Opening Day of Baseball

Today is opening day of Little League Baseball, for my son. Actually, other leagues opened last night, but today is the official opening day.

It amazes me how much drama and politics are involved in a youth sport. I coached my son's soccer team many years ago and seemed oblivious to it, maybe it's just as they get older it gets worse as the competition increases.

Pitching rules seem to change, every year. This year they seem even more bizarre. If a youth pitches more than 41 pitches per game, they have to skip one game and two days. If they pitch less than 41, they can pitch the next game. A pitcher cannot pitch more than 75 pitches per game, and I think there are other rules that I just didn't get. Additionally, if a youth pitches 1 pitch, they cannot catch during that game. All in an effort to save the arm. This year they are only playing nine players, so many parents will be upset with their child's lack of playing time. The coach already has a 2, 4, 6 rotation, I'm assuming that means innings per game. It all seems so complicated. I don't remember all the rules when I was playing softball growing up!

In addition to trying to be a "non-aggressive parent" observer, I am the official score keeper. I was truly hoping that this year, I could shirk the responsibilities and try to watch the game. Last night coach approached me to confirm my volunteer responsibilities. Seriously, I think there should be some monetary compensation! As long as I can remember, even as a child, I would keep score. Not just the runs, but the balls, strikes, hits, outs. Marking where the ball was hit, who made the out, etc. BUT, even with my score keeping knowledge and my own analities (new word of the day!) it is nothing compared to this coach! And each year he adds something new for me to keep track of! I can't wait to see what it is now. As of last year, I had to keep strikes, balls, pitch count for each player - which must also include how many foul balls per batter, outs, runs, score for both teams! Seriously, when did Little League become so outrageous? In actuality though, it's just this coach that is, since other teams clearly don't make up a nine page stat list that they keep track of every game and don't even share with the parents! Fortunately, I get a copy since it's my work that makes his stats possible!

Let's Play Ball!