My son did two years of Little League and I made it a point to never coach from the stands.
When I umpired Little League in college there were definitely some parents - and coaches - that took things way too seriously. One time a dad followed me to my car to talk about a ball/strike call he thought I’d missed with his kid at the plate.
My son refed Y soccer from the time he was 11 until he was 15. The reason he quit, as the kids got older the parents were jerks. He loved helping the little kids learn the rules and help them understand things. He hated the chirping from the parents. The kids were never the issue. He was calling 7th & 8th grade games as a 9th grader.
However, that experience helped him get his job this summer. He is the head male counselor for the freshman orientation at the university he attends. When they hired him they said, if you can deal with soccer parents, you can probably handle college freshman parents.
My Mac team played a game in a tournament in Killeen against Copperas (sp?) Cove. We won, which apparently their parents thought we had no right to do, They gathered outside our dugout screaming and hollering; the tournament organizers called the police, and the PD officers walked us to our bus.
Mark umpired a few years after HS. He may have some stories too. LL parents who coach from the stands and who yell instructions to their kids are the absolute worst.
I pretty much quit yelling instructions to my kid after he turned 9, but by then he was playing semi-professional travel ball. It was tougher with my daughter. People really noticed when you yelled at a dance recital.
As Wil Myer struck a pose w/ his glove held high holding an almost grand slam, one Astros fan tried to pick his pocket…
14:50 - forces desperate blind swipe by Detroit catcher that TAGS the UMP @ 3B!!!
17:50 - Altuve & Springer in action…
That kid will probably be a Calhoun fan his whole life.
I know I had a negative experience with Bert Blyleven his rookie year at the old Met Stadium and I still can’t stand the guy.
I don’t care how good a pitcher he was. He was a jerk to an innocent kid that day and while that kid is no longer innocent (and no longer a kid by any stretch) and that kid hates his guts for the rest of his life.
Impossible to put a 33-34 year-old head on a 19-yr-old body - that’s why Kole’s move was “classy”.
I was only 11 when that happened. The Twins got smashed by the A’s that day and Dad took my brother and I to the locker room door to get autographs after the game. The rest of the team (Killebrew, Oliva, Carew, etc.) were all happy to sign for us. But not Blyleven. He was rude and obnoxious.
And you’re right. Life is too short to be that full of yourself.
I understand that he subsequently had demons to battle with. And to be honest about it, I wasn’t sorry for him in the least little bit.
The similarities between baseball and speed skating? Turning left. That’s it.
Totally unrelated to baseball, but this made my day:
“This man smelled like a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, four shots of Everclear alcohol and regret”
Just found this gem.
I didn’t know…
…that the first-base bag is baseball’s psychologist’s couch,…
More logs on the fire for Altuve fans; might even soften a hater or two toward him. (If that’s possible…)
Too good not to share, but no idea where to post it, so here it is:
It’s worth scrolling through the replies, too.
Funny, that is the place I tried to ski. That could of been me in the background.