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  • 9-year-old boy told he's too good to pitch

    Now this is horse****. Ozzy, this is something more pressing about Youth Rights than underage Chinese gymnasts breaking established rules.

    Associated Press

    Updated: August 25, 2008, 9:30 PM ET

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player -- too good, it turns out.

    The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.

    Officials with the Youth Baseball League of New Haven say they will disband Jericho Scott's team because his coach won't stop him from pitching.

    Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho's team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it. They say Jericho's coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned.

    But Vidro says he didn't quit and the team refuses to disband. Players and parents held a protest at the league's field on Saturday urging the league to let Jericho pitch.

    "He's never hurt any one," Vidro said. "He's on target all the time. How can you punish a kid for being too good?"

    The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching.

    "I feel sad," he said. "I feel like it's all my fault nobody could play."

    Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators.

    Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

    "I think it's discouraging when you're telling a 9-year-old you're too good at something," said his mother, Nicole Scott. "The whole objective in life is to find something you're good at and stick with it. I'd rather he spend all his time on the baseball field than idolizing someone standing on the street corner."

    League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast.

    "He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."

    Noble acknowledged that Jericho had not beaned any batters in the co-ed league of 8- to 10-year-olds, but say parents expressed safety concerns.

    "Facing that kind of speed" is frightening for beginning players, Noble said.

    League officials say they first told Vidro that the boy could not pitch after a game on Aug. 13. Jericho played second base the next game on Aug. 16. But when he took the mound Wednesday, the other team walked off and a forfeit was called.

    League officials say Jericho's mother became irate, threatening them and vowing to get the league shut down.

    "I have never seen behavior of a parent like the behavior Jericho's mother exhibited Wednesday night," Noble said.

    Scott denies threatening any one, but said she did call the police.

    League officials suggested that Jericho play other positions, or pitch against older players or in a different league.

    Local attorney John Williams was planning to meet with Jericho's parents Monday to discuss legal options.

    "You don't have to be learned in the law to know in your heart that it's wrong," he said. "Now you have to be punished because you excel at something?"
    Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
    "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
    He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

  • #2
    "You're the biggest user of hindsight that I've ever known. Your favorite team, in any sport, is the one that just won. If you were a woman, you'd likely be a slut." - Slowwhand, to Imran

    Eschewing silly games since December 4, 2005

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    • #3
      Sore losers
      Pool Manager - Lombardi Handicappers League - An NFL Pick 'Em Pool

      https://youtu.be/HLNhPMQnWu4

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      • #4
        Re: 9-year-old boy told he's too good to pitch

        Originally posted by SlowwHand
        Now this is horse****. Ozzy, this is something more pressing about Youth Rights than underage Chinese gymnasts breaking established rules.
        Well I didn't bring up the gymnast thing. But yea, let Jericho play.

        (though personally, I don't know why he or his mother would want him to play in this Mickey Mouse league when he is good enough to play somewhere better and more competitive).
        Captain of Team Apolyton - ISDG 2012

        When I was younger I thought curfews were silly, but now as the daughter of a young woman, I appreciate them. - Rah

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        • #5
          In New Haven?
          Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
          "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
          He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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          • #6
            Sure. Maybe on a middle school or high school team if he is that dominate.
            Captain of Team Apolyton - ISDG 2012

            When I was younger I thought curfews were silly, but now as the daughter of a young woman, I appreciate them. - Rah

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            • #7
              Maybe he just wants to play with his little friends?

              And the bit about being recruited for one team but this happens when he plays for someone else?

              If they want to remove people for being too good, I think they need a linked higher division and tell people at the beginning of the season that players that are highly skilled may be moved to the higher division for a challenge and to maintain the fun for all participants etc etc.

              In minor hockey here they do a skill assessment at the beginning to place players by skill level -- I thinkl if someone is very badly placed they do make attempts to move them
              You don't get to 300 losses without being a pretty exceptional goaltender.-- Ben Kenobi speaking of Roberto Luongo

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              • #8
                It's an athletic COMPETITION for cryin' out loud. There are winners and losers. Excellence is to be encouraged. And guess what? In little league, the kids are separated by AGE, not by ability.

                Sour grapes by the defending champs/league admins count for nothing.

                Parents compaining that there kids might be hit by a pitch should be shown the door. If they want their kids to get "participation" awards and never know the reality of testing themselves against their peers, send them to day camp.

                The kid who is just freakishly good for his age, and possibly has a skill that will set him up for free college and more? He should be allowed --nay, encouraged-- to excel.

                Whoever is running this league should be tossed, without ceremony.
                Apolyton's Grim Reaper 2008, 2010 & 2011
                RIP lest we forget... SG (2) and LaFayette -- Civ2 Succession Games Brothers-in-Arms

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                • #9
                  "He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."


                  I always learned better by playing against someone that was way better than me. How are they going to develop if they aren't challenged?

                  MY brother when he was about 12, 30+ years ago, played with a pitcher that could throw it probably in the 65-70 mph range. After being seen a couple of times, he became hittable.

                  ACK!
                  Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust!

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