Son of a Pitch

Well, how old is he? What level of baseball is he playing at? Had he pitched for that team before? Has he thrown any bullpens?

14 yrs. Old, tbis isbthe 2nd time they have tbrown him in the last inning to pitch not ever letting him know ahead of time so he was prepared to pitch. It was basically like go out and pitch just out of nowhere which is stupid because it affects the while team. He's on a travel baseball team. The coaches havr NEVER made the time to give him a chance to pitch even though he has stated he's interested in working with them on pitching. He has a great arm and makes amazing plays. Was it wrong of them to throw him to pitch out of nowhere and removing him after the first batter?

Sorry for all the typo, hope you understood what i was trying to say..lol

He has another game this week and i want to speak to his coaches of their terrible approach with throwing him out there than removing him infront of everyone and not allowing him to finish the inning to prove he can do it 

Let your son handle it.  He is 14 and needs to be in charge of his own baseball path.

He also needs to work on his pitching on his own if it's important to him.  The days of team practices are basically done with showcase.  Be prepared when an opportunity arises and shine.  That's the model for future success in baseball and life.

"Let your son handle it" ... as a parent with my own 14 y/o, I very much agree with @bandera.

That said, a good parent will be an active mentor and advisor behind the scenes at home!  Not too many 14 y/o's  are going to effectively negotiate with (or influence) an adult authority figure all on their own if there isn't trust  ...

Sometimes I tell my kid what to do (rarely works anymore), sometimes I try the Socratic method ... might work on an off-day when he is well rested and disconnected from his devices, sometimes I let my wife tell him ... ;-)   When none of these mentoring approaches work, I let him screw it up on his own terms ... and try my best not to throw "I told you so" in his face after the fact.

good luck with your son.

MA2034:

Welcome to HSBBWEB. It seems to me that he wasn't warmed up and the coach wanted to see him pitch in a "game situation." The closer on my son's college team was also starting first baseman. In the 8th or 9th inning if the game was tight, my son (MI) and closer (1b) altered their in between warmups. 1b was throwing overhead to my son and harder than his typical grounders to infielders.  These served as assimilated warmups for when he would take the mound. Your son at 3B could do something similarly and be more ready should he get the "unexpected call."

Lastly, does your son see himself more as a hitter who pitches, or a pitcher who plays 3b?

It is difficult to understand/justify allowing him to only face 1 batter, but game decisions are solely in the purview of the coaches and I suspect they had their reasons.  Of course, you as a parent would not agree with those reasons, but I would not let it upset me too much.  I doubt that the coaches want to see him fail.  But I agree it is tough at this age to balance being a good parent v. letting your son learn things on his own, and I am sure he was disappointed.  I will say that (at least in my experience), in travel/club baseball the coaches would pull position players to pitch toward the end of games and sometimes they would only pitch to a few hitters (although usually more than just 1!!).

From the tone of your first post you are upset, and that is a good thing because you care so much for your son and want the best for him!   If that means making him a good pitcher, I would consider - after a week or so after things have calmed down - talk with the coaches or head of the organization again and specifically ask them to work with your son's pitching technique and ask if he can start getting regular relief appearances.  If that does not happen, consider private lessons after the summer season and look for a different organization that will allow your son to pitch regularly.  Remember he is still young and this too shall pass - I bet your son is tough and this will not deter him.  If he loves baseball he knows that some failure is inherent, and this will just be a step in the journey!  Keep the faith and best of luck!!

@MA2304 posted:

Well, my son was given the chance to pitch last inning at his game. His coaches never had one on one with him with pitching and they just decided to throw him in the game as a pitcher. Even though he's been complimented from college players and coaches and camp his coaches have never made it a priority to get his pitching technique where it needs to be in Order to perform. Even though his pitching was really good according to college coaches bus coach told him to pitch HIS way without giving my son a chance to see how HE pitches. He goes up to the mound walked the 1st kid up to bat and my son's coaches removed him and put him back on 3rd. I was so pissed, for 1 why not allow him to finish the inning, 2 why say " i just wanted to see what you'd do" and send him off to bring in a new pitcher like he wanted to see my son fail, 3 why shatter his dream of trying to be in the pitcher position and not give him a real chance. Only after 1 kid that he walked when other pitchers have done the same and that never happened to them. My son was humiliated and hurt by their actions. How should i address this and not be the "crazy mom".

This is probably gonna sound harsh, but it's not my intention. This is YOUR kid. If he wants to be a pitcher, YOU get him the help he needs, lessons conditioning etc. You make sure he learns and abides by proper arm care. Not all coaches are capable of getting your kid where he needs/wants to be. If you and your kid put the work in, learn what is right, you will feel more comfortable with your situation. You may even agree with said coach. (Maybe not). But above all be informed. 

Trust me when I say, if he is better than the rest of the pitchers on his team, he will be pitching. 

My son at a younger age had a similar experience. He was on a travel team and rec team coached by the same coach. One was travel and the onther was tied to our church. 

Son really wanted to pitch, but he never really got an opportunity with this coach. Never blamed the coach, I understood he was trying to win and son had never pitched. Son still wanted to pitch. 

We signed him up at a local batting cage with a pitching coach for some lessons. And we dropped him down to a rec league for one summer so he could get some innings. He did well. Next year he started playing with the summer team tied to his HS/Middle schoold team. He got more innings pitching, but was never a number one type pitcher until his Sophomore/Junior year.

Flash forward to Summer before Senior year. Son is warming up. There is a familiar face watching from behind the backstop. He is taking notes and is clearly he has some interest. I walk over and we pass pleasantries. He asks me if I happen to know the pitcher. I explain that it is Charles. His eyes light up. He says "I guess I did not know what I had." We talk for a whike longer and have a very pleaseant conversation. We talk about how our sons respective recruitment is going etc. We eventually part ways and go to our respective seats.

Son ended up having a very respectful carreer at a D3 college. I still think highly of this coach, even though he did not let my son pitch, he may have taught him more about baseball than many of the coaches he had later in his life. 

Son is giving lessons and doing some coaching now. He still uses some of what this coach taught him. 

So after that long winded story, I am going to agree with others. If he wants to pitch, you as partents need to get him the resources to improve. There are many ways to do that. On the one batter he faced. How many pitches did it take to walk him? How close was your son to the strike zone? It is unfair, I know, but when called upan you must preform. You never know if/when you will get another chance. I feel your pain. Most of us on here have seen our sons have experiences we may deem unfair. 

Good luck. 

@MA2304 posted:

He has another game this week and i want to speak to his coaches of their terrible approach with throwing him out there than removing him infront of everyone and not allowing him to finish the inning to prove he can do it 

Bad idea. Baseball coaches are a stubborn crew. You will be labeled as “the crazy mother”. You will only hurt your son doing this. Coaches talk to each other. Just learn to pitch. That’s the easiest route. 

Thank you both for commenting. Thank you for your story Bishopleftiesdad. I guess I won't say anything even if it irks me I appreciate your inpute and making me understand how to be a good baseball mom and not the crazy mom..lol

I agree Roadrunner, I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but my son didn't want to start to pitch until next season so he does have enough time to practice. It was the coaches decision to throw him out there to pitch even though they've had him in only 2 other positions. We didn't want him to pitch this year due to lack of practice that's why I'm botbered that the coaches decided to see what he can do during a game instead of at ptactice.

@MA2304 posted:

...3 why shatter his dream of trying to be in the pitcher position and not give him a real chance.

If being pulled after one walk shattered his dream of being a pitcher he was never going to be a successful pitcher to begin with

True, wrong choice of words. I just didnt think that was a great way for him to start pitching. But, after our talk he knows not to let that moment effect him and allow it to just motivate him even after he was embarrassed.

Pitching sucks. Watching my kid pitch is the most painful experience I have ever had.  (Edit, that's when it's going well).

You, and he, have started to learn that. Get him help through private coaching, let him know you love him when he is very good and when he's terrible, and then let him decide if he REALLY wants to pitch. He's had his first terrible outing. It won't be his last.

And in the end, as painful as it's been, i wouldn't trade a second of it. Good luck!!!!

@MA2304 posted:

I agree Roadrunner, I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but my son didn't want to start to pitch until next season so he does have enough time to practice. It was the coaches decision to throw him out there to pitch even though they've had him in only 2 other positions. We didn't want him to pitch this year due to lack of practice that's why I'm botbered that the coaches decided to see what he can do during a game instead of at ptactice.

I think it’s ok for him to tell the coach that he is not ready to pitch today. He can explain why. Coach may even respect him for it. You’ve gotten some good advice here. And I’m sure the people that contributed we’re happy to do so. We haven’t had the opportunity to talk about baseball much lately. It’s nice to have a new mom here on the site. Enjoy every game, every inning, every out, every pitch, every swing. 

Thanks so much. My son had an amazing game today. Even though they lost he personally did amazing. You will definitely hear more of me so be ready. It could get annoying lol...I just want to do what's best for my son's. 

@MA2304 posted:

True, wrong choice of words. I just didnt think that was a great way for him to start pitching. But, after our talk he knows not to let that moment effect him and allow it to just motivate him even after he was embarrassed.

Think about it. What if they left him out there and he continued to struggle and things got worse. THey may have done him a favor. The coach may have seen something that indicated that things were not going to get better. If he was more seasoned, leaving him out there to "work it out" may have been called for. In my opinion pulling him after one batter may have been the kinder action. 

Did the pitcher before him get into trouble quickly or run out of pitches? 

Were they just buying time for another kid to have time to warm up? Did they mention anything to him when they brought him in and took him out? 

Agree with others, this is your son's battle and you can cheer from the sidelines. 24 hr rule, shouldn't mention anything to coaches about it until after event/tourney.

If he wants to pitch. Dealing with and overcoming failure is a huge component to be successful. 

Like others have said. Pitchers/Catchers have to get additional instruction from private lessons. Mechanics aren't typically taught by coaches, or team practice time devoted to them, unless you have a pitching specific coach or organization. 

@RoadRunner posted:

I think it’s ok for him to tell the coach that he is not ready to pitch today. He can explain why. Coach may even respect him for it. You’ve gotten some good advice here. And I’m sure the people that contributed we’re happy to do so. We haven’t had the opportunity to talk about baseball much lately. It’s nice to have a new mom here on the site. Enjoy every game, every inning, every out, every pitch, every swing. 

Only thing is that when my kid did this, it took weeks before he got another chance.  I think it helps to go out there, even if the conditions are not the best.  There are times when people only get one chance, and if they don't take it, that could be it. Personally, I think all kids should pitch unless their arm is bothering them at the time. JMHO

If you like the coach and the organization, you might approach the coach and ask who in the organization does he recommend to give pitching lessons.  It signals that your son is 1) interested in pitching and 2) interesting in improving and doing so properly.  This tact also allows for direct feedback from the pitching instructor to your son's coach concerning his mechanics, abilities, and readiness. 

Welcome to the site and very nice thread title!

Pitchers' parents have a special spot in heaven. I was a pitcher and though I didn't realize it then my parents were AMAZING. They constantly supported me even when I stunk it up which was most of the time.  Never talked to my coaches unless it was to offer them a beer at the  after game  potlucks. One of my kids pitches now and I swear I'm gonna have a heart attack every time he winds up to throw. I would have been upset at your experience, too, but I've learned from having two older boys play that, like everyone above has said, you gotta let the kid do the heavy lifting with the coaches while you find ways to get him the training he'll need.

I'm just super grateful my older two  could  hit well enough to play in the field. I don't think I could do this for more than one kid. Hang in there and let us know how it goes!

Was it a close game? As a previous post stated, it could have been a delay to warm up another pitcher. I’ve seen it many times. 

On a side note, wait until a coach is leaving him in longer than he should. Nothing worse than watching your kid walk a handful while other parents are snickering about taking him out. 

Update: my son had a bad experience that day, but he was the ONLY one from his team that made the AAA team for next season. He worked really hard all season his 1st year of baseball and happy it paid off for him. 

So your hysteria is about lower level, non Majors baseball?