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Agree I like playing games as much as anybody, but alot of the kids need the practice more. If you stick a few of the kids out in the game and they don't see much action if any what good doe's that do them. All kids are different and some need more time in practice than others to see if the game is for them. If they don't get the practice time and they become bored standing out in Right field or sitting on the bench and getting their minimum playing time they will probably quit and then nobody will ever really know what they could have been. A great example is on my Jr. League team now. This kid is 14 years old and never played organized ball before. He came out because he is friends with a kid that has always played. Your first thought is Oh no this should be great. This kid has a arm and he is going to need a lot of fundamental work to learn the game but he could be a pitcher someday. You never know but you have got to give the kid a chance. That is what youth sports are for.
I agree with DaneCook here. Quality over quantity. Forty games will wear kids out. You have to remember that they are kids and they have other things going on during the spring/summer as well. In regards to practice, it is only as good as the coaching. If a player has bad habits and a coach does not have the ability to fix it correctly, then additional practice will only reinforce bad habits. I have worked with little league programs, and the fact is that everyone involved has good intentions....good intentions doesn't mean good coaches.
In regards to the pitching machine being used a the minor league level, I am all for it. I have seen too many little league games that end up with 14 walks and 22 runs, while fielders are day-dreaming between the walks. Kids cannot learn to hit when there are not sure if they will see a strike or not during a game. I wouldn't mind seeing a gradual removal of the machine during the season and play all-stars with pitchers, but I just cannot agree with a 7 year old pitching.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lpdbsbl</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Kids cannot learn to hit when there are not sure if they will see a strike or not during a game.</div></div>
Then how can kids determine what's a ball and what's a strike when everything's a strike!?
Theres a certain town around here that hasnt been keeping pitch count totals. They let their kids go over 86 pitches every game. They know who they are so I wont call them out but Im sure if I know about it, others do too.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greeny</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lpdbsbl</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Kids cannot learn to hit when there are not sure if they will see a strike or not during a game.</div></div>
Then how can kids determine what's a ball and what's a strike when everything's a strike!? </div></div>
They figure it out.... but anyway someone said yesterday that BSG little league uses pitching machines diring games... I checked on that and they do not.
They've already been called out in a recent post. I think it's on page 1 or page 2 of this thread.
The Mark Prior's and Kerry Wood's of MLB today will soon become the norm if all of this keeps up. Being a major league pitcher will be like being an NFL RB. You make your money with 2-3 great seasons, and then the carries/pitch totals take their tally, and you're done for physically by the time you're 25-28 years old.
No more Nolan Ryan's pitching into their 40's. That will be the extreme oddity in MLB within 10 years. If I were in charge of developing a younger pitcher to get him into the majors one day, he'd be a side-arming knuckle-baller if he were going to pitch the amount of innings that these kids today do between LL and AAU teams (and a lot of kids play both).
Take Francisco Liriano for instance. He had a little over a full season's time with the Twins, and now it's completely possible due to elbow problems that his career is over before it even begins.
We've sacrificed a heightened level of competition on the major league level for longevity of star players.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Then how can kids determine what's a ball and what's a strike when everything's a strike!?</div></div>
I'd rather have 7-9 year olds hitting off a machine for that purpose. I mean how many times have you been to a game and seen kids just hoping they get walked. With the machine you HAVE to get the bat off your shoulder. You HAVE to want to put the ball in play. I think this helps develop a great mentality in young hitters. Like was posted earlier this also makes the kids in the field pay attention. And leaves very little dead time (which can bore younglins) in a game.
I disagree with CoeburnCane though. As long as there are advancements in what we know about staying healthy pitchers are gonna stay in the league longer and longer. Granted this is several years away, but eventually more and more young pitchers will adapt to the Roger Clemens "lifestyle" (you outta see his workout) if they want to pitch into there forties. Being able to stick around long as a pitcher has 2 big factors. 1. keeping yourself healthy and in shape. 2. flexibility. and if you'll look at the 40+ club in the majors (Glavine, maddux, smoltz, clemens, petitte, mussina) these guys have stayed healthy throughout MOST of there careers.
Gammons said on baseball tonight last year by the year 2010 that over 33% of EVERY major league pitcher will have had Tommy John Surgery. Now there has been no scientific evidence that shows that this will shorten or lengthen a major leaguers career but it does show that it can increase your velocity as most pitchers come back from this surgery throwin 105% of what they used too.
This kinda worries me about all these JV all Americans we see. You might get some rich parent who wants Jr. to get an extra 5 mph on his fastball and put him under the knife at a very young age.
all you have to do is go online, get the PH# to Little League Headquarters, tell them and let them investigate. Don't be the type you always see around the ball field complaining about everything and not doing anything. If you know something is in the wrong fix it. Don't just guess that is what they are doing keep a pitch count yourself so you can prove it.