Pet Peeves

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:


TOTALLY AGREE!

And, bballdad2016, yes...3-1 is a hitter's count. But why take a grooved FB at 3-0?

Well, if its your pitch go for it no matter the count. But most hitters are better off taking the gamble. And yes it is a gamble on the 3-0... with the odds heavily in the batters favor. It has got to be "your pitch" on the 3-0. Just my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by bballdad2016:
...It has got to be "your pitch" on the 3-0. Just my opinion.

Correct. How many 3-0 pitches are are total pipe shots?

redbird5 - i have no idea to be honest with you, i wonder if there are any real hard numbers on the subject? It would be interesting to see to say the least.

We all know the pitcher has NO desire to walk anyone and he will do his best to put it down the pipe when he is behind in the count. Like i said, it has to be your pitch and you had better drive it hard.

Back to pet peeves...

How about inconsiderate posts similar to this...

"That's pretty good for kid who I don't think has played an inning of varsity ball yet."

Just sayin'

The automatic take on 3-0 has always gotten to me a bit.
I mean unless the pitcher threw three straight into the dirt or over the back stop, you've got to think your hitter has some
restraint to even get to 3-0.
So why not trust him to look for the pitch he KNOWS he can crush on 3-0?
I've got a couple of kids that I've had to WORK ON to get ready to hit a GREAT pitch on 3-0. The automatic take is burned into their brains
by former coaches.
Every hitter is different.
Every situation is different.

But an automatic take? No thanks.

Pet peeves?

On the 3-0 thing...A coach telling a pitcher to "Just get it over" on 3-0 with an open base and a BIG hitter up. Really? I tell mine "Don't give in" That mean doesn't walk them on purpose but darn sure don't groove one.

Parents yelling balk or other things from the stands, because they heard one parent or their coach say something, and none of them (who are being vocal) actually
know the rule / call.

Coaches who berate an Ump for calling strikes on "Balls in the dirt" when they aren't paying attention to where the pitch is when it crosses the plate. I've got two guys that
throw almost totally over the top (naturally) and on tall mounds, their FB might cross at the knees, but when the catcher catches it, the opposing coaches thinks it's "too low" to be a strike.

Umps / Coaches who don't realize a ball is a strike if it crosses the plate in the zone. It's not where it starts or where it ends up.

Coaches that teach cookie cutter opposite field swings to kids who were crushing the baseball before they ever made it to their team. If it really rocket science to leave a kid alone who is hitting bombs? (Not fly ball outs).

Coaches that preach ground balls (to hitters) ALL The time.

Less than 2 outs, man on 3rd? Two strike especially.... Yeah my guys know what their job is...but otherwise...pitchers WANT ground balls, why would you tell your hitters to oblige them?

Coaches that get on their hitters after hitting the ball HARD right at someone. Really?

Guess I need more coffee.

From the perspective of a RHP's father:

Hitters that hold up their hand to the ump while digging in a home plate (thanks a lot, Derek Jeter). Just get in the freakin' batters box!

Players, coaches, and especially spectators that get all hot and bothered about inside pitches.

Pet peeve is people commmenting on things they don't know about.

A kid getting a D1 commitment as a rising JR who played JV ball behind another D1 three year starter IS pretty good since they have yet to attend a varsity game. There was no sarcasm in the comment and the kid is a very good player.

ctandc lay off the coffee thats some good stuff.

HSBaseballWeb Scenario:

A new or relatively new poster starts a thread, claiming to have a burning question to be answered. Often, either a 30-second search on this website would reveal the answer; or, it's virtually unanswerable because it's so specific to their son's situation, all that can be said in response is "it depends on [something very specific to their individual set of circumstances]."

In the process, they precede their "question" with a multi-paragraph narrative that does nothing but spout their son's world-class baseball statistics and/or academic credentials.

Example: "Johnny was fortunate enough to max out the ACT and SAT in his sophomore year, and some are saying that he has a chance of becoming a National Merit Scholar. He's having a tough time trying to decide between Harvard and Stanford. Does anyone here have enough knowledge of those two baseball programs to have an opinion as to which one tends to have the better team?"

Don't get me wrong, virtually all of us who participate here as players' parents have sons who have given us good reason to be very proud of them; and I don't think there's a thing in the world wrong with displaying a reasonable amount of that pride here. However, I wish some would be a little less inclined to try to cloak their prideful remarks in the form of a question that is really secondary to their chief purpose for posting.

Meanwhile, if some of your son's achievements bear repeating here, by all means share it with us. Just call it what it is in the process.

YES! We have a winner! Nice Prepster.

Since we are talking pet peeves...

One of mine, that never fails to make me what vent?

Coaches from organizations / academies that field showcase teams (at the HS age level of course) telling parents of NINE and TEN year old ball players..

"The reason it costs $2K for your pre-teen son to play with our organization is because we fund our older showcase teams this way. So that way when your son is playing on our showcase team, he will benefit as well."

No I'm not joking. This was in an email that a parent I know sent me.

Really?

And another? When good players at the NINE-TWELVE year old level get noticed by PARENTS and they say "Wow..you won't have to worry about college tuition will you? Your son is awesome."

I always answered that with "Yeah you're right. He's not a bad player but he's about as smart as a bag of hammers. That'll save me A LOT of money in the long run."

And how about those coaching gems (or parenting quips)

When my guys were young (who am I kidding, I STILL DO IT LOL) and they are pitching and having trouble finding the strike zone. Some idiot always yells "JUST THROW STRIKES". I always told my kids when they hear that just THINK TO THEMSELVES .. "It's not like I'm trying to throw a ball. If it's so easy why don't you come out here and do it." Never fails to make a kid crack a smile.

Or a hitter is up to bat and the pitcher either throws one over the back stop, or ten feet short of the plate, or almost hits the batter. Someone ALWAYS yells "Good eye".

Never fails to crack me up. "Good eye?" Really? I've been know to tell my batter, during a game, at an at bat... "I would say good eye, but it almost hit you, or you would have needed a step ladder to hit that..."

Coaches particularly, and parents as well, who yell "come on guys, this dude's got nothin'", or "this guy's throwing puss" or some other denigrating comment when their team is being dominated by a crafty, middling velocity pitcher.

quote:

Originally posted by ctandc:

And another? When good players at the NINE-TWELVE year old level get noticed by PARENTS and they say "Wow..you won't have to worry about college tuition will you? Your son is awesome."

I always answered that with "Yeah you're right. He's not a bad player but he's about as smart as a bag of hammers. That'll save me A LOT of money in the long run."

I got a pretty good laugh out of that one.

like 2rake: I am so with you on that!!!

People who don't understand that it is almost impossible for a pitch in the dirt to have been a strike.



That's one of the biggest breaking curves in the game. It is going to hit the dirt 4 or 5 feet past the plate. It is crossing the front of the plate well under the knees of anyone but Eddie Gaedel. About the only pitch that could possibly break sharply enough to be in the dirt and still be a strike is a knuckleball and I doubt it even in that case.



That's a fastball from a very tall, soft throwing pitcher who throws over the top. It may drop as much as 6 inches from the front of the plate until it gets to the catcher. If the angle is such that it ended up in the dirt who knows it might drop 7 inches.

Sorry, that ball in the dirt wasn't even close to being a strike.

My pet peeves-

An umpire who is not consistant and you let them know it and then later, after the game you run into them and they tell you that he missed a call or two. No kidding, But don't tell me that, you are an idiot.

One of the coaches on either first or third yelling out what pitch is coming to their batter while pitcher is in windup. Are you that worried junior won't get a hit you got to tell him whats coming every pitch?

A coach who has to say something to the pitcher every time he misses his location! That one gets verrrrrry olllld. You don't think the pitcher already knows what happened.

An umpire who won't call an out on a third strike when the ball was clearly and cleanly caught.

Someone yelling "the hands are part of the bat". I never bought any bat that came with hands attached to it!

A coach who comes over and asks what pitcher you are going to throw before the game starts so that he knows whether or not to pitch his ace. That happened a few times to us.

Borrowing a kid your 300$ bat only to have him strike out and throw it into the dugout.

Letting a kid have turns using your bat in practice and games but you can never use theirs ever!

An umpire who is texting/using his phone while the game is going on. No joke- happened several times to us.

vinyl mitts showing up at little league games.

and my all time maddening pet peeve-

Parents way over exagerating their sons velocity, height, etc.

BTW, although there are certainly situations where swinging on 3-0 makes sense, i.e. late in a close game with a runner on third with less than two outs or at least a runner in scoring position, the vast majority of the time hitters are much better off taking.

quote:

Originally posted by CADad:
BTW, although there are certainly situations where swinging on 3-0 makes sense, i.e. late in a close game with a runner on third with less than two outs or at least a runner in scoring position, the vast majority of the time hitters are much better off taking.

We'll agree to disagree.

quote:

Originally posted by CADad:
People who don't understand that it is almost impossible for a pitch in the dirt to have been a strike.

Sorry, that ball in the dirt wasn't even close to being a strike.

Notice I posted "Ball in the dirt" because that's what the coach / parent usually says. I'm talking about balls that cross the plate as a strike, then when they are received by the catcher look low. Not literally "In the dirt".

Maybe it doesn't happen where you are, and it only happens here.

I understand what you were saying. Any pitch that is even close to hitting the dirt when it gets to the catcher wasn't a strike. While allowances certainly have to be made for movement of the ball from the front of the plate to the catcher's glove it isn't as much as many people think.

One increases the chance of walking by about 20% by taking on 3-0. There isn't anywhere as much of an increase in batting average so unless there's a legitimate chance to drive in a run and driving in more than the runners on base won't help then taking on 3-0 is clearly the right choice.

I am not saying I agree with a green light on every 3-0 in every situation. What I am saying is I can't stand the automatic 3-0 take philosophy. There are situations where I want a walk. There are situations where I want the opportunity for one of my hitters to T off on a grooved pitch. I am not looking for a walk here. I am looking for much more. The hitter behind the guy walking? Who is he? How good is he? What has he done today? There are so many things to consider.

The quality of the pitcher - hitter - matchups - inning - score - situation will dictate imo your approach. What I dont want to do is have a auto take 3-0 philosophy and certainly would much rather have that other coach / pitching staff understand that they are not going to be allowed to get back into at bats by throwing cookies when they get behind 3-0. I also want my players to have a killer mentality at the plate and be allowed to do just that in those situations where I feel it is warranted.

There are times to take. There are times to hammer. The automatic take on 3-0 as a team philosophy I dont like. In certain situations yes. But as a rule - no. As usual you make some great points CADad.

If I had the line up Redbird has coaching the Canes there would never be a 3-0 take. Its just too much fun watching kids turn it loose in those situations. I like to have fun coaching and enjoy watching my players have fun. Turning kids loose in 3-0 counts teaches them how to hit with 3-0 counts. Giving them the automatic take in those situations doesn't teach them anything. jmo

The take is going to be on more times than not on 3-0 so I don't want to have to have a sign for it. I'd rather have a sign for taking it off when the situation warrants.

Athletes who forgo college sporting opportunities (and educational for that matter) to stay home closer to their girl/boyfriend.

Youth players who call me by my first name. It's "Coach" or "Mr" to you.

The time between 6 outs from now through Feb 27 (sons opening day game). Exceptions made for the holidays.

People who think a game is over before all 27+ outs.

People who think a game is over before all 33 outs.

Any tournament that doesn't provide water in the dugout for the team, especially when it is 101!

Spring tournaments in Illinois where water is provided in the dugout.

Because it's frozen!

The Shift.

Watched Wade Boggs on Studio 42 last week. He decried The Shift, arguing that it's the batter's fault if he can't hit it where they ain't.

He said one game, the second baseman and shortstop lined up right behind second base. As the pitcher wound up, one of them would sprint to his normal position and the other would stay at the bag.

Wade saw this happen and he hit the ball to the unoccupied position!

Coaches who call a player out during a game or scrimmage. Coaches who call the entire bench out during a game or scrimmage. Coaches who do it so loudly you can hear every word they say from the stands. Using profanity and acting like a 2 year old that got his sucker taken from him. First base coaches who hear you say "Does he really think his players respect him more for calling them out like that." And then respond to you while looking down "Guess what your son doesn't play for us so keep your F-N mouth shut." First base coaches when told "Your right and he never will. And at least I was man enough to look at you when I said what I said. I guess you don't like being called out, how does it feel big shot?" First base coaches who then refuse to even look your way the rest of the game coming on or off the field.

I still enjoyed the scrimmage. It doesn't bother me when I am right.

quote:

Coaches who call a player out during a game or scrimmage. Coaches who call the entire bench out during a game or scrimmage. Coaches who do it so loudly you can hear every word they say from the stands. Using profanity and acting like a 2 year old that got his sucker taken from him. First base coaches who hear you say "Does he really think his players respect him more for calling them out like that." And then respond to you while looking down "Guess what your son doesn't play for us so keep your F-N mouth shut." First base coaches when told "Your right and he never will. And at least I was man enough to look at you when I said what I said. I guess you don't like being called out, how does it feel big shot?" First base coaches who then refuse to even look your way the rest of the game coming on or off the field.

I still enjoyed the scrimmage. It doesn't bother me when I am right.

Classic!!!

Fans & players who do not cover their heart and shut up during the National Anthem. (Other than military personnel who stand at attention).

Basketball coaches. You ever seen such a group of pious people?
Scream and yell like that 2 yr old coach may got the pleasure of seeing the other day.

Teams, players, coaches, parents, fans who won't admit that their team wasn't good enough to win that last game.

It's always the refs fault, the other players were punks and the other coach was a jerk.

BTW, I'm complaining about my team, not the opponent.

Visiting fans who sit on the home side.

Those who lie.

Those who refuse to learn from history.

Rain

A pitcher (at any level) coming out of the game who flips or tosses the ball to the head coach.

ill prepared caoches.