The politics of baseball

quote:

Because his parents did not do much fund raising or selling tickets his senior year he was cut just before the season from the team.

....and you came to that conclusion,..how?
Is that what the coach told you?

mez


I am with ssmom---how did you reach that conclusion?

I know a heck of a lot of coaches and I do not think they would cut a talented player for the simple reason that their parents did or did not contribute to the fund traising.

My friend lives across the street from them.
His son made the team. The kids were best friends.
This is all I know. Baseball is a numbers game.


This same friend was called to a parent meeting 2 years after his son graduated. At the end of this meeting they went to the school board and the varsity coach was FIRED. There were so many complaints by parents and kids over the years that the school let him go.

If you were to video some coaches and let them see
the video they might be surprised at what they see on video. Some of these guys are so competitive they don't even realize what they are doing.

quote:

Baseball can be a cruel game.

Hmmmmm,...dont think I have ever once thought of the game of baseball as being cruel.

Hard,...exhausting, challenging, tough, rewarding, fabulous, perfect,....almost spiritual at times,...yes,..but cruel?
Nope.

quote:

My friend lives across the street from them.
His son made the team. The kids were best friends.
This is all I know.

So you assumed that:

quote:

Because his parents did not do much fund raising or selling tickets his senior year he was cut just before the season from the team. They kept a player who was border, line whos parents were really involved.

???????????

"Its got to be bummer to be a MLB player and riding the pine, a pinch hit here or there is all they get. unless the starter gets injured."

Sure.. big time bummer to be a MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER. Of course you'd love to be playing, but you gotta start somewhere right?

SSMOM
I only know what I was told.
I'm sure there are other issues.

mez

I would think that if a smart person did not have all the facts they would not get into a discussion on the topic until they DID have all the facts

quote:

For some reason the coach won't take him out???????????

Lesson #101: Because its the coaches decision.

Themez,..the sooner you realize this, the more I hope you will start to enjoy the game.

quote:

I'm sure there are other issues

My point exactly.
And perhaps,...just perhaps its not as " political " as you suspect.

SSMOM

Its most likely the wrong decision.
I have this feeling you think a coach is the best thing since sliced cheese. That is far from the truth. There are plenty of bad coaches out there.

quote:

Originally posted by themez:
SSMOM

Its most likely the wrong decision.
I have this feeling you think a coach is the best thing since sliced cheese. That is far from the truth. There are plenty of bad coaches out there.

How about this:

1) The parents get involved and help out rather than sit back and cry politics. If that's all it takes to get your kid in the starting lineup, or keep from getting cut, for goodness sake, step up and volunteer a little of your time! That will take the "politics" out of it, right???

2) If baseball is such a cruel sport, go run track. Nobody can be cruel to the kid. Either he wins the race or he doesn't. No politics there, eh?

3) When the kid is thrown into the real world, and gets "cut" from the job application pool, will you cry "politics" and complain about a political "Boss" who you know absolutely nothing about, other than what your friend's neighbor said about him? If he doesn't get hired, it must be politics. Couldn't possibly be that there are better candidates out there for the job.

Best thing since sliced cheese, eh? ( Can we make it mozarella? )

Yes,...there are bad coaches out there.
And unfortunately, I do know this first hand and personally.
But what I also know, is that it is better to be part of the solution, rather than contributing to the problem.
This will not be the first coach or program you run into that you wont like or agree with.
But if kid wants to play, the parents have to learn how to deal.

Its about outlook.
Its about learning how to watch the game when WE are no longer the one coaching.
Its about acceptance of someone else coaching our kids and doing it differently than what WE expected.
Its about learning how to adapt, overcome, and acheive in the face of adversity.

Is it easy? No.

Should we moan and groan,..and complain or add fuel to the idle gossip?
No. Take the high road. Tell your kid to work harder, sweat more, and make personal goals to continue to improve.
If the coach wants him to fire the ball back to the pitcher,..then fire it back to the pitcher like no other!

Complaining wont make anyone productive.
(Its too easy )

Doing will.

Find out how you can help.
( Not always so easy )

Dont know this particular situation so like all threads on here you dont always have all the info or all the correct info. I do know there are bad coaches, politics and everything else in baseball. But it seems that a lot of posts on these sites always say its politics when certain kids are cut.
I just really have a hard time believeing a good coach would cut a really good player.Im sure it happens.
When parents posts that there kids run 9.0 60 yard dash but think its politics, , that is slow and slow for HS. my son has several kids on his team that can beat out infield grounders and bunts for base hits .We all love our own kids, but sometimes we arent objective. We think our kid is better than so and so because so and so was 0-10. SOmetimes I think you have to be at practice day in and day out to see what the coaches are seeing.
All I know is take every weakness your kid has, or ask a coach for his weaknesses and then work your tail off to overcome those weaknesses.
If he is slow, and out of shape, get him with a trainer,if his arm is weak do long toss and band work. if he doesnt have a lot of pop in bat get stronger. There is always something every player can do to get better. If a player does all he can to work on every weakness, and has the talent I think 9/10 times he is going to be recognized by a coach. Thats my opinion.

you can deny it all you want!!!
it is in life sports work you name it.

quote:

Originally posted by themez:
you can deny it all you want!!!
it is in life sports work you name it.

Isn't "Life Sports Work You Name It" a political think tank? I think I'll subscribe to it.

Why is it we only ever hear how horrible the coach is? We never get the full story about anything. If someone were to quickly look through this board, (s)he'd think everybody here hates coaches.

"It's always the coach's fault" is the popular mantra I see around here..

quote:

At a starting salary of about 380K (give or take) that's a bummer.

I'm right there with you, TPM. My kid would probably give several parts of his anatomy (unessential parts, that is)to even get in there for a month at the minimum salary and he would gladly sit in the bullpen, warming up occasionally, not even getting into the game ...

themez
Yes, there are politics everywhere, including baseball, but every player getting cut doesn't politics make. (Not good grammer but y'all get the point.) And all of the vague things you are stating as fact are not substantial enough to warrant an outcry of 'POLITICS ... IT'S ALL ABOUT POLITICS'. We HSBBWebters have been down this topic road sooooo many times (see thread entitled "The Crutch") it isn't funny. We all know there are some politics involved but it isn't the only reason 'bad things' happen to allegedly 'good players' !!!

quote:

2) If baseball is such a cruel sport, go run track. Nobody can be cruel to the kid. Either he wins the race or he doesn't. No politics there, eh?

Best thing since sliced cheese, eh? ( Can we make it mozarella? )

I'm really not so sure that Cutting the Cheese and Politics go
together.
Of course they do both smell like ****??
EH

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:

quote:

At a starting salary of about 380K (give or take) that's a bummer.

I'm right there with you, TPM. My kid would probably give several parts of his anatomy (unessential parts, that is)to even get in there for a month at the minimum salary and he would gladly sit in the bullpen, warming up occasionally, not even getting into the game ...

themez
Yes, there are politics everywhere, including baseball, but every player getting cut doesn't politics make. (Not good grammer but y'all get the point.) And all of the vague things you are stating as fact are not substantial enough to warrant an outcry of 'POLITICS ... IT'S ALL ABOUT POLITICS'. We HSBBWebters have been down this topic road sooooo many times (see thread entitled "The Crutch") it isn't funny. We all know there are some politics involved but it isn't the only reason 'bad things' happen to allegedly 'good players' !!!

This is confusing. Someone who has the ability (a moderator ?) to change other posts got this messed up, I just made the quote above (not the whole post). It appears like I am talking ot myself.

quote:

Originally posted by themez:

Thats one thing I found out playing and coaching and watching. Baseball can be a cruel game.

LOL - Just wait - you will find that life is even crueler.

You can whine about it - or you can just go out and do your thing.

As a baseball player - dwelling on politics - or anything else not related to hitting the **** out of the ball - catching it - throwing/pitching it well and running like a wild dog - means you are most likely bound for Palookaville. Sooner rather than later. LOL

I know many coaches that will play a senior over a junior or sophomore with the senior having less talent. That's not a subjective observation, it happens to be a known fact. Many parents are fed up with the system.... but you kind of just have to bite the bullit and wait for your turn. There has never been a freshman or sophomore on the Varsity team if that tells you anything. Program has been around under current coach 12 years.

Switchitter is right. Politics, which I know exist in my son's program, don't manifest themselves during cuts, but usually more with who is playing. No coach, no matter how bad, is going to cut a player that could play D1 or is as good as the parent says he is. Coaches simply aren't that dumb. At times, a coach will play a senior over a sophomore because the sophomore will have two strong years and the seniors won't get angry. I don't think that's fair, but I totally understand that philosophy. When themez started this discussion, he said that the kid was a former starter. No coach, that cares enough to do fundraising (which he didn't do and therefore got cut), is going to cut a player that can truly help his team.

[quote]Many parents are fed up with the system....

That's your problem right there in a nut shell switchitter.

Who cares what the parent thinks??

It doesn't matter.

You are insignificate.

Take your kid and go home.

The sooner the parent figure's that out the better for the player.

From HS on, Baseball is a kids game played by Young Men.
Meaning you must earn your spot and fight like **** to keep it.
It's a fight the player has to do on there own??
Where just there for support
EH

quote:

Originally posted by theEH:
[quote]Many parents are fed up with the system....

That's your problem right there in a nut shell switchitter.

Who cares what the parent thinks??

It doesn't matter.

You are insignificate.

Take your kid and go home.

The sooner the parent figure's that out the better for the player.

From HS on, Baseball is a kids game played by Young Men.
Meaning you must earn your spot and fight like **** to keep it.
It's a fight the player has to do on there own??
Where just there for support
EH

yes, that's exactly right. i know what I'm into but the other parents don't and therefore get ticked off, confront coaches, write letters, put stats together to prove their kid is deserving, etc. ugh!

Well if it's the other Parent's that are causing all the problems??
Then you need to get far away from them and stay away from the controversy.
Guilt by association.
EH