Even though the article says he's coaching Little League, it's actually Pony baseball. But you get the point....
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It's great when any dad with some knowledge wants to coach. I hated having to sell dads on the importance of coaching/volunteering. One year I threatened to cut off the number of players if more dads didn't step forward.
I can see where a kid would get excited a former MLBer is his coach. It might keep a borderline player in the game longer. But in he preteen years is it really a big deal a former pro is coaching kids? The worst coach I ever had in any sport, at any level was a LL coach who had played in the minors. Without detail, let's just say he coached age inappropriately.
How much knowledge do you need to coach preteens? Understanding how to work with kids can be more important than sport knowledge at a young age. With a a former pro there's always the risk he's out to prove something (Google Mitch Williams). Cuddyer said all the right things in the article. To me it's great he's coaching more so because he's a dad than a former MLBer.
But at least he'll know what he's talking about, unlike 60% or so of the dad coaches out there!
Its great that he is spending time with his son on a baseball field. I also think it's great that he is spending time with other kids from the local community. No redicolous fees, no private workouts, no special uniforms. Just good old fasioned baseball at the local community league.