Troubled Teammates

How much time do you have?  I could write a novel on a player VERY close to me.  Good news is he's finally on the right path.  Had a great season back at college and baseball.  And now he's injured.  Oy vey!

I wished I didnt have a bunch of stories to tell but I do.....The longer you play the more you run into some characters on and off the field.

Nothing particularly violent or menacing but mostly "dumb kid" stuff. 

HS senior, played on one of the best travel teams in the country, D1 scholarship, very talented kid.  He decided it would be hysterical to "borrow" a goat from a neighboring farm so he could send it up to the girl he liked with a note around his neck that said "Will you GOAT to Prom with me"....farmer saw him take the goat, got the license plate.  Farmer pressed charges, "Theft of Livestock".  D1 offer pulled due to ethics violation, kicked off elite team.

One of son's college teammates, a freshman, was driving to a party that some of the upper class men were having.  Rear-ended another vehicle.  The kid, who was already buzzed, panics.  Leaves the scene of the accident and runs close to a mile to the location of the party.  Since he already had one DUI in HS, he tries to persuade one of the other freshmen to go back and take the rap for him.  No takers.  Son tells him "Dude, they're gonna know it's your car.  You have to go back.  Come on, I'll go with you."  They go back to the scene.  Police are already there.  Son talks to the officer, who he has to first convince that HE was not in the car, and explains the situation, "The kid just panicked."  Fortunately, it's a college town and the officer buys it.  Miraculously does not charge him with DUI or leaving the scene.  Tells son, "you're the only reason he's not going to jail."  

And then there were the other kids who went to the strip club during the conference tournament.  There are even worse stories, but  I'm not going there today.  

This was in semi-pro (definitely not "big tyne") ball in a part of the country that was close to a border with another country.  Guy on our team was recently married, with a few of us in the wedding party. Team took a week-long trip  to the "other" country, definitely not a country for old men.  We all went to a cool bar/restaurant after a double header.  Recently married guy (hereafter referred to as Run RMG) made serious eye contact with a lass across the room.  She made eyes back. Several of us watched in stunned disbelief as he made his way across the room to her and escorted her out the door. Coach, who was also at the bar, told me to follow Run RMG , get him back here or to the hotel, alone and keep track of him until game time the next day.  Lucky me.  I find him in the parking lot, in the early stages of romantic embrace, in the bed of an El Camino, and tell him that if he wants to stay on the team he needs to come with me.  He reluctantly agrees, she yells at him for leaving her.  Back to the hotel we go, fall asleep, I awake middle of the night and he's gone.  Next morning, Run RMG shows up at breakfast looking exactly how someone should look after a few too many drinks, and not enough sleep. I ask Run DMG for an explanation, and he says, "that lady last night?  She was my HS girlfriend.  She moved here right after graduation.  I hadn't seen her in five years. I didn't even know she was here."

I haven't told anyone this story until this very day, and I'm sorry I don't know the end of it, other than he was still married after we finished the season.  I moved away, and I've never seen him again.

Having just read MTH's contribution, which was posted almost simultaneously with mine, I'm thinking this could be a very promising thread.

CaCO3Girl posted:

HS senior, played on one of the best travel teams in the country, D1 scholarship, very talented kid.  He decided it would be hysterical to "borrow" a goat from a neighboring farm so he could send it up to the girl he liked with a note around his neck that said "Will you GOAT to Prom with me"....farmer saw him take the goat, got the license plate.  Farmer pressed charges, "Theft of Livestock".  D1 offer pulled due to ethics violation, kicked off elite team.

Did the goat rustler end up playing in college? Sometimes, one team's felon is another team's starting SS.

Son's Summer ball team traveled to a small town up north. After a night game a few guys and a couple coaches go out to the local watering hole. Late into the night and early morning, most present have had enough to wash away the memory of a tough loss. One player in particular, a senior who already had a job secured since graduating, but wanted to play one more summer. He gets a call from his girl back home. He walks outside the bar to hear better and once he returns he is not allowed to re-enter because he so is intoxicated. He panics, does not know where he is, does not remember the hotel name where they're staying. He decides to walk along the RR tracks (in town) hoping to find the hotel. For protection, he takes out his knife. Someone see's him and reports him to the police. He is arrested, thrown in jail, the team moves on to the next scheduled town without him. He's booked, fingerprinted, mugshot, and needs to call home for bail. Once he's out, he now has to get back home. It gets worse, he has to come back in a month for his hearing. Probably wishes he passed on that last year of summer ball. Hopefully, he saved that mugshot. 

MidAtlanticDad posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

HS senior, played on one of the best travel teams in the country, D1 scholarship, very talented kid.  He decided it would be hysterical to "borrow" a goat from a neighboring farm so he could send it up to the girl he liked with a note around his neck that said "Will you GOAT to Prom with me"....farmer saw him take the goat, got the license plate.  Farmer pressed charges, "Theft of Livestock".  D1 offer pulled due to ethics violation, kicked off elite team.

Did the goat rustler end up playing in college? Sometimes, one team's felon is another team's starting SS.

No idea, happened in 2015 and was used as a cautionary tale to the younger kids in the program.

HS - player at a neighboring county HS, was found to be intoxicated at prom (or so the story goes), and subsequently was suspended from school (10 days) and the baseball team.  Happened right before they were to play my son's HS team - both teams (along with a third team) competing for the #1 seed as the season was about to come to a close.  Son's team would go on to win that game and the district tournament.

JuCo - son's freshman year.  The weekend after we moved him in some of the sophomores had a party which got a little out of hand and the cops were called.   Cops didn't call the parents - they called the coach.  The first few days of practice those sophomores were running a lot of poles.  Son did not go as he really didn't know any of the sophomores and hadn't heard of the party.  He didn't find out until that first day of practice.

Branson Baseball posted:

How much time do you have?  I could write a novel on a player VERY close to me.  Good news is he's finally on the right path.  Had a great season back at college and baseball.  And now he's injured.  Oy vey!

I give you credit for giving us a clue who the player is.

I'm feeling better about my son's priorities in his college search. Thank you.

Iowamom23 posted:

I'm feeling better about my son's priorities in his college search. Thank you.

I'm actually feeling a little worse.

Watched an MLB pitcher yesterday from our area who was kicked off his HS team for drinking.  It took 3 offenses to get kicked off the HS team.  Obviously it didn't hurt his career.

Normally I wouldn't do this, but since its already public knowledge...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Krol

 Read the first paragraph under Oakland A's

As the parent of a young player I would like to know how these players ended up after they got in trouble.  Did  they land on their feet?

Thanks

My son was playing in Nag's Head in the CPL one summer. Two weeks in I get a call from him saying "Guess What?" An old friend from youth ball days had joined the team late. A pitcher who's team had been bounced from the NCAA's. I knew the kid well and he's a great guy. But I also knew he was - well let's just say he enjoyed life. So my son find out that this guy is living in an attic apartment with no AC and asks his host family the guy can move in with them. Of course they oblige.

The next weekend we head down to catch a couple of games. After the game we take my son and his buddy out to eat. After we eat his buddy say's "Hey Coach can you stop at the Quick Mart I need to get some things." Of course I stop. He comes out with a case of beer. My wife say's "Now you know your host family left explicit instructions that there was to be no alcohol in their house." The player says "Mrs May I have already sweet talked our new Mom into letting me have it. Trust me it's ok." That didn't end well.

Later in the year the team did a promotion at the local bowling alley. "Come bowl with the Dare Devils!" Well some of the guys decided to have a few too many which were on the house by the establishment to the players. The players got the staff to join in with them. The kegs ended up on the floor behind the bowling lanes. The Staff gets hammered and most of the players as well. The locals who decided to bowl with the Dare Devils end up in a Bowl vs the Dare Devils. It ends up in a chug if you lose show off. The losers were not happy. The cops show up. Well lets just say it didn't end well.

Later in that same year while exiting a local establishment someone said the wrong thing to my son's buddy. That someone ended up sprawled out in this kind of Outer Banks Cactus Bush thingy. The paramedics were called to assist. That someone turned out to be the General Manager of the teams Nephew. My son's buddy ended up on a bus back home. "Who cares were out of the playoff race anyway and that _________ got what he deserved."

That was one year. There are so many more stories that are much worse. Thankfully my son never ended up in the pokey. He actually started his coaching career with the Wilmington Sharks in the CPL. He told me he was done coaching summer league collegiate baseball. He went on to say it was because he wanted to keep his job and it was just too stressful trying to corral those knuckleheads. Pray for the knuckleheads. They need it. And don't forget to pray for the parents they need it even more. And please don't tell me how your kid "would" "won't" blah blah blah. I will pray for you too.

Coach_May posted:

My son was playing in Nag's Head in the CPL one summer. Two weeks in I get a call from him saying "Guess What?" ...

Hahaha... whenever i get a call from my son and he leads with "guess what?", I cringe.  Either that or there is a lead story and then a pause and then "So,... ".

Yesterday, it was the lead story.  Something, something... have a camp opportunity to make some extra $...  So, I went out with this girl a few times and I realized I have more in common with her roommate... 

One of my son's friends was picked up at mid-summer for a CPL team. Kid had just graduated high school, but was going to a D1, so they brought him in as a fill-in. He told my son that the older players would buy their beer before the games and ice it down while they were playing. After the game they would hang around in the bleachers talking. Many times they were so drunk that they had to sleep on the bleachers rather than drive to their host families.

My son played in a different summer league last season but had a coach who had previously played in the CPL. According to this coach, beer sales were not allowed on Sundays in the town where this team played. So, if a home game was scheduled on Sunday, it was automatically a "rain out". Think Bull Durham. The alcohol sales were so much greater than the tickets and concessions profits, that they always came up with some sort of field or stadium issue in order to reschedule on a different day.

CaCO3Girl posted:

HS senior, played on one of the best travel teams in the country, D1 scholarship, very talented kid.  He decided it would be hysterical to "borrow" a goat from a neighboring farm so he could send it up to the girl he liked with a note around his neck that said "Will you GOAT to Prom with me"....farmer saw him take the goat, got the license plate.  Farmer pressed charges, "Theft of Livestock".  D1 offer pulled due to ethics violation, kicked off elite team.

What a Baaaa aaaaaa  aaaaa  aaaaaa  aaaaaaaa  aaaaaa  aaaad decision. 

it was just too stressful trying to corral those knuckleheads. Pray for the knuckleheads. They need it. Coach May

sidebar:  Are there more knuckleheads in baseball, proportionately, than in other sports? If so, why?  I work with HS kids.  The baseball teams I'm involved with, both school and summer, are hands down the teams I worry about the most, not for violent or extreme behavior, but for bone-headed decision making of the most thoughtless kind.  (WAIT!  That could be a movie title!)

I would say hands down the guys I want to hang out and spend the most time with are baseball players. Absolutely the best. I know I am biased. I played football in college and coached it a few years in HS. For me they are the most fun loving, hysterical, witty, guys there are. I think that what happens in the summer is these guys have just come out of the grind of a college season along with the academics. All of a sudden no class, no constant supervision, just baseball and free time. They blow off some steam and sometimes that can lead to some issues.

For the vast majority of these guys its not anything serious. I would definitely talk to my son about being careful and making good decisions. And I would definitely "pray" that when he doesn't listen to your advice he is lucky. Like an old timer once told me "The only difference between the guys you will be chasing and putting in cuffs is they got caught when they were still stupid and you didn't." My son never got in any trouble. I pray hard.

too.tall posted:

As the parent of a young player I would like to know how these players ended up after they got in trouble.  Did  they land on their feet?

Thanks

Some did, some didn't.  The kid who fled the scene of the accident skated on that offense.  However, he served brief suspensions at the start of each of his 3 college seasons for other stupid offenses.  The guys that went to the strip club got caught breaking curfew, but not for what they did while breaking curfew.  Mild punishment imposed after the tournament.  

One of son's HS teammates played JUCO ball.  One night a couple of his buddies decided to break into somebody's house.  He stayed in the car, but they were all arrested and pled guilty.  The other guys were expelled.  He was suspended for the rest of the year, but allowed to return the next year.

As you might expect, most of the stupidity involves alcohol.  Alcohol use/abuse is rampant in the college population, including baseball players.  Pot use is also fairly common.  Son had several teammates who were habitual users.  There were two or three that were into harder stuff.    Don't know that any of them got caught, unless they failed a confidential drug test that I am not aware of.   A couple of those were so erratic that I am convinced that it affected their college performance.      

One of our sons was in Junior College.  I think all the players drank beer, they weren't old enough, they weren't suppose to, but they did.

Several clubs were showing serious draft interest in son.  We pretty much thought he be a 4th to 10th round pick with a slight possibility of going earlier.  A few weeks before the draft he and the buddies got their hands on a couple cases of beer and went out for a drive.  Car ended up rolling over into a ditch.  Luckily no one was seriously injured, but all were suspended for the playoffs.  Son was still drafted, but the scouts were concerned about make up issues.  I told them he has great make up, he's just real stupid.  Like father, Like son!

He got drafted in the 20th round.

Rather than trying to stop young college kids from drinking... They're probably going to do it anyway... Might be best to make sure they know how to stay out of trouble if or when they drink.  That can be very difficult when you combine young people and booze. Responsible drinking should be a mandatory college course.

Thankfully my son turned out to be OK.

smokeminside posted:

it was just too stressful trying to corral those knuckleheads. Pray for the knuckleheads. They need it. Coach May

sidebar:  Are there more knuckleheads in baseball, proportionately, than in other sports? If so, why?  I work with HS kids.  The baseball teams I'm involved with, both school and summer, are hands down the teams I worry about the most, not for violent or extreme behavior, but for bone-headed decision making of the most thoughtless kind.  (WAIT!  That could be a movie title!)

There have been several articles that baseball has a HIGH percentage of ADHD people.  Being unable to control random impulses can make for interesting times!

CaCO3Girl posted:

smokeminside posted:

it was just too stressful trying to corral those knuckleheads. Pray for the knuckleheads. They need it. Coach May

sidebar:  Are there more knuckleheads in baseball, proportionately, than in other sports? If so, why?  I work with HS kids.  The baseball teams I'm involved with, both school and summer, are hands down the teams I worry about the most, not for violent or extreme behavior, but for bone-headed decision making of the most thoughtless kind.  (WAIT!  That could be a movie title!)

There have been several articles that baseball has a HIGH percentage of ADHD people.  Being unable to control random impulses can make for interesting times!

That might actually have more to do with professional baseball players getting "therapeutic exemptions" for Adderall and Ritalin.

CaCO3Girl posted:

smokeminside posted:

it was just too stressful trying to corral those knuckleheads. Pray for the knuckleheads. They need it. Coach May

sidebar:  Are there more knuckleheads in baseball, proportionately, than in other sports? If so, why?  I work with HS kids.  The baseball teams I'm involved with, both school and summer, are hands down the teams I worry about the most, not for violent or extreme behavior, but for bone-headed decision making of the most thoughtless kind.  (WAIT!  That could be a movie title!)

There have been several articles that baseball has a HIGH percentage of ADHD people.  Being unable to control random impulses can make for interesting times!

Does baseball have a high percentage of ADHD people????... Or does baseball have a high percentage of players with a script for Adderall as a performance enhancer?????

PGStaff posted:

Car ended up rolling over into a ditch.

PSA:  Set your children up with a Lyft or Uber account. If possible, pay for it, no questions asked. I have to believe that these services have saved many lives.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

PGStaff posted:

Car ended up rolling over into a ditch.

PSA:  Set your children up with a Lyft or Uber account. If possible, pay for it, no questions asked. I have to believe that these services have saved many lives.

My kid is 14 and has an Uber account, how else will he get to Lakepoint for an 8am game on a workday? 

Stafford posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

smokeminside posted:

it was just too stressful trying to corral those knuckleheads. Pray for the knuckleheads. They need it. Coach May

sidebar:  Are there more knuckleheads in baseball, proportionately, than in other sports? If so, why?  I work with HS kids.  The baseball teams I'm involved with, both school and summer, are hands down the teams I worry about the most, not for violent or extreme behavior, but for bone-headed decision making of the most thoughtless kind.  (WAIT!  That could be a movie title!)

There have been several articles that baseball has a HIGH percentage of ADHD people.  Being unable to control random impulses can make for interesting times!

Does baseball have a high percentage of ADHD people????... Or does baseball have a high percentage of players with a script for Adderall as a performance enhancer?????

Short term for a test or something I have witnessed the abuse of these meds, but long term....I have my doubts.  My own kid wasn't diagnosed until 8th grade, the meds have been a miracle for school, but he has always been good at baseball.  No difference in skill on or off the meds, and he has done both.

Boys will be boys, you just have to make sure that they understand the worst case scenario, which could happen when you drink and drive.  One of my son's best friends in HS got drunk with a friend at a festival, on the way home he crashed his truck, his friend died and he went to jail for 9 years. Good kid, bad decision.

With that being said, son had two instances in college, both minor in possession.  His problem was he never went to court for one ticket, and found out there was a bench warrant out for his arrest. He was told one more time and the truck and keys would be at the HC house and THAT was not something he wanted to deal with. 

One thing that always puzzles me, schools have huge tailgate events before football, but if you are a minor caught with a beer or drink in hand, you have to answer to law enforcement. Heck, about half  of those in attendance are minors!

Just remind your kids to have Uber accounts. 

CaCO3Girl posted:

MidAtlanticDad posted:

PGStaff posted:

Car ended up rolling over into a ditch.

PSA:  Set your children up with a Lyft or Uber account. If possible, pay for it, no questions asked. I have to believe that these services have saved many lives.

My kid is 14 and has an Uber account, how else will he get to Lakepoint for an 8am game on a workday? 

Huh?

PGStaff posted:

... Son was still drafted, but the scouts were concerned about make up issues.  I told them he has great make up, he's just real stupid.  ...

MidAtlanticDad posted:

PGStaff posted:

Car ended up rolling over into a ditch.

PSA:  Set your children up with a Lyft or Uber account. If possible, pay for it, no questions asked. I have to believe that these services have saved many lives.

Yes.  Sound.  

Although....  baseball players are also creative and find ways to do things efficiently as a team.  An esteemed member here set one up for his college son, paid for it, no questions asked... until there were a lot of questions.

Teammates (my son may or may not have been one of them) figured out that any time they wanted to go out on the town, esteemed member's son would need to be present for the ride... sometimes there and back, and there and back, and there and back....  "OK, whole team home, safe and sound."   

cabbagedad posted:

MidAtlanticDad posted:

PGStaff posted:

Car ended up rolling over into a ditch.

PSA:  Set your children up with a Lyft or Uber account. If possible, pay for it, no questions asked. I have to believe that these services have saved many lives.

Yes.  Sound.  

Although....  baseball players are also creative and find ways to do things efficiently as a team.  An esteemed member here set one up for his college son, paid for it, no questions asked... until there were a lot of questions.

Teammates (my son may or may not have been one of them) figured out that any time they wanted to go out on the town, esteemed member's son would need to be present for the ride... sometimes there and back, and there and back, and there and back....  "OK, whole team home, safe and sound."   

Quite literally laughing out loud. We do love our kids. That was the type of scenario I was imagining with my "if possible" disclaimer.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

PGStaff posted:

Car ended up rolling over into a ditch.

PSA:  Set your children up with a Lyft or Uber account. If possible, pay for it, no questions asked. I have to believe that these services have saved many lives.

Of all the advice I've seen on this site, this simple recommendation is at the top of list.  If your kid is playing baseball, not playing baseball, doesn't matter, he'll be a college kid, surrounded by more college kids.  You know what you get when a bunch of college kids get together?  A Party!!  Go Uber!! 

We set up our player with an Uber account that got billed directly to my wife's card. Because she used Uber for work and other outings , it was hard to distinguish  who's was who's. Someone stole her card number and was charging things so she had to identify each charge. She noticed that there were Uber charges in one week for $42.00 & $36.00. When she questioned Junior about the high Uber charges, he had to respond specifically to each. Turns out that here in SF you can get food delivered(UberEats). Busted!

Picked Off posted:

We set up our player with an Uber account that got billed directly to my wife's card. Because she used Uber for work and other outings , it was hard to distinguish  who's was who's. Someone stole her card number and was charging things so she had to identify each charge. She noticed that there were Uber charges in one week for $42.00 & $36.00. When she questioned Junior about the high Uber charges, he had to respond specifically to each. Turns out that here in SF you can get food delivered(UberEats). Busted!

Now that's just downright funny.

Picked Off posted:

We set up our player with an Uber account that got billed directly to my wife's card. Because she used Uber for work and other outings , it was hard to distinguish  who's was who's. Someone stole her card number and was charging things so she had to identify each charge. She noticed that there were Uber charges in one week for $42.00 & $36.00. When she questioned Junior about the high Uber charges, he had to respond specifically to each. Turns out that here in SF you can get food delivered(UberEats). Busted!

Just waitin' for you to connect the dots here, big boy... you may want to read a few posts up

One additional story! I know a young man who was/is an outstanding student(35 ACT & 2300 SAT, perfect score on 11 AP tests). He received an academic scholarship to a private university, one of two selected out 5000 students. His major was Bioinformatics/Molecular Biology. The scholarship covered everything, tuition, housing, food & all books and supplies, a total value $200,000.00 over four years.

Fast forward to the last week of his freshman year. He calls home, "hey Dad, I got bad news". Are you OK? "Kinda" Can it wait, I'm at a baseball game watching your brother. "I got in trouble with the school and Homeland security" WHAT!

It turns out he and eleven other students, five of which are on the basketball team sent away to China for fake ID's. All communication was done on his laptop, so it appeared that he was the ring leader. Homeland security intercepted the ID's in customs, brought them to the University. Homeland security did not file charges, but warned that this was a federal security issue. The school in turn, decided to punish 10 of the students with probation, and the computer guy and the guy that wired the funds with suspension. The suspension meant the loss of the remainder of the full scholarship. A $150,000.00 bad decision.

Fast forward 6 years. He graduated with honors (from another school) with a degree in Bioinformatics. He still has zero college debut because he worked nearly full time to pay for school.   He used the credits from his AP classes, took a few courses at a local JC and transferred to the leading state university and graduated in 2 years. He has a great job and now he will always have a great story to tell. Tough lesson for a 19 year old, even harder lesson for the parents.