There’s a shot of me from Smoke Signals. I’m shown after winning the long-distance throwing contest. As I recall, I won it a couple of years around that time. I had a big arm early, and then faded back to the pack and I was passed later on by lots of other boys. But at this time, I was chucking that ball.
Anyway, at this one, they were giving out the prizes and they called out the second place kid for knowingly entering the group when he was a year too old. The man with the megaphone, really went out of his way to tell the folks that the kid knowingly tried to nab that ribbon. In his spiel, he said, “…you’re a year older, and Fog beat you ANYway!” That’s one of those moments you don’t forget.
And the caption of this was “hey look Ma, I won!”, which, made fun of that look on my face. That look, is the way I look, and that look was on my face pretty much no matter what happened, for the entire 1970’s. I was a normal kid–I just had that look! It was like a handicap.
I can recall also having nervous tick of yawning. I used to pitch and yawn–sometimes yawning after almost every pitch. And sure enough, I could hear some rude parents on the bench, lauphing! As in, “…he’s YAWNING!”. But I’d be striking out their little darlings. Really pouring it over and mowing them down…and yawning. As I heard them chuckling, I recall thinking, “…ok, watch THIS…” ziiiiip pow. Steeerike. And they kind of quieted down.
My nephew always has a smile and looks pleasant–man, what I wouldn’t have given for an ounce of THAT. And speaking of the transition from he to me–I retired from softball today. Played my last game. The knee was barking and then the meniscus torn and the MRI revealed bad arthritis and now it’s swollen and it’s just not worth it. With what little I have left, I want to save it for my own little workouts–such as they are and kicking the soccer ball around with my two boys, for as long as I can do that.
I went to my nephew’s game today after missing several and it was an entertaining ball game with good pitching. Our starter threw well and hard and so did their’s. We went up a few and in the serious heat, our starter got a bit wild. Max was waved in from short and I was a little nervous given that he didn’t really have any warmups. He gave up a hit or two with the bases loaded, but he got out of it.
His next inning was an 8-pitch gem with him pitching to contact and getting outs. The other kids weren’t squaring him up somehow. People always think that the best thing a pitcher can do is strike out the side, but what about a 3-pitch innning? Three 1-to-3 putouts? Which would you rather have? There’s no right answer of course and with men on, you want the K’s so nothing can advance, but contact isn’t the worst thing, you know?
In the last inning, he had a cushion of a couple of runs and got a quick 2 outs and then put 2 on but got out of it. 2 and 2/3′rds. I was really happy for him. And he made a few plays that I know he wouldn’t have made last year, so he’s progressing.
He has been playing at shortstop lately, which is just something I would not have predicted. Any time we have done fielding in the past 6 months, it has been me hitting him flies, because I assumed he’d be in the outfield. That, and for a while we concentrated on comebackers because I wanted him to get those outs that his changeup would generate–and so far he has, which is nice.
The team has guys bunting now with signs, which is cool to teach the kids, but today, they had a kid who is a slugger bunting after a lead off walk. The starter has a high pitch count and many walks to his credit so far. The team is only up one run because of the inning Max took over and they gave up a few. I think we were up 5-4 with two innings to go.
So after a lead-off walk, they bunt the slugger and he’s thrown out 1-3, I think–so the sacrifice works. Then, the kid they bunted over is nailed stealing third! Now it’s bases empty and 2-dead, and dontchaknowit? We score I think, 3 runs. But wouldn’t that have been a blow-out inning if we didn’t just HAND them the two outs? And if you want to play for one run and you’re willing to steal third to do it: why aren’t you willing to steal second? I just don’t get that.
You have 18 outs. They are your most precious resource. You don’t GIVE them away unless you have a darn good reason. That idea is the core concept of Moneyball and it’s not just theory anymore–it’s pretty much accepted that the computer models don’t lie. That’s why OBP is viewed to be more important than before. Because if you get on base, you haven’t made a precious out, and if you don’t make outs, you WILL score runs. The computer models have been run and they all basically PROVE that bunting to sacrifice hurts the offense, unless you think that the batter can’t buy a hit, and, more importantly, has no chance of being walked!
I could look it up in the book Baseball by the Numbers, by the Baseball Prospectus guys (a tremendous book, btw, which I truly recommend). I think the number is around .140 meaning, that if the hitter has a better than .140 chance of getting on base, the sacrifice COSTS the team runs in the long run. Now, with 10 year olds, I’m willing to bet that just HBP is a .030 proposition and walking is about a .200 clip (especially this boy today). Together, if the kid doesn’t swing the bat, I’ll bet he’s on and you preserve the out roughly one-in-five times approx.
Now you add to that, the kid’s batting average and you have at LEAST a .400 cocktail for On-Base-Pct, which means, you’re giving away the out.
But there’s one more wrinkle. The kid may be slumping. The coaches may have seen something. They may figure he’s got a very good chance to get down a bunt and beat it out. I understand that. And to the extent that you think he will bunt for a basehit, the stuff I’m writing is moot. But I’m writing it with the advantage of hindsight: The kid ended up giving himself up. So I acknowledge that it isn’t cut and dried, but you see my point, no? And I’m also a computer programmer/DBA. I understand and work with data all the time so I have “bought-in” to the concept that you don’t give up outs, a little heavier than most. I just plain don’t believe in giving up outs, because to me, the numbers don’t lie. And remember that those numbers are based on 27 out games, not 18 out games. So percentage-wise, 1/18 is a bigger sacrifice than 1/27–a bigger number. But of course, the runs weigh more in the shorter game to offset.
Anyway, is there a “right” answer? I don’t know. I like the idea of the teaching and the discipline, because with 10-year olds, that’s partially what you’re there to do. But this boy could have walked and he certainly could have hit. And at this level, you aren’t taking the double play off–because 1o year olds make about 1 a year. So while I understand and appreciate the coaches teaching the whole bunting game, I think it’s a bit overused and in that particular spot, it kept the game close and could easily have cost us the game.
The other thing that came to mind was taking chances on the basepaths. Some argue that you play aggressively, especially early in the game, because you have time to cover for mistakes. Ok, fine. But I would be more conservative in the first inning, until I see for myself and assess, the level of the other team’s throwing and catching. Get a few data points. See if you can take that base before you’re sending kids. I’m all for taking chances at the right times to do so. Just because a kid is thrown out on the bags, DOESN’T mean the decision to “go” was a bad one. Sometimes you go and say to the other team, “…make a play on me!”. That’s fine. But there’s free information out there; you just have to take a little time and collect it before you can test it.
In the first inning, I’d let things develop while watching. An out on the bases is SUCH a game-changer, that, to me, it’s not worth the occasional extra bag you may grab. Once you get a boy on base, they’ve lost their biggest chance to get him out! (which was in his AB). Now, if you run aggressive without good info on their glove-ability, you can run into an out and remember, if it’s the first inning, you have ALL your big boppers coming up.
Also, because of the scale of the kids at this age in relation to the field-size, I’d take my chances running AWAY from the throws (that’s second to home), and be more conservative running towards the throws (home to second).
And also, this age group, I’ve noticed, is peculiar. When the boys hit ball in the gap, they think “extra bases” right out of the box. I’ve seen Max fall into this as well. But at 10 years old, they aren’t yet strong enough to really drive the ball up the gap to where a double is automatic! But try telling them that! The ball dies in the grass and a travel-calibre (not Rec) kid is quickly on it and making a short, 40 or 50 foot throw to 2nd base and your big hit up the gap is now a kid coming off in tears.
Moral? Until they’re a little stronger and can really drive the ball, don’t assume a gapper is an automatic double or triple! As much as it s***s, the first base coach has to make a QUICK decision on a ball like that and and aggressively hold that boy at first, even though the kid is going to feel gypped at being held! A man on first with a pitcher who just gave up an shot and no outs are a lot better than one-dead, none-on and a kid who is bumming in the dugout. Just is. And it’s counter to everything you have seen out there, so it’s hard.
Kids (Max is one) also fall into the mindset from Rec, that anytime he sees an outfielder’s back, he can go 4. But these aren’t Rec kids picking daisies in the outfield. They are travel kids and they can throw and they hustle and they know where to throw it.
One thing I forgot to write up a long time ago, was a play that Max’s team put on. With men on 1st and 3rd, the kid from 1st will steal on just about anything and if you throw through, the kid on 3rd will walk home. Well, Max’s coach pulled out a set play that I had never seen and it’s great. He lets them know “it’s on” and if the kid on 1st runs, the catcher throws a hard, low ball to the shortstop who’s running in to behind the mound, more or less.
The kid on third sees (or is sent) the throw and takes off. The shorstop cuts it and throws to the waiting catcher–dead duck–lead runner cut down, and a HUGE psychological advantage is gained.
Not only that, but these 9 & 10 year old boys LOVE this cloak-and-dagger stuff! It makes it fun; it makes travel seem cool–like they’re in a club and learning “special” or “advanced” stuff. They’re “in on it”. Kids love that and it’s great coaching. You see them perk up when that situation arises, as in, “…oh great, we can try that play now”, and they’re more into the game. That’s a play I’ll have to remember for the future. And I’m not saying you load up on trick plays, but you do have some of them–they have value beyond just their own x’s and o’s. Look at Parcells. He’s got them ready. Remember the snap to Reason in 1990, I think it was? A fake field goal? They are all wearing rings because of that one play, it could be argued. So they have a place.
I enjoyed the game. My dad, who just had both eyes operated on for cataracts, came out. I drove him down. He’s 83 and not walking real good anymore. His sister, my Aunt, just passed away last night. But he had fun watching that little boy do his thing.
I see now that there are t-shirts being sold that say stuff like, “R.I.P. Michael”. If this keeps up, I’m going to have to break out my “RIP Darren McGavin” t-shirts.
