Here is a link to an article in today's Miami Herald bemoaning the (chose your own derogatory adjective here) 25 game limit on high school baseball in Florida.
Talent withering with so few games to play
The reporter, Joseph Goodman, is relatively new to the high school beat, but it didn't take him long to see through the FHSAA's new clothes. The article notes that even New York State, with a much shorter season, authorizes 24 games. Perhaps more importantly, I believe NY has multiple governing bodies for HS sports and some schools play considerably more games. (I have seen several published reports of a NYC school with a 43-2 record last year). Maybe it is time for Florida to consider doing the same.
What does the baseball program at a 6A, 4000+, suburban HS in So. Florida have in common with the baseball program at a 2A 400 student rural No. Florida HS? Well, they each have 1 FHSAA vote, and they each are restricted to 25 games. Other than that,... . The 6A school may have more boys trying out for the baseball team than the 2A has male enrollment. Those making the team (particularly pitchers as the article notes) may find themselves stockpiled behind better players and never see the playing field. Many players may even change schools so they can get the chance to play, at the high school level, the sport they love and have been playing since age 4 . (The FHSAA has plans to halt this heinous practice, but that is another story.)
I understand the problems the hypothetical 2A program runs into with baseball. Many of its students play multiple sports, travel may be time consuming and expensive, baseball cannot pay for itself and, after all, it's not football. But that is not the case elsewhere in the state. Of the 95 6A schools, 60 are in the S. Fla. metropolitan area; along with 15 5A schools. Additionally, there are numerous private schools in the 1-3A classes which can compete with anybody. The vast majority of baseball players (for better or for worse) play only baseball; would welcome a longer season; facilities abound; travel times are reasonble, money can be made and saved by weekend tourneys etc., and more kids can play.
So why not loosen the limit on games for those programs who want to play more often? The FHSAA would not, in the name of equality, demand the same portions of food be provided to a 275lb defensive tackle and a 95lb wrestler. Or would it? Some serious questions and comments were raised in an earlier thread on the mainboard about the future (or lack thereof) of high school baseball. Some new thinking might be in order, particularly in a state which provides so many natural advantages to student athletes who love this sport.
Original Post