What’s The 401?!?!

Nine Year Old Too Good For New Haven Little League (It’s Ludicrous)

Image courtesy of the AP.

Picture the commissioner of major league baseball walking up to Bob Gibson in the middle of the 1968 season and telling him that he was too good to pitch in MLB games.  That doing so would no longer be allowed.  On top of that, picture Gibson taking the mound anyway, and then the commissioner deciding to punish him by disbanding the St. Louis Cardinals and redistributing their entire roster across the rest of the league.  Sounds a little rediculous right?

Well that’s exactly what happened to poor Jericho Scott, a 9 year old…yeah, you read that right, he’s 9…pitcher who’s been dominating the Youth Baseball League in New Haven, CT.  Scott, who only throws around 40 mph, much slower than the 12 year olds that some kids his age face in other Little Leagues across the country, has been so good that the league has had enough.  They told the kid that he couldn’t pitch anymore, and when his coach pitched him anyway, the opposing team packed their bags and left!  Then, the president of the league disbanded Scott’s team! 

What does Scott think of all this….the kid feels sad and thinks that it’s his fault that none of the other kids could play.  Way to go Youth Baseball League of New Haven.  Great job trying to crush this kids dreams.  Of course, Scott’s mother wasn’t to happy about the situation and is now pursuing legal options. 

My advice?  Take Jericho out of the league and put him somewhere where his talents will be appreciated and nurtured.  This league is obviously not worthy of a player of Scott’s ability, and I’m sure that other leagues in the area are.  The ludicrousness of all of this is that the league stooped to such lows to disband Scott’s team..essentially turning an angry mob of 8 and 9 year olds on Jericho because he’s better than they are.  It’s no surprise that the kid feels like shit now…and will probably be turned off from baseball for the rest of his life. 

As for the parents who complained for their kids safety…a 40 mph pitch isn’t killing anybody…if they were concerned about Scott hurting their kid, they could have offered up a solution that works for both the league, which is supposedly developmental (aren’t they all at that age?) and for Scott.  How about looking around for another league where Scott can play against kids as good as he is, and then suggesting to Scott’s coach and his mother that Jericho play there?  The kid will only improve playing against better competition. 

Of course, the ‘me first’ or should I say ‘my kid first’ attitude of today’s American parent overcomes all.  To actually have consideration for another child…or another child’s parents?  That’s nonsense.  These people would rather just have their children wallow in mediocrity rather than challenge themselves against better competition.  Not only is this league and the parents of the kids in the league jerking around Jericho Scott, but they are also robbing their own kids of the opportunity to be successful against somebody who is supposed to be dominating them.  There is as much to be said for prevailing over excellence as there is for excellence itself.  The confidence a kid can get from getting a hit off Scott could be a spring board to a career in the game.  Yes, it sounds rediculous, but you just don’t know….

Here’s hoping that Jericho Scott’s mother decides to put him in a more advanced league…walk away from this bush league…and here’s hoping that the kid doesn’t decide to quit the game.  Maybe we’ll hear from him again one day?