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

[Fifty]

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)—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 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.
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“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?”

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What a great lesson to a kid pitcher! If you achieve, you'll be ostracized. And what a lesson to the children of the forfeiting team: in the face of challenges, quit!

 

[cubsfan6506]

They are just being whiners, when I umpired youth baseball a nine year old kid had to be throwing at least 45.

 

[ShannonCT]

League officials suggested that Jericho ... pitch against older players or in a different league.

This sounds like the best idea for everyone. Most kids like to play with older kids anyway, and the youngster can develop his talent faster with better opponents.

 

[Son_Of_Dido]

You know, what's really painful about this is not only a kid being DENIED an opportunity A) have fun playing a game B) hone what might be an uncommon skill he has and could perhaps make money off of someday C) being made to feel guilty and insecure for being GOOD at something, judging by that quote.

But it also sounds like this kid wanted to join a less-skilled team instead of adding to the overkill of joining the team that's defending champion (and is probably already stacked with most of if not all the good kids, judging by the privileged position of the sponsor, and also that's how local youth leagues tend to work, as I remember).

Especially since they want to disband this kid's whole team. And redistribute its players (gee, I *WONDER* which team all the other good kids on that team will just happen to go on to). That shows its not really about this kid being too good. It's about him enabling this team to beat the defending champion, sponsored by the guy on the league board.

So here's a kid not only with talent but a sense of fair play and he's being punished for both.

And the other kids are being cheated too. Not just his teammates, but the kids whose coach pulled them off the field. When the going gets tough, the tough give up and go home. And the double bad lesson they are learning from the guy on the league board. "If you can't beat 'em, cheat and play politics until the only people left are the ones you can beat."

You know what? I faced kids at age 9 and 10 who had that kind of heat. Was it scary? Yeah. Cuz it was challenging. But I stood in there and faced 'em, and I'm better for it, even though -- and this is the key -- they blew the ball right by me and struck me out most of the time. That's part of growing up, that's part of playing organized sports, and that's part of life. Sometimes you are going to lose. Learning how to lose and handle losing and not always getting your way is a VERY important life lesson.

One the kids in this league are being deprived of learning.

And one that the guy who runs this league and wants to disband that team seems to have never learned himself.

 

[Azale]

Son of Dido explained my point and way more, so yea, what he said. Parents need to grow a pair. I also take the side of Michael Wilbon on this, bunch of weasel parents.

 

[Yui108]

Oh come on parents. No one is going to get hurt by a 40 MPH pitch. Jesus, when I was nine(not that long ago) there was one kid on my team who could hit 45, maybe 50ish. When I was 11, I was facing lacrosse shooters at 75 MPH.

 

[CCRunner]

It's unacceptable that they won't let him play but it's irresponsible of the parents to not put him in a better league when he's obviously extremely talented and capable of playing there. The other parents have a point about it being terrifying for eight year olds to face a super fast(relative to their age) pitcher though. Heck, I still don't like fast pitchers. But they really should learn how to deal with it. Facing challenges like this make kids much more confident, even if they strike out. I know that when I played fast pitchers where I would maybe foul off a ball made facing moderate pitchers so much easier. Plus, it's good for them later in life.

And it sounds like he's not even wild.

 

[Admiral Kutzov]

It's unacceptable that they won't let him play but it's irresponsible of the parents to not put him in a better league when he's obviously extremely talented and capable of playing there. The other parents have a point about it being terrifying for eight year olds to face a super fast(relative to their age) pitcher though. Heck, I still don't like fast pitchers. But they really should learn how to deal with it. Facing challenges like this make kids much more confident, even if they strike out. I know that when I played fast pitchers where I would maybe foul off a ball made facing moderate pitchers so much easier. Plus, it's good for them later in life.

And it sounds like he's not even wild.

It is not irresponsible to not to move him up to play against older players. The little munchkins need to learn that life is not always fair and some people are born with advantages. One needs to suck it up and try to the best of their ability regardless of the circumstances.

If the prodigy beans someone, so what? 998 times out of 1000 there's no permanent damage. That's why they wear helmets.

Stop coddling your children. They will never grow up unless you expose then to life. Train them correctly to accept life as it comes.

 

[Arwon]

Why doesn't he play up a level?

 

[King of Town]

It's not like those pitches are un hittable for one thing, even at that age. You swing earlier, or choke up. We had some kids in the league that I coached in that threw pretty hard, I didn't have a radar gun of course, but thats what I told the kids. When it comes down to it, your kid is not going to be a major league star. He's not going to be a college star. Most likely he won't even be a high school star. Just let him play if he wants to, and if he is too intimidated by a 45 mph fastball then he isn't cut out to play anyway. Sign him up for something else in his probably overlaoded schedule.

 

[azzaman333]

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 different team. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

Hmm.............