YOUTH BASEBALL

THE AUTHOR OF THIS PAGE
played baseball at Guilderland Central High School in upstate New York, from 1968-1971.

In 1983 I was asked to coach a Babe Ruth Baseball team in Guilderland (Photo at right. I am far right in the back row). All of 29 years old, most of the parents were in their 40's, the players 14-15. Hodari Brooks back row center was 6'2" tall! This I did until 1985. It started a long passion that I continued when I moved to Arizona in 1999. I finally hung it up in 2012 at age 59. Along the way, I learned a lot, not only about coaching but many other things as well. Some I will present here. Others in more detail I put in two published books.

BASEBALL I explain to many people is, in addition to being the “American Pastime,” rather unique in the realm of team sports. Football, hockey, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and the like involve almost continuous activity on the part of the players and are played to a regulation time limit. The object of scoring in all of these is to move and place an object, whether it is a puck or some form of a ball into a net, across a goal line, or through the uprights. The rules are relatively straightforward, except in the case of some penalties. Teamwork is essential of course.

Other “team” sports like wrestling, swimming, track & field and similar venues are basically individual contests whose results are tallied for a team result.

Baseball on the other hand, has no time limit and theoretically could involve infinite innings and time. The rules are monumentally complex. For example, the rules covering a balk in the rule book almost equal all the other rules combined. Many like the “infield fly” and being called out by a fouled off bunt when there are two strikes on the batter were added from experience to foil exploitation of the original rules.

The ball is also secondary to the person. Although used in play, scoring is based on how often a human being rounds the bases and gets safely to home. It also requires teamwork but of a different sort. Two of the players on a team are heavily involved in every play handling the ball - The pitcher and the catcher. Periodically, other players will handle the ball either to catch or throw it accurately - some positions more often than others, for example: the first baseman.

However, all nine players are involved in each play even if they don’t actively handle the baseball. Physically and mentally. If the ball isn’t hit at the player, the player must know where to go and what to prepare for, either backing up a fielder handling the ball, a throw from another player, or covering a base. And they have to know in advance of every pitch what to do in any and all possible various situations. Players spend often more time warming up and preparing mentally than they actually spend handling the ball in an active situation.

There are games in which a player never handles an active ball but still must prepare with every pitch. With two outs in the last inning the player who has not caught or thrown a ball for hours must be ready to do so right up to the end, often with the result of the game in the balance! One time for example, in my senior year of high school I was in right field for the entire game and not one ball was hit in my direction until with two outs in the last inning with the other team’s winning runs on base, I had to catch a sinking line drive in my direction. Fortunately, I made the catch and was heartily congratulated. If I hadn’t - well - you get the idea.

Penalties exist, but they rarely are called and very seldom affect the outcome. Poor behavior is penalized by ejection from the game but another player takes the offenders place.  Imagine if baseball was like hockey? A couple players get ejected for arguing or poor conduct and suddenly there are only six or seven players on the field! Possibly like football? A penalty moves back the pitchers mound fifteen feet?

Baseball also involves five very different skill sets that ALL players must gain to do well. The “five tools” as they are called:

1. Throwing the baseball hard and accurate.
2. Catching the ball high in the air or on the ground.
3. Running fast and sometimes sliding into a base.
4. Hitting a round ball thrown toward you often at high velocity or curving, sliding or waffling (knuckle balls) with a round bat.
5. Maintaining the mental attitude of hard work, practice, perseverance, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

These skills take time and in my humble opinion is why soccer as a game is so very popular with younger kids. This is not to denigrate the massive skill sets an advanced soccer player has, but basically all a very young kid needs to learn is how to run and kick a fairly large round ball. And they get to run around a lot so they are not “bored.”

Also in my opinion, baseball is also ideal for learning life skills. Failure is as much a part of the game as success. A batter that hits the ball safely only 40% of the time is a huge success. Major league teams that win 60% of their games are hugely successful and almost always wind up in the playoffs.

Other social skills are a large part of the game too. Learning to deal well with authority (the umpires and coaches), spectators, teammates and opponents are in my opinion, skills that last long past playing days, whether those going no further than Little League or a long career in the Major Leagues.

“Baseball,” paraphrased as spoken by James Earl Jones in the film Field of Dreams, “is what marks our time.” In many cases, it marks our lives even if the foul lines are not always clear. 

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