THROUGH MY LENS

Little League needs to be fun...

Wed, 06/26/2013 - 9:15am

Ron Hawkes

If you follow sports and we will use baseball as the example, it is played using the same rules at all levels with many times a different interpretation for the same rule. Little League, middle school, high school, Babe Ruth, American Legion and college all have some different interpretations of the same rule to play at each level.

As a sports fan, I agree with most of the rules as they are designed, for the most part, around safety, which is great. But there are some rules that I just don't think are good for the teaching of the game.

When children start playing baseball, t-ball is usually the first step and there they learn about the game and how to play it, not the rules. Then comes Little League where rules about safety are everywhere, but some of the basics of the game are not in my opinion good for the development of each player.

Some rules of the game at the Little League level are rules that many players' minds have not even developed enough to react to in time. A dropped third strike comes to mind. We are talking about 9-12 year olds catching, and they are going to drop pitches down the middle of the plate. I don't think Little League is the place to learn this baseball rule. They can learn it later, when they also have enough knowledge of the game to run to first on a dropped third strike without the coaches losing their vocal chords yelling, "Run!"

So now that I have set up that some rules just do not fit some levels, the reason behind this rant is the rule of the intentional walk. This, in my opinion, is the worst rule allowed and also the worst rule to ask pitchers to execute at this age. Lets start with the notion of an intentional walk to begin with. The intentional walk was designed to try and help get a team out of trouble. That means the opposing team's top hitter is due up and there is a runner on second, but first is open, so put the guy on because you don't want him to hurt you at this point in the game. I get that, and I agree with it. But here is what I do not agree with.

First off at the Little League age we are trying to get the kids to throw the ball across the plate for strikes and that is a chore of its own. By having the pitcher throw four pitches outside to put a batter on at this level is absurd. Watch and see how many first pitch strikes come after walking a batter intentionally. Not many. If an intentional walk is used, it should just be the coach telling the umpire and the batter taking first base. They can still count the pitches.

So this leads me to the fact that I do not believe the intentional walk rule should even exist in Little League and here is why. First off, the kids in the field can very easily look at that as the coach does not trust us — especially the pitcher. Now when this happens in a normal situation at a higher level, the intentional walk can be a game saver. I would like to see the number of intentional walks limited to one per game per batter — if not eliminated all together. That way the coach has to really work and make sure they are using it at the right time. I don't know about you, but I want to see Little League players hit, not be intentionally walked because they are good players.

However, what are you telling your kids as a coach if in a situation where that batter comes up with the bases loaded, you still intentionally walk that batter despite the fact you are automatically allowing a run. In fact, you walk that batter Intentionally, regardless of how many runners are on base, or even if none are on. And worse you intentionally walk this batter seven or eight times in a two-game stretch.

This all took place recently and I have never felt so bad for a kid. A player was walked intentionally seven times, one time they pitched to him with three straight balls and then put him on intentionally. The one time in two games the opposing team pitched to him he was so desperate to have an at bat that he swung at pitches he normally would never swing at and struck out. Despite that the next time up he was walked again. Really? Is a coach that afraid of losing a game they take the game away from a good player like it is no big deal. And believe me when I tell you, there is no glory in being Intentionally walked.

The incidents I am citing were the last two games this young man got to play in Little League. After four years of giving everything he had, this is how his Little League career ended, with every chance to help his team taken away by the other team's desire to win.

Now let me clarify, the coach who did this did nothing against the rules, did nothing they had every right by the rule book to do. But is this really what was best for the boys on either team? I believe, this coach taught his kids to win at all costs. And it's not the message Little League players should be receiving.

Of course, the parents of the team with the intentional walk king were not happy and were very vocal about it throughout the games. You think for a moment that did not affect the play of all the kids? Coaches yelling at their players, arguing with parents — I felt really bad for every kid on both teams, all trying to win a game and it was being taken away from them. How can an organization the size of Little League allow something like this to be acceptable behavior?

The game of baseball is supposed to be fun for Little Leaguers, not a chance for parents and coaches to live through their children. Little League wins and losses should be about the ability of each team, not about some rule that is intended for professional athletes, and certainly not for kids that are playing because they love the game. They want to get up there and see if they can hit the pitch and they want to have the chance to swing the bat, and both should never be taken away from a child by a coach, especially using a rule, which should not even exist at this level, to ruin the final games of Little League for any young player.

Anyone that was at this game, that was not involved by having a child on the team, had to have seen what I saw — a bunch of stressed-out kids trying to play a game, but hearing things being yelled out and said by the adults. How could any of them concentrate on just playing a game?

Covering sports for more than 12 years, I have seen a lot of things that make me go home and think about just how important sports really are if this is how kids are going to be treated. I also have lost a lot of the love of Little League that I have had since childhood. Watching many of the games, it just looks like they are not having fun because the pressure is on to win. I'm just not sure who that win is more important to.

While Little League is not going to change this rule, local leagues can and should in my opinion. This is not a rule that benefits the batter, pitcher or any young player trying to learn the game. The message is, "Don't work hard to become a very good hitter, because when it matters the opposing coach won't let you have an at-bat anyways." It's time for local Little League to look at some of these rules and make some changes.