By Not a parent of the riptide, just someone who knows the facts

June 15, 2007 3:02 PM | Link to this

Mr Vandalay, Write back if you haver the courage. I just noticed that I could leave my own comment, and I feel that I will. Now, I have known Russel Brooker, and Jeff Schwartz for almost 10 years now. I have never known them to do something such as this maliciously. None of the kids on that team would have wished it upon their worst enemies. Although, you feel it is right to ostrasize them and make them look like they are horrible people. I saw the comment you wrote and was outraged. If you really want to know who’s fault it is, blame Todd Morey. He’s the one who put these kids who have never played ball before into a TRAVEL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT. Hello. Obviously, the only reason he did this, is to put his own face in the spotlight annd make him look like a hero. And wow, big surprise which team gave them the equipment. He is the person that should be blamed. He is the one who set this team of kids who has never played ball before up against one of the best teams in the nation. Oh, and another thing. Have you ever played a game of baseball in your life?!?! These kids are underprivelaged, not stupid!!! I’ve been playing ball for 11 years. It may be hurtful to lose by such a high score, but you know what is ten times more hurtful? When a team strikes out on purpose. That makes you feel worst than somebody scoring 51 runs against you. They came to play like everyone else does, and striking out on purpose makes the other team feel horribe, because that is telling them that they are horrible and don’t belong out there. Now, back to what I was saying before, this could have been avoided. If Todd Morey hadn’t scheduled this game in the first place, this team would have never got beaten 51-0 and my friends wouldn’t be getting hate ,mail for something they tried so ardently to avoid.

By Riptide Parent

June 4, 2007 11:17 AM | Link to this

Mr Vandalay,

What more could we have done? It seems so interesting to me that the North Miami coach has called our team and sent us emails telling us how sorry he is that all this has happened as do we. He holds no grudge and no ill will and hopes we go all the way @ Nationals! He wants to bring his boys to cheer us on in our tournament! What an awesome human being! We are not proud of this score by any means, we did all we could to stop it. You are entitled to your opinion but unless you know us or were at the game you have no idea what transpired.

By Art Vandalay

June 3, 2007 9:05 AM | Link to this

Attn: Riptide Parent……51-0……..51-0……I don’t care if they switch hit or whatever…they should have purposely taken outs after the score was 15-0..There is no condoning this score….why don’t I hear any I’m sorrys or This should have never happened and we take responsibilty? AHH..responsibilty.a new word in the vocabulary..sounds like you and your great parents and coaches need to read Websters and take it to heart, instead of making lousy excuses and pointing fingers at others.

By Riptide Parent

June 2, 2007 9:49 PM | Link to this

This is also to clear up something posted here by MP…we are the Gardens Riptide! We have 12 kids on the team and 11 of them live in PBG. We are Gardens.

By Riptide Parent

June 2, 2007 9:31 PM | Link to this

I am a parent of a Riptide player. I want to start off by saying we have the best coaches and parents. I would like to know when, where, and how we have EVER used profanity or yelled at other parents, that is an absolute lie. We have an excellent group of players and other teams always have us at the top of there list. When your on top everyone looks for ways to bring you down in any arena. Now since the 51-0 episode many of those who want to bring us down are needless to say thrilled with the outcome. Our coaches stopped advancing runners after we were winning 7-0, we started batting from the other side after we were winning 10-0. Our manager asked the umpire what the mercy rule was after one inning since it was clear that the North Miami team was not able to make 3 outs. We were told there was none. Therefore, we continued to play by not advancing runners and switch hitting. Our players, coaches and parents were cheering on the other team. Our boys on base were talking to their players and giving them encouraging words in hopes they would make an out. No our coaches did not ask our 11 year olds to make an out on purpose…if that is where they went wrong then fine! Did anyone know that we were not even supposed to play this team?? Our coaches received a phone call from Todd Morey on Saturday night at 9:00pm telling us that he “didn’t like the way the seeding games played out” and we had to play the North Miami team @ 10:00 instead of our scheduled game @ 12:00 vs. the Jupiter Hammerheads. Then low and behold this article shows up about the generosity of the Wellington team (Todd Morey’s sons team) and he (Todd) goes on WIRK morning show spouting all these false statements about our coaches….hmmmm something fishy going on?? What if one of the North Miami kids was hurt badly by a line drive from one of our players? No one is thinking of that. This type of tournament is TRAVEL, these kids are very skilled and the North Miami team did not match up at all. Why would their coach want to subject his kids to this? They didnt score a run in 4 games! I think these underprivaleged kids would have gotten alot more our of a more evenly matched tournament. They were invited by AAU director Todd Morey…there’s that fish smell again! Please dont judge the Riptide by this incident, each and every coach, parent and player wanted this game over as much as the next person and we did everything short of making an out on purpose we could to end this mess.

By Parent of travel team player

June 1, 2007 9:57 PM | Link to this

I have been involved with sports all my life (35 years) and have played rec sports, school sports, and college sports. I have never seen a score such as this among 11 year olds. What message is this sending? Yes, a win is a win and a loss is a loss, but shouldn’t we teach our children to win gracefully and with respect and NOT at the cost of another teams dignity? Sports are about teamwork, sportsmanship, and perserverance in times of difficulty. Life lessons that will lead our children into being responsible, respectful adults. We have played against Riptide on several occassions and it is disgusting the behavior of both coaches and parents. However, we have taught our children that this is NOT the proper way to conduct yourself on or off the baseball field. It is all how you approach the game and the discussions you have with your kids. I do believe that a rule needs to be in place to stop this from happening again such as 15-20 runs an inning as a limit. I was not surprised at all to find out Riptide was on the other end of this score. The coaches have set an example for their kids in the worst way…these coaches need to be removed from coaching. The kids should not be punished for the deplorable actions of their coaches but if you think that these lessons will not fester in their young minds….think again. It is sad, because they are a good bunch of players and are not being developed truly to the type of player others want to emulate These coaches are what is giving travel teams a bad name and hurt the many teams and coaches out there that are trying to teach more than fundamentals in the game of baseball.

By Parent of travel team player

June 1, 2007 9:57 PM | Link to this

I have been involved with sports all my life (35 years) and have played rec sports, school sports, and college sports. I have never seen a score such as this among 11 year olds. What message is this sending? Yes, a win is a win and a loss is a loss, but shouldn’t we teach our children to win gracefully and with respect and NOT at the cost of another teams dignity? Sports are about teamwork, sportsmanship, and perserverance in times of difficulty. Life lessons that will lead our children into being responsible, respectful adults. We have played against Riptide on several occassions and it is disgusting the behavior of both coaches and parents. However, we have taught our children that this is NOT the proper way to conduct yourself on or off the baseball field. It is all how you approach the game and the discussions you have with your kids. I do believe that a rule needs to be in place to stop this from happening again such as 15-20 runs an inning as a limit. I was not surprised at all to find out Riptide was on the other end of this score. The coaches have set an example for their kids in the worst way…these coaches need to be removed from coaching. The kids should not be punished for the deplorable actions of their coaches but if you think that these lessons will not fester in their young minds….think again. It is sad, because they are a good bunch of players and are not being developed truly to the type of player others want to emulate These coaches are what is giving travel teams a bad name and hurt the many teams and coaches out there that are trying to teach more than fundamentals in the game of baseball.

By Parent of travel team player

June 1, 2007 9:57 PM | Link to this

I have been involved with sports all my life (35 years) and have played rec sports, school sports, and college sports. I have never seen a score such as this among 11 year olds. What message is this sending? Yes, a win is a win and a loss is a loss, but shouldn’t we teach our children to win gracefully and with respect and NOT at the cost of another teams dignity? Sports are about teamwork, sportsmanship, and perserverance in times of difficulty. Life lessons that will lead our children into being responsible, respectful adults. We have played against Riptide on several occassions and it is disgusting the behavior of both coaches and parents. However, we have taught our children that this is NOT the proper way to conduct yourself on or off the baseball field. It is all how you approach the game and the discussions you have with your kids. I do believe that a rule needs to be in place to stop this from happening again such as 15-20 runs an inning as a limit. I was not surprised at all to find out Riptide was on the other end of this score. The coaches have set an example for their kids in the worst way…these coaches need to be removed from coaching. The kids should not be punished for the deplorable actions of their coaches but if you think that these lessons will not fester in their young minds….think again. It is sad, because they are a good bunch of players and are not being developed truly to the type of player others want to emulate These coaches are what is giving travel teams a bad name and hurt the many teams and coaches out there that are trying to teach more than fundamentals in the game of baseball.

By MP

June 1, 2007 8:11 PM | Link to this

THE NAME OF THE TEAM IS SOUTH FLORIDA RIP TIDE NOT PALM BEACH GARDENS OR PGA RIP TIDE…THERE ARE KIDS FROM PBG, N. PALM BEACH, WEST PALM BEACH AND JUPITER ON THE TEAM…THEY JUST HAPPEN TO LEASE OUR FIELDS HERE IN THE GARDENS…I CAN ASSURE YOU AS A 12 YEAR VETERAN COACH WHO PRESENTLY COACHES HERE IN THE GARDENS, OUR LEAGUE, OR BASEBALL BOARD, OUR PLAYERS AND OUR PARENTS DO NOT CONDONE THIS TYPE OF SPORTSMANSHIP. PLEASE DO NOT LUMP THESE PEOPLE IN SOLEY W/ THE GARDENS AS THEY ARE NOT A PALM BEACH GARDENS TEAM!! MP

By dan

June 1, 2007 5:39 PM | Link to this

There are many factors that led to this. I coach little league in a small town baseball program. We are usually not very competitive when it comes to these tournaments. One of the reasons is that we have fewer players to choose from when we choose our tournament teams. We have fewer players mainly because the little league district boundaries we have are too small. If one league can attract 500 kids and another can only attract 200 kids, well you do the math.

What are the odds that the league with the 500 kids would be able to field a better team? The funny thing is the coaches from PBG are probably patting themselves on the back and congratulating them each other for THE GREATEST COACHES IN THE UNIVERSE!!!! The reality is they just had more kids to choose from and were able to field a better team. I bet after the media attention they have received they are feeling like THE BIGGEST J**S IN THE UNIVERSE.

To the PBG coaches enjoy your win you guys earned it.

By oledad

June 1, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this

Being involved in Minor League; Little League; Senior Little League; PONY League & past pres. of Little League ——- for some 12years —— the Little League Rule Book covers this situation very completely. YOU PEOPLE CHECK IT OUT. The number of runs ahead rule & stopping of the game is for the betterment of the children & the game. As a district playoff manager —- I/we suffered THIS one time. It was very difficult for all involved. It wasn’t the childrens fault —— it was my poor management decisions.

By Art Vandalay

June 1, 2007 4:33 PM | Link to this

No matter what is written in defense of this disgusting group of coaches. they could have stopped their team from scoring…51-0???????There is absolutely no reasonable excuse for that….completely bush league and classless. I would expect alot more from a former major leaguer in Mr. Schwartz and what hasn’t been mentioned is that another asst. coach for this team is the pitching coach for Gardens High School ..Mr.Hurley…shame on you sir….shame on you

By Okie

June 1, 2007 4:16 PM | Link to this

Robert,

There is a run rule limit in these games, however the limits do not go into effect until after the completion of the 2nd inning. The Pga team never got 3 outs in the bottom of the 1st inning!!!!! 51 runs!!!! They should have asked the kids to take outs after 15 runs like the other teams did in this tournament. The coaches and parents of pga team have no class. I would have taken my kid off the field. Don’t make excuses for the coaches as Travel Coach wrote earlier…they should be banned not the players…read the posting Robert…

By Georgie

June 1, 2007 4:06 PM | Link to this

Rich,

You don’t get it…These are kids, we are adults, kids need to do what adults teach them, they should have been taught to give the other team a chance …come on this game wasn’t 10-0 or 20-0 or even 30-0, it was 51-0, even a football team would have taken a knee or run it into the line. You have a bigger problem if you think we can’t influence our kids actions…..wake up man

By LittleLeagueBaseballFan

June 1, 2007 3:45 PM | Link to this

While I do not tolerate the profanity and purposely running up the score or purposely showing bad sportsmanship, the point is if the kids start batting the opposite way, not stealing bases, etc… what more can they do. You cannot program a kid to go up to the plate and purposely get out. you guys are missing that point. Fight amongst your selves now, I’m out!

By Robert

June 1, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

In reading this artical and the comments some thoughts come to mind.The first thing that should be remembered is that this is league and a game of competition.The coach of the Miami team certainly could have seen that this was a mismatch and stopped the game , he chose to let his players stay out on the field. Secondly I can not help but commment on some of the other things being said . One of the commentors suggested that the winning team should be sanctioned ,only the children would suffer and should not be the target of anyones ire. Another suggested that the other players should just let then other team get them out. Do you not think that this would be equally degrading to the Miami team. Maybe some rules for entry and participation in this type of event should be inacted so this type of mismatch does not occur.How about the eleven run rule that was in place in many leagues, down by eleven, game over As to the demeanor of the coached for the PBG team ,that is an issue to be addressed and there fans can certainly be removed from the field if need be.

By LittleLeagueBaseballFan

June 1, 2007 3:24 PM | Link to this

Hey Rich. tell your all-star son to go out there and strike out on purpose or maybe not run out a ground ball or “accidently” fall down and get tagged out. It aint gonna happen. Kids will look at you like your retarded. They ALL want to get hits all the time and NEVER want to get out. I’d like to see your kid strike out on purpose, yeah right thats ever going to happen.

By Ted

June 1, 2007 2:49 PM | Link to this

It’s not the score that’s a disgrace, but the cursing and taunting amoung the so called adults is moronic. Domo and Paul. Sounds like you’ve been drinking vinegar. Children will get a lifetime of reality soon enough. At 11, it should be ALL FOR FUN!

By Rich

June 1, 2007 2:45 PM | Link to this

This is in response to LittleLeagueBaseballFan.

Maybe you should read Travel Coach’s post moron! My son is 9 and is one of the best players on his team but he would NEVER want to embarass another team. A win by 5 runs is just as good as 51!!! It’s about sportsmanship you jerk!

By Rich

June 1, 2007 2:44 PM | Link to this

This is in response to LittleLeagueBaseballFan.

Maybe you should read Travel Coach’s post moron! My son is 9 and is one of the best players on his team but he would NEVER want to embarass another team. A win by 5 runs is just as good as 51!!! It’s about sportsmanship you jerk!

By anti-mike

June 1, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this

Mike You have no idea what you’re talking about..wake up

By mike

June 1, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this

its baseball, who the hell cares

By Travel Coach

June 1, 2007 2:01 PM | Link to this

I am an assistant coach in the same league as the Riptide and have played them on several occasions. We have won games and they have won games against each other. The common denominator in those games was that their coaching staff and parents consistently showed poor sportsmanship. Coaches openly using profanity, yelling across the field to our coaches when we were questioning an umpires call, openly stealing bases and trying to run up the score with more that a 10 run lead. Parents yelling out and challenging our parents and coaches manhood. All of these things happened in games that we have played against this team in front of 10 and 11 year old kids. Our parents and coaches are not surprised by the 51-0 score by this team. The coaches and parents should be ashamed and disgusted that this was, and has been the lesson that they have been teaching their 10 and 11 year old children for several seasons. Why didn’t the parents stop this, why didn’t the AAU Baseball Director, Todd Morey stop this? I call out to Todd Morey, the Director of AAU baseball, to sanction this coaching staff and ban the coaches from all AAU sanction leagues and events for the upcoming season. If Mr. Morey does not have the guts to do that, I challenge all local Travel coaches in the Riptides age group to not schedule any league games with this team. We have to send a message that this abhorrent behavior will not be tolerated.

By LittleLeagueBaseballFan

June 1, 2007 1:38 PM | Link to this

Rich.. There is no way to tell a competitive 11 year old to get out on purpose. The best you can do is have them switch hit, coach the bases, not steal…etc.. But if you think they are going to get out on purpose you are kidding yourself!! NO kid wants to be the one who got out. period!! Sounds like you’ve been on the losing end pf a few of these types of blowouts!

By LittleLeagueBaseballFan

June 1, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

domoREgato.. It was in the MIDDLE of the inning moron. The 10 run rules apply to when the inning is OVER, not when there’s 2 outs. Hispanics have nothing to do with this, if anything they should be better at baseball since it is their sport. It’s not like the kids were playing water polo. This happens in NCAA College Football where one team wins 77-0. It happens, thats life!! There are winners and there are losers. Now go find something else to complain about!

By Rich

June 1, 2007 1:06 PM | Link to this

You people who are bashing the Miami team are ridiculous!! Tell me how the Wellington team who donated the equipment were able to “graciously” won without scoring 51 runs. My son plays for a travel team and there are ways of getting out. The kids could have just waited for the team to field the ball and let them tag them out. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to find ways to get out. What kind of message does this send to kids about “Good sportsmanship”??? I hope the Gardens coach thinks long and hard about that!

By JP

June 1, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this

Yep, too it’s too bad that one team got beaten so badly, and it may have made sense to call the game earlier. However, keep in mind that this is not your ‘normal’ little league. It is a more competitive travel team it and it seems that the team from Miami was a little out of it’s league. Let’s move on already…

By domoREgato

June 1, 2007 12:41 PM | Link to this

Funny part about all this is, in AAU travel baseball, there is a mercy rule for 10-0 scores by a certain inning or greater than 10 scores when the opposing team has some runs. That the PGA coach did not follow those rules is surprising and makes me wonder what his ulterior motive was to give the other team sych a shellacking. Maybe becasue they were mostly hispanics? Basically his AAU membership should be revoked or his team suspended from play for at least some period of time.

By Ken Bradshaw

June 1, 2007 12:14 PM | Link to this

If there is any outrage it should be toward the Miami coach who set his players up to fail by entering them in a tournament for which they were not prepared to compete. The Palm Beach kids (and coaches) simply played the game per the rules as pre-established by the organizers.

By Brooks Eden

June 1, 2007 11:58 AM | Link to this

The Miami Coach is clearly to blame here. He never should have entered into this tournament without preparing his team to play at this competive level.

By Jim

June 1, 2007 11:53 AM | Link to this

People—please understand that this was a game played by 11 year old children. That in mind—let the kids play ball. When this happens in the pros nobody complains. People complaining about the score being so onesided need to realize that the other just needs more practice. Any one up for the challenge and then maybe a good rematch. Have a Great Day to all you Post readers.

By Paul

June 1, 2007 11:37 AM | Link to this

Oh boo hoo for the poor under privileged kids. Just another example of the left turning a group of kids into victims and the winners into villains. Just typical liberal class and race warfare taught at an early age. The real lesson here is there are winners and losers in life. Sometimes times you win big other times you lose big. The losing team should have cut its loses and forfeited not the other way around. If the left had its way they would not even keep score. Everyone one is a winner! Yea right.

By Travis

June 1, 2007 11:18 AM | Link to this

Hopefully, this will result in some sort of mercy rule being written. The thing with baseball & softball, is that you cannot repectfully stop scoring. In basketball, hockey, soccer, even football (to a point) a team can maintain possession of the ball for long periods of time to lessen the blowout.

But in baseball, it is different. When winning by a large amount, you do not steal bases, advance on a passed ball, or take any risks on the base paths. Switch-hitting is okay to a point, as long as the team is not making a mockery of the game. Telling kids to strike out, is very disrespectful to the opposing team.

I, like many here, also read the story, and this score is what I remember most. However, after hearing the other side, I honestly don’t know what the coach could have done. He appears to have made an effort to keep the scoring down. I hate seeing scores like this, and I’m usually the first to call out the coach for lack of sportsmanship.

It is unfortunate that the Miami team lost by so many, but, I’m sure the kids are okay. Hopefully, their coach will enter them in tournaments that suit thier skill level as much as possible.

By Travis

June 1, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

Hopefully, this will result in some sort of mercy rule being written. The thing with baseball & softball, is that you cannot repectfully stop scoring. In basketball, hockey, soccer, even football (to a point) a team can maintain possession of the ball for long periods of time to lessen the blowout.

But in baseball, it is different. When winning by a large amount, you do not steal bases, advance on a passed ball, or take any risks on the base paths. Switch-hitting is okay to a point, as long as the team is not making a mockery of the game. Telling kids to strike out, is very disrespectful to the opposing team.

I, like many here, also read the story, and this score is what I remember most. However, after hearing the other side, I honestly don’t know what the coach could have done. He appears to have made an effort to keep the scoring down. I hate seeing scores like this, and I’m usually the first to call out the coach for lack of sportsmanship.

It is unfortunate that the Miami team lost by so many, but, I’m sure the kids are okay. Hopefully, their coach will enter them in tournaments that suit thier skill level as much as possible.

By parent

June 1, 2007 10:30 AM | Link to this

Life is not fair and someone has to win and someone has to lose, It is ok to lose and our children need to learn that, there is always going to be a team better and there is always going to be a team that is worse. When my son 11 year old team plays and the score is getting out of control we turn off the score board. It sounds like the Riptide coaches did do the right thing by stoping stealing and switch hitting dont fault them. The leagues need to put an end to something like that and maybe have a 20 run rule per inning. I bet if the Miami coaches told their team that they were going to forfeit in the middle of the inning their kids would still want to play bottom line is kids love to play ball!!!winning or losing

By LittleLeagueBaseballFan

June 1, 2007 10:23 AM | Link to this

These people have nothing better to do then be angry over a game? We used to do the same thing in Little League, if we were right handed batters then we’d bat left handed, and vice versa. You simply cannot tell a baseball player to get out on purpose, its just not going to happen.. These kids probably forgot about the game already and have moved on with their lives, which is what many of these “angry” people need to do, most of which probably do not have any kids that play baseball. These people scour the news and look to complain at anything they can find. GROW UP! The kids are.

By Kim Anton

June 1, 2007 9:17 AM | Link to this

Absolutely disgusting behavior from a so called “former major league player”, that nobody has ever heard of!

By Matt Cemper

June 1, 2007 9:12 AM | Link to this

Coaches along with psychotic parents like these Two have destroyed little league sports. Wishful Dreams through an “11 Year Old”, has become the new Britney Spears Mother, Lindsay Lohan “Meal Ticket” phenomenon across Florida.

By Matt Cemper

June 1, 2007 9:12 AM | Link to this

Coaches along with psychotic parents like these Two have destroyed little league sports. Wishful Dreams through an “11 Year Old”, has become the new Britney Spears Mother, Lindsay Lohan “Meal Ticket” phenomenon across Florida.

By bud

June 1, 2007 9:02 AM | Link to this

I have been involved in youth sports for almost 30 years both as a coach, league director, and as an official and the gardens team ought to be punished by removal from eligibility for the tourney in Orlando. One of the best things about organized sports is life’s lessons and this would be a valuable lesson for the kids on the team even if it was their adult managers who were responsbile. I can’t believe the adults in this case and don’t believe they learned a lesson.

By Baseball Mom

June 1, 2007 9:00 AM | Link to this

I read with great dismay Cerabino’s columns. I cannot believe that a coach would be so callous, uncaring, disrespectful and self absorbed to run a score up like the “Gardens” coach did. I also fault the parents, umpires and tournament director, someone should have stopped it. This incident never should have been allowed to happen.

Sure, it reflects poorly, that’s an understatement, on the coach. With baseball ethics like his, he should NEVER be allowed to coach another team. These kids are there to learn not only baseball but life lessons of fairness, sportsmanship and humility. The unnamed coach exhibited none of these. He is a poor example to his team and a discredit to what AAU baseball stands for. As I read the AAU Mission Statement, I realized that this coach, either never read it or doesn’t really care to embrace it. He has put a black mark on GOLD COAST AAU and reaffirmed the naysayers complaints about youth baseball.

I want to commend you and your team for stepping up and showing the Red Sox compassion, understanding and what this game is really about, good sportsmanship and respect for the other team.

I also commend Brian Russell, the Red Sox coach, for sticking it out and showing his team that you don’t quit in the face of adversity.

I think GOLD COAST AAU should ban the Gardens coach from it’s league FOREVER. I for one would gladly, as I’m sure there are 100’s of others, hand him his walking papers.

PS Coach Schwartz. You should have had your kids strike out. You did as a coach!

By jj

June 1, 2007 8:21 AM | Link to this

Atrocious. Have the good grace to call it after 15. Somehow save the other team - underpriveleged kids for goodness sake - some face. They already know they cannot beat you. This is foul behavior and teaches the “win at any cost” (even to the self esteem of already at-risk children) mentality that is the pervasive and persistent root of many of our societal and thereby personal issues in this country. Way to go Coach Schwarz - any valid conclusion can be drawn on an untrue premise, so rationalize away, but what you did to those kids, and the mentality of the kids on your squad, is heinous.

By bruce

June 1, 2007 8:12 AM | Link to this

Oh please with the “under underprivileged” kids remark. Gees you think a professional writer would stop using those worn out tag lines. Half the professional athletes could be considered UP when they were kids. Its a game. Somebody wins and somebody looses. There was no malice. Get off the liberal group hug everybody sing cumbaya wagon.

By Richard Lea

June 1, 2007 7:55 AM | Link to this

It all comes down to the coach. Nothing more. I’ve participated in many of these tournaments and most of the time when a coach sees such a mismatch they get enough runs to win the game and then do things to end the inning. A good coach does that for many reasons; 1) a great team doesn’t get any better playing a not nearly so great team, 2) to avoid injuring his players, 3) to rest his team, 4) to not make a mockery of the game, 5) to show respect for the other team since they are playing their very best, and 6) to take an opportunity to instill good sportsmanship in their players. After all how you win is just as important as how you lose. Both are life lessons.

The really great coaches find ways to end the inning without making it so obvious. Switch hitting is not one of them. Switch hitting is telling the other team that they are so bad that they can’t even hit off of your team when they are batting with the other hand. And, stopping players from stealing is not either. This is one of the few chances the defense has to actually get the runner out. Stopping your players from stealing is being conservative in your play to keep the runs cranking.

I have played against Gardens teams before and this is not a reflection on them in the least bit. It’s a solid program with good leadership and lots of good coaches. Having been on the lacking side of such a mismatch they have handled it in the past with much more tact and professionalism. This is a isolated incident. And, don’t let the credentials justify what was done. All the talent in the world won’t teach you good sportsmanship. That takes leadership.

By Richard Lea

June 1, 2007 7:51 AM | Link to this

It all comes down to the coach. Nothing more. I’ve participated in many of these tournaments and most of the time when a coach sees such a mismatch they get enough runs to win the game and then do things to end the inning. A good coach does that for many reasons; 1) a great team doesn’t get any better playing a not nearly so great team, 2) to avoid injuring his players, 3) to rest his team, 4) to not make a mockery of the game, 5) to show respect for the other team since they are playing their very best, and 6) to take an opportunity to instill some do the right thingness in their players. After all how you win is just as important as how you lose. Both are life lessons.

The really great coaches find ways to end the inning without making it so obvious. Switch hitting is not one of them. Switch hitting is telling the other team that they are so bad that they can’t even hit off of your team when they are batting with the other hand. And, stopping players from stealing is not either. This is one of the few chances the defense has to actually get the runner out. Stopping your players from stealing is being conservative in your play to keep the runs cranking.

I have played against Gardens teams before and this is not a reflection on them in the least bit. It’s a solid program with good leadership and lots of good coaches. Having been on the lacking side of such a mismatch they have handled it in the past with much more tact and professionalism. This is a isolated incident. And, don’t let the credentials justify what was done. All the talent in the world won’t teach you good sportsmanship. That takes leadership.

By Alan

June 1, 2007 7:03 AM | Link to this

Lighten up folks, it’s just a game.