9-year old is too good?

[Jackdog]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

I couldn't agree more. Devlopment leagues in my city is t-ball, coach pitch and pitcher machine, if your child never played in those leagues, they just have to tough it out when they start. The kid is being punished because he is better then others. If you move him up, you then hurt the child because he won't be able to pitch to 10-12 year olds at 40mph, the better pitchers at that age, from what I can remember hit the 50-55 mph zone.

Also, the team was 8-0 and heading into the playoffs. The kid has probably pitched every other game or depending on how often they play, maybe 3 of those 8... why is it a problem now and not after his first game or two? Just sounds fishy to me.

That's another good point. They are 8 games into the season and they pull this kids card. Nope. There is more to this than his 40 mph fastball.

[countryboy]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

I couldn't agree more. Devlopment leagues in my city is t-ball, coach pitch and pitcher machine, if your child never played in those leagues, they just have to tough it out when they start. The kid is being punished because he is better then others. If you move him up, you then hurt the child because he won't be able to pitch to 10-12 year olds at 40mph, the better pitchers at that age, from what I can remember hit the 50-55 mph zone.

Also, the team was 8-0 and heading into the playoffs. The kid has probably pitched every other game or depending on how often they play, maybe 3 of those 8... why is it a problem now and not after his first game or two? Just sounds fishy to me.

excellent post and point Dookie.

Imo, its nothing more than sour grapes because he refused to join the defending league champions team that happens to sponsored by one of the league administrators. So sad

[dkgojackets]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

Also, the team was 8-0 and heading into the playoffs. The kid has probably pitched every other game or depending on how often they play, maybe 3 of those 8... why is it a problem now and not after his first game or two? Just sounds fishy to me.

There could be all kinds of reasons. First would be the thing countryboy was worrying about earlier about where to draw the line. One homerun makes a guy have too much power? One diving stop? One dominant start? No, you wait to see a trend (3-4 games) before deciding to move the kid up.

Second because the parents didn't come to the league until then. Maybe the kids didn't tell their parents they didn't want to step into the box against him until after the first game he pitched against their team, and then those parents of a couple teams got together. Several teams raising the issue makes a louder noise than just one. If it was just one game against one team than the same people bitching now would bitch that parents of kids who didn't even play against that guy have no standing at all.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Nine year old banned from pitching

You are joking right? That is pretty damn fast.

We're talking 15 MPH slower than Tim Wakefields Knuckleball, which is basically a lob in itself. This is a pitch that has a pretty significant arc in it. In fact at 45' a hitter has slightly more reaction time to the pitch than Wakefields knuckler. Where I live, this is the speed of the lowest batting cages.

If the kids are beginners and can't catch up to it or just can't make contact because they suck, that is one thing, but it would take a completely unathletic/uncoordinated person to not be able to get out of the way of pitch. A kid is more likely to get injured by getting in front of batted ball that takes a bad hop.

[Alliball]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

Can we revisit the fact that Jericho was originally invited to play in the league by another team but turned them down.

He was INVITED. They knew what he was bringing to the table. This sounds like nothing more than a bunch of sour grapes. I'm more than certain that the team that was turned down started this whole mess.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

Can we revisit the fact that Jericho was originally invited to play in the league by another team but turned them down.

He was INVITED. They knew what he was bringing to the table. This sounds like nothing more than a bunch of sour grapes. I'm more than certain that the team that was turned down started this whole mess.

Yeah, it'd be quite ironic if one of the teams that were complaining was the one that invited him in the first place.

The sad thing is that this kid has to deal with all of the national media crap when all he probably wanted to do was play ball with his buddies.

[Alliball]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

Yeah, it'd be quite ironic if one of the teams that were complaining was the one that invited him in the first place.

The sad thing is that this kid has to deal with all of the national media crap when all he probably wanted to do was play ball with his buddies.

I'll bet money that the jilted team is the one that started it all.

They're acting like a 16 year old girl that got stood by her prom date.

[Gibbz]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

Sorry to disappoint 'em, but there's 9-year olds all over Texas throwing 45-50.

[X*Cell]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

http://subwaychatter.com/blog/2008/08/27/teach-your-children-well/

I agree with what this guy had to say.

[CMH]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

Sorry to disappoint 'em, but there's 9-year olds all over Texas throwing 45-50.

Well, we already know that there's something in the Texas water.

[dkgojackets]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

Can we revisit the fact that Jericho was originally invited to play in the league by another team but turned them down.

He was INVITED. They knew what he was bringing to the table. This sounds like nothing more than a bunch of sour grapes. I'm more than certain that the team that was turned down started this whole mess.

It's nice to have an expert on the situation who is confident he knows exactly what went down. That will put it to rest.

[CMH]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

http://subwaychatter.com/blog/2008/0...children-well/

I agree with what this guy had to say.

Yes, but someone needs a new color-scheme for their site.

[countryboy]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

There could be all kinds of reasons. First would be the thing countryboy was worrying about earlier about where to draw the line. One homerun makes a guy have too much power? One diving stop? One dominant start? No, you wait to see a trend (3-4 games) before deciding to move the kid up.

May I ask how this works? I mean, is this developmental league an actual league, or just the "competitive leagues" farm system? A kid plays well for 3 or 4 games and you remove him from his team and force him to play elsewhere? How does that make sense? And lets remember, that just because a kid can hit well doesn't mean he can field well or vice versa or what have you.

I think the common misconception is that everyone is viewing this kid like he's overly skilled as an all around player which doesn't seem to be the case. He's been told he can't pitch because he throws the ball too fast. Thats it. They never said that its because he's too good or because he's "better" than the other kids in the league, its because he throws to fast. They say he can play in the league, but not pitch.

And if the team doesn't follow these new found guidelines then their team isn't allowed to play anymore? How sad. 8 games into the season and this all the sudden becomes an issue? Did he develop into throwing the ball this fast or has he been doing it all along? Either way, its ridiculous that now is the time that something is brought up.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, when is someone from that league going to actually think about what they are doing to this 9 year old boy.

[dkgojackets]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

I think the common misconception is that everyone is viewing this kid like he's overly skilled as an all around player which doesn't seem to be the case. He's been told he can't pitch because he throws the ball too fast. Thats it. They never said that its because he's too good or because he's "better" than the other kids in the league, its because he throws to fast. They say he can play in the league, but not pitch.

You keep bringing this up and its still wrong. By throwing as fast as he does it means he's too good of a pitcher for the type of hitters the league has. None of us know the exact mission of the league (although we do know it isn't a competitive Little League), but if the rest of the kids and parents signed up with the understanding that they wouldn't face that type of heat then he shouldn't be allowed to pitch. They aren't kicking him out of the league, he can still play on the team with his friends if he wants to, so what's the big deal? If you want to blame someone for this blowing up blame the coach who put him on the mound after the league instructed him not to.

[countryboy]

Re: 9-year old is too good?

You keep bringing this up and its still wrong. By throwing as fast as he does it means he's too good of a pitcher for the type of hitters the league has. None of us know the exact mission of the league (although we do know it isn't a competitive Little League), but if the rest of the kids and parents signed up with the understanding that they wouldn't face that type of heat then he shouldn't be allowed to pitch. They aren't kicking him out of the league, he can still play on the team with his friends if he wants to, so what's the big deal? If you want to blame someone for this blowing up blame the coach who put him on the mound after the league instructed him not to.

Before you go calling my opinion wrong, look at what I just bolded in your post. You're right, no one knows. My question was this. If he was throwing this hard in his first game that he pitched, then how come it took until 8 games into the season(more than likely 3 games pitched by Jericho) for them to say something? Thats what I want to know. If they had a maximum pitch speed, shouldn't something have been brought up after the first pitch he threw over this maximum pitch speed?

And why would I blame the coach? Ok, maybe he shouldn't have put him on the mound after the league instructed him not to, but that doesnt' make what the league is doing right. In my opinion, the league/parents are the ones at fault, not this little boy nor his coach. 8 games into the season, 8 games into the season.