It is cold here in the midwest this time of year. The weather can be nice at times but more times than not it is windy, wet and cold. As parents of ballplayers we pack up our lawn chairs, our blankets, thermos of hot coffee or cocoa, wear multiple layers and enjoy the ball games (that is right, I said enjoy!)
All of this is great for about 90% of the games. The umps know it is cold and tend to keep things moving along. They tend to speed up inning changes, they ask that players sprint back into the dugout after an out, they tend to expand the strike zone a little to get players to swing the bats, and they tend to do a great job overall – that is 90%. This blog entry is not to bad mouth umpires – not at all. I do not question umps ever on a judgment call, only on rule interpretation issues (a practice all coaches should employ).
Yesterday I was at a game where the umpire thought he was the king of the free world. He had a strike zone as small as the width of a PVC pipe and did not want to take any flack about it from anyone. The wind was blowing hard from left to right field, right across the diamond, making it even colder than it was outside (game time temp=52 degrees). My hot chocolate did not last half an inning before it got too cold to drink.
I would like to ask the ump of this game what he was trying to accomplish by having a strike zone that small on such a cold day. He certainly has his right to have a strike zone where he wants it to be, as long as it is consistent I am good with it. But on a day like that I would like for the zone to be expanded to a true zone: one ball width outside of each corner of the plate, knees to armpits high. The kids would have more fun because they know they would need to be swinging the bat when at the plate, the coaches would be able to keep moving and keep a little warm, and the fans would enjoy the game more because there would be some action to watch.
My plea is for all umps to hear this – keep the game fun – expand the strike zone. (Especially on cold days – have I told you how many former ball players are on the lacrosse team at our high school?)
Best of Luck,
Coach Chuck
Check out the latest in Baseball Training Aids at BaseballSkillAids.com. We also have lots of free baseball instruction available.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
School Baseball vs Summer Baseball
My son is a freshman at our local high school. He is fortunate enough to be able to play 3 sports – football, baseball and this season – baseball. He is a wonderful pitcher and will likely get to play some varsity games this year but for now he in the JV team. We live in a community where the local school system graduates 120 kids a year, so it is not very big. That size of a school opens up a world of opportunities for athletes and he loves it.
Outside of school, we have been involved with a summer baseball program that plays at a very high level. The team he plays on travels to out of town tournaments, they have tryouts each season with lots of kids showing up to try to land a spot on the team, and they are professionally coached by a man who also coaches a high school team during the spring season.
I have become accustomed to (and a little spoiled) watching baseball be played at a high level. The first time I realized how good the summer team had become was when I caught myself describing the team and type of games played to a co-worker. I was telling him that the difference between summer competitive baseball and recreational baseball is that ground balls are expected to be outs, fly balls are caught, pitchers throw strikes and if a team makes more than an error or two during a game they go back to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong. If you have ever watched a recreational game each ball hit is an event. In competitive baseball leagues, most hit balls are outs.
When I showed up at my first JV scrimmage game I instantly noticed a big difference in the way the opposing team was taking infield – kids were overthrowing first base, the first baseman had trouble getting it back to the catcher, etc. My son’s team was better than the opposition were but many of the same issues still existed – we just did not have 9 players to put on the field of the same caliber of the summer team.
At first I was a little frustrated and I could see it on the faces of a couple of the parents who have sons who also play on more competitive baseball teams in the summer. Then I watched the game and it took on a whole different perspective from where it started. The kids seem to truly enjoy playing for their school. The pressure is there but it is different than trying to keep stats up or trying to take a player’s spot, as it is in the summer leagues. The pressure is there to play well and win with the group of kids who are on the team – period. It seemed OK that some of the boys would be better than others - no one was calling for an upgrade to the center fielder when a ball dropped in front of him and they all enjoyed the game quite a bit when my son pitched and dominated the opposing team for a few innings. It was different and enjoyable and made me proud to know that so much school spirit still existed. I hope your local school has the same experience – this is going to be fun! I am looking forward to an enjoyable spring school season with some good friends before we start our summer season.
Good Luck,
Coach Chuck
Check out the latest in Baseball Training Aids at BaseballSkillAids.com. We also have lost of free baseball instruction available.
Outside of school, we have been involved with a summer baseball program that plays at a very high level. The team he plays on travels to out of town tournaments, they have tryouts each season with lots of kids showing up to try to land a spot on the team, and they are professionally coached by a man who also coaches a high school team during the spring season.
I have become accustomed to (and a little spoiled) watching baseball be played at a high level. The first time I realized how good the summer team had become was when I caught myself describing the team and type of games played to a co-worker. I was telling him that the difference between summer competitive baseball and recreational baseball is that ground balls are expected to be outs, fly balls are caught, pitchers throw strikes and if a team makes more than an error or two during a game they go back to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong. If you have ever watched a recreational game each ball hit is an event. In competitive baseball leagues, most hit balls are outs.
When I showed up at my first JV scrimmage game I instantly noticed a big difference in the way the opposing team was taking infield – kids were overthrowing first base, the first baseman had trouble getting it back to the catcher, etc. My son’s team was better than the opposition were but many of the same issues still existed – we just did not have 9 players to put on the field of the same caliber of the summer team.
At first I was a little frustrated and I could see it on the faces of a couple of the parents who have sons who also play on more competitive baseball teams in the summer. Then I watched the game and it took on a whole different perspective from where it started. The kids seem to truly enjoy playing for their school. The pressure is there but it is different than trying to keep stats up or trying to take a player’s spot, as it is in the summer leagues. The pressure is there to play well and win with the group of kids who are on the team – period. It seemed OK that some of the boys would be better than others - no one was calling for an upgrade to the center fielder when a ball dropped in front of him and they all enjoyed the game quite a bit when my son pitched and dominated the opposing team for a few innings. It was different and enjoyable and made me proud to know that so much school spirit still existed. I hope your local school has the same experience – this is going to be fun! I am looking forward to an enjoyable spring school season with some good friends before we start our summer season.
Good Luck,
Coach Chuck
Check out the latest in Baseball Training Aids at BaseballSkillAids.com. We also have lost of free baseball instruction available.
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