Baseball

[innocentbystander]

my old man wouldn't have been able to get his belt off fast enough for this bullshit

Pirates developmental league

Its ridiculous. As eCat said, every grown man's belt should come off and correct the behavior of not only the children but also (and even more importantly) the adults wasting their children's time with all of this. T-ball is not (nor was it ever) any kind of baseball. It is not a sport. It isn't even really a game. It's a leisure activity created for emotionally stunted children to protect their self-esteems from being crushed by competitive children who understand the concept of competing, athleticism, and that keeping score does not have to equal melting down, crying, and screaming.

[Jungle Rat]

You're an absolute idiot.

[innocentbystander]

Yeah, you probably PLAYED t-ball. You candy ass.

[DooKSucks]

I'm from a town / area that produces a lot of college baseball players, some minor league players and a few big leaguers. Every single person in my age group who played college baseball -- some of whom played in the minor leagues and one of whom spent the better part of a decade bouncing around the major leagues and AAA -- played tee ball.

So, there's that.

[Jungle Rat]

There was no tee ball when I was a kid you stupid ass child. I doubt you could even hit an 80 fastball let alone 90. Toughest thing to do in sports is hit a 99 fastball.

[innocentbystander]

rat,

I started playing hardball when I was (I think), 8? Maybe 7. Just farm, little league bullshit baseball. They stuck me at third base, sometimes center field, sometimes catcher. Whatever. We weren't allowed to steal bases until we were promoted to the "majors" (which was age 11 or 12 I think.) Anyway, I stopped playing at age 13 because I was going into high school and I wanted to do track-and-field in the springtime. I wanted to hurl the javelin, discus, and do sprinting. Track was a better training/conditioning springtime sport for football that I played in the fall. Plus, track had hot girls that worked out with us so that seemed like a no-brainer. Baseball and track? Can't do both sports.

I am sure you were a much better baseball player than I was. My batting average never really got any higher than .350 or so but I did have an excellent on-base percentage (walked a lot, got hit by pitches a lot.) And I only ever batted either 7th or 4th in the lineup, but I never homered. Never. Couldn't quite muscle it out of the ballpark. Had lots of in-field triples and doubles, never a homer. I have no idea what my slugging percentage was when I was 13 years old and in 8th grade, but I probably has as many doubles as I had singles. And my doubles and triples, they happened because the pitcher was hurling the ball real fast. I have no idea if it was 80 or 90.

T-ball was not available when I was kid. I am old like you. But in talking to quite a few people who know a thing or two about kids playing t-ball, that recreation is bullshit. Its largely meant for little-little kids who have self-esteem issues. Could real athletes who wind up playing baseball be playing it too? Sure. But they aren't gaining anything for their play in baseball by playing T-ball.

[Jungle Rat]

Glory Days, well they'll pass you by, glory days.

"got hit by pitches a lot."

Go figure.

[innocentbystander]

Glory Days, well they'll pass you by, glory days.

"got hit by pitches a lot."

Go figure.

I think at age 11, that was more a function of the 11 year old pitcher being 11 and not being a very accurate pitcher than it was me being an asshole that an 11 year old vindictive and vengeful pitcher really wanted to bean. But, maybe you are correct. Doesn't matter.

[innocentbystander]

I'm from a town / area that produces a lot of college baseball players, some minor league players and a few big leaguers. Every single person in my age group who played college baseball -- some of whom played in the minor leagues and one of whom spent the better part of a decade bouncing around the major leagues and AAA -- played tee ball.

So, there's that.

Correlation does not mean causation, counselor. Just because A-Rod may have played T-ball, that doesn't mean that Alex was made into a professional ball player because of what he did playing T-ball when he was 6. He was going pro, regardless.

So, there's that.

[Tree]

I started in t-ball because it was the only thing available at my age. Great time for an up-and-coming young tyke to learn a little about the game when it would take 4-5 hours to complete with someone that small trying to actually pitch.

[Dave23]

T-ball most definitely has a purpose.

Its purpose is to foster a love for the game of baseball, as well as team sports in general. Being in the dugout with your teammates sharing a common goal can be started at any age. The love of the game may take some time, but the seeds are planted in the first season.

Furthermore, coaches and parents can tell early which kids are potential travel ball players and which kids are best off in rec leagues. While this isn’t 100% guaranteed in tee ball, the roots are in place. You can see who loves it, who is better off doing something else, and who is there only because mom and dad need a break.

[Dave23]

Oh, and one more thing…

Tee work is done at the highest levels of pro ball, and at every level below that. That never ends.

[hedge]

“I started in t-ball because it was the only thing available at my age.“

Just think what you have to look forward to next year…

[Tree]

D-

[sardis]

T-ball most definitely has a purpose.

Its purpose is to foster a love for the game of baseball, as well as team sports in general. Being in the dugout with your teammates sharing a common goal can be started at any age. The love of the game may take some time, but the seeds are planted in the first season.

Furthermore, coaches and parents can tell early which kids are potential travel ball players and which kids are best off in rec leagues. While this isn’t 100% guaranteed in tee ball, the roots are in place. You can see who loves it, who is better off doing something else, and who is there only because mom and dad need a break.

"People will come, Ray"

[eCat]

[eCat]

[Dave23]

Strike!

[innocentbystander]

T-ball most definitely has a purpose.

Its purpose is to foster a love for the game of baseball, as well as team sports in general. Being in the dugout with your teammates sharing a common goal can be started at any age. The love of the game may take some time, but the seeds are planted in the first season.

Furthermore, coaches and parents can tell early which kids are potential travel ball players and which kids are best off in rec leagues. While this isn’t 100% guaranteed in tee ball, the roots are in place. You can see who loves it, who is better off doing something else, and who is there only because mom and dad need a break.

"People will come, Ray"

heh. lol. Go the distance.

[Jungle Rat]

https://x.com/CalicoJoeMLB/status/17952 ... sIIWA&s=19