The Decline of Western Civilization (The Little League Years)

It's going to be tough to top Vince's last post. So I won't even try. So I says to myself, "this is going to take a series of posts." Honestly, I said that. So let me introduce the first installment, in true Penelope Spheeris fasion, of my "The Decline of Western Civilization (Insert clever title here) series.

Yesterday, I drove past a place that was home to many of the glories of my early life. This place is called Huffines Park. Huffines Park was the first place that I ever played baseball. It was the home of my first ever home run (a grand slam to beat the dreaded and feared Rangers, in the bottom of the last inning). It was home to my first attempt at third base, and lastly, it was my first place to pitch. It is the pitching subject that I will foray into in this post. As I drove past the park, I noticed something that I had heard of, but never witnessed in person. To be honest, I wish I had never seen this abhorration.

What I refer to with such ferver was Coach Pitch Little League. Middle aged men, pitching the ball to the opposing team's 8 year olds. Being an open minded individual, I can see the arguments as to how this can be considered "sport."
1. It lets the batters face actual strikes, so that they may hit them. This increases offense which keeps ticket sales up and the season ticket holders happy.

2. Grown men get to live out their fantasies of striking out a hell of a lot of fucking batters! I can hear the gloating now, "Dude, I totally struck out this fucking dude with my wicked slider."

3. ....Well, thats all that I can see.

I know that I speak for more than myself when I say that I began my baseball life playing tee-ball. Now that was an honest sport. You could not strike out, it taught you how to hit the ball, it basically taught you how to win and lose....AGAINST A TEAM OF YOUR PEERS!!!

What are we showing our youngsters with coach pitch?
-Are they not adequite enough to face competition of their own age?
-Can 8 year olds not pitch a ball over the plate?
-Has your dad moved slightly beyond just living vicariously through you?

How about this, join me in my fight. My fight to keep parents off the field of play. My fight to have 8 year olds play 8 year olds. And most importantly, my fight to develop pitchers at a younger age. It's no wonder that team USA loses in the Olympics every year.