a district playoff game. All in less than one inning- the 7th!

We all literally felt sick to our stomach on the way home. Just plain physically painful!

But it happened,, it's over, the monkey officially came off his back. Just wish it had happened in a less important game! And a less important year!

He learned a lot from it- namely that he could come back , have a lot of success and make a nice contribution at the next level- DESPITE the big bad night!

Hang in there.

I want to add my personnal thanks to Krakatoa for bringing up this difficult topic, as well as the others on this forum who have bravely shared similar experiences with their kids.

I posted several weeks ago about my sophomore son's high school try-out. Historically, his school has been a state baseball "stud factory," ranked no less than fifth in state for the last 6 years. Freshmen/sophomores RARELY make varsity at this school. This year is a rarity...the team has two seniors who are four-year varsity lettermen. Both are exceptional...one has been "All-State" for two years, the other for three and has the added distinction of being a high-school "All-American."

Just prior to try-outs, my son heard from an upper-class friend on varsity that he was being considered for the varsity team...my son's a lefty on a team in need of lefties. We thought he was ready, and he WAS from purely mechanical/physical standpoints, but every time the varsity coach came near him in the gym to watch him pitch, he went "Ankiel" and lost his control. The third day of try-outs was the nadir, when he actually broke a window in the gym.

Ultimately, he was relegated to JV (though he was included on the varsity roster, meaning he could get a look sometime this year). So far on JV, he's the number #1 starter, is now 2-0 and has yet to give up even an unearned run. However, it's apparent he's pitching "scared." He can look dominant during warm-ups...throwing VERY hard and hitting his spots, but in a game he backs it way down and tries to finesse his way through, which doesn't even help with his control (although he's gotten away with it, so far).

He's had very little experience, and only started pitching since high school began (he's among the youngest in his class and didn't start to get his size/velocity until last year). His JV coach is a good guy who consistently tells him (and has even sought me out to tell me), how dominating he COULD be...he's got the size, build, arm and mechanics, but he needs the confidence...to develop some ATTITUDE.

Reading the above, it occurs to me (and when I show my son this thread, maybe it will occur to him) that getting really "rocked" during an outing won't mean the end of the world, or even the end of his career. If it happens when he's trying to finesse his way through, maybe he'll ALSO learn that if you're going to go down, go down swinging...use and TRUST your best stuff. Sure, it will hurt...sure, it will be embarrassing, but unless you go through it, how can you be SURE the sun WILL still come up tomorrow? And, unless you use your best stuff, how do you know you had to get "rocked" at all?

URKMB, I am really happy for you and your son. Getting that first college appearance is extremely important. It is recognition in a sense for years of hard work and for 6-7 months leading up to the appearance of some of the hardest and most competitive effort he has encountered. I am sure there will be many more in the future and we plan to be in attendance for some.
I am also very pleased to see that you are using baseball in a very heart healthy way. Nothing better than controlling the health effects of and and with some of California's finest consumed in...moderation
No need to comment on the "sins" of Justbb since he is probably driving the rocket to SBC today for Opening Day and one of those tall ones. At $8 per beer, you can only afford one though.

quote:

Sure, it will hurt...sure, it will be embarrassing, but unless you go through it, how can you be SURE the sun WILL still come up tomorrow?

Getting rocked just flat happens to everyone now and then. The #1 at my sons school has been rocked before. He was drafted in June and sports a sub 2.00 ERA.

I watched Russ Ortiz give up 6 earned runs going 1/3 of an inning.......last weekend in spring training.

Dad 04- you said it perfectly. It does happen to everyone now and then.

Not just pitchers either- it happens to the kid who goes into an extended batting slump,and the kid who makes a huge game losing error that should have never happened.

Truly- the first time is the worst. It's good to get it over with, because it is going to happen.

When my son had his bad outing I spoke to our old friend Bighit about it that night. He was very matter of fact- yep it happens- doesn't mean the kid isn't talented, doesn't mean he won't recover from this if he's got what it takes. He was right, it was over, didn't mean a thing as far as recruitment went. Still got as many calls as he had been getting.

Coaches know this happens. They respect the kid who comes back tough and ready to play. My son's coach threw him back in there and he answered with a lot of confidence and success. Just have to get through it.


Now to the other issues- more interesting issues- $8.00- wow- But I think a lot of it would be sold at our games- but we only have soft drinks..... could make for some interesting fans!

Our son pitched tonight for the first time after his 10 walk, 3 inning fiasco. Pitched 5 innings, 7 K's, 2 BB, 1 hit, 1 Unearned run. He got right back on the horse I guess. When he left the game we were ahead 9-1. Our coach put in a kid who doesn't get to pitch much, which was nice.

Ohbaseball24

Glad to hear it - I'm sure you were both nervous!!!

This thread is what makes this site awesome.

Thank you all from an 09 dad.