Sabotaging Internal Competition at College Level

There's always been initiation for new players, especially freshman. I think the tolerance for mean spirited razzing is mostly a thing of the past, but fun humilaiton is not leaving baseball anytime soon (thankfully). My son had to use a Pokemon backpack his rookie season in the MLB - all in good spirit and a right of passage.

If a freshman made the varsity squad in a neighboring HS the team controlled the walkup song (I recall the Barbie song for some young stud). It was hilarious...

I'm sure there can be bad chemistry situations that need to be addressed, but to me most of the time anyone that thinks this is happening because they're competing for someone's position, might have the wrong attitude.

The nephew of a well known major leaguer tried to intimidate my son when he was a freshman. The kid acted entitled. Many on the team didn’t care for him. When the kid amped it up my son made a few snippy return comments. They ended up physically fighting on the field when the kid attacked my son.

When pulled aside and chewed out the kid made excuses. My son apologized for not being more mature.

This kid never became a starter. The following year another son of a major leaguer came in. He was a great kid. So, my post is not an indictment of connected sons. One of my son’s travel teammates was connected to a MLB organization. He was a great kid. When he was drafted in a late round (draft went to forty) by that organization my son chuckled and commented “What a miracle! Good for him.”

I've seen it with my son's HS team (usually just a few players), but when he got to college (D3) it was the exact opposite.  Lots of support and help on and off the field and in the weight room.  So much so that my son's love of the game increased exponentially.