Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Give Me More Of The Designated Hitter
When I think of baseball, I think of green grass, the smell of pine tar and the roar of the crowd when the home team brings another run across the plate.
But one stain has long tarnished the validity of the sport: the designated hitter.
Now, it's not the presence of the DH that bothers me, but rather the fact that it is only used in half of the league. The American League is known for being superior in most key offensive categories, and also carries a reputation for being especially difficult on pitchers. The National League, however...well, not so much.
And all that does for the sport is create a lopsided league in which one half is different in key areas and makes for sometimes absurd matchups. This was especially evident in the years before regular-season interleague play, when the only opportunity to play the other league came in the World Series. Each game was different from the last, depending solely on where the game was played.
I know some people like to think this makes MLB more charming, or something like that. But if you look at every other sport, it would be ridiculous to implement a key change to one half of the league, but leave the other half as it is. As if the NBA would approve 11-foot high rims in only the Western Conference, or if the NFL allowed teams in the NFC to use two forward passes per play instead of just one. It would just make the league look amateurish and gimmicky, like Minor League Baseball or the Arena Football League.
I also know that there has been a movement to remove the DH from baseball altogether -- as if to hearken back the "good old days" of the sport's early history.
But if we're honest with ourselves, we have to look at all the other advancements the game has made -- for the good of the game and its fans -- and seriously consider the full implementation of the DH. The original intent of the designated hitter rule was to make the game more exciting, and it has done that. Players like David Ortiz, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas, Eddie Murray, and the immortal Dave Kingman would not have made much of an impact in the field, especially late in their careers, but have become potential Hall Of Famers because they can hit the ball better than most of us could ever dream.
What it boils down to is this -- with ticket prices escalating every year, and with the overall quality of play diminishing as young ballplayers find other sports (mostly football) to meet their competitive needs, who wants to waste time and money to see Justin Germano wave at three pitches when a perfectly decent hitter is sitting on the bench?
Using the DH in both the AL and the NL would start out a little roughly, I have to admit, because the NL teams aren't built to have a DH. But within a few years, the free agent market would move players around, and good hitters on minor league teams would find ways to break into the majors and have a chance to become game-breaking superstars. I know, this would be awful compared to sitting through another David Wells at-bat. That's history-making stuff right there.
As long as we're all being honest with ourselves, we can admit that the only reason we don't have the DH in both leagues is because we just don't want to change something for which we have warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feelings. But every phase of baseball now uses the DH, from Little League to the minor leagues, but somehow pitchers in the National League are expected to somehow become Major League hitters, while their AL counterparts are allowed to focus on their actual job, which is pitching. It would be like asking half of the workers on an assembly line to also do the financial paperwork in addition to their fabrication, but without any good reason and no extra pay. Nobody would sign up for that.
So let's end the travesty of a single-league designated hitter and put a rest to all this nonsense about the purity and integrity of the game.
Because somewhere out there, the next Dave Kingman is only one free roster spot away from making history.
-- -- --
We had some responses to last week's column about NASCAR and how it is clearly the most entertaining sport on the market.
Shockingly, there was some disagreement about the accuracy of my thesis, leading to some interesting points raised.
The best of which came from a David Baker of Escondido, who wrote the following:
"NASCAR is on the rise, we agree on that. Some of it is even interesting… ok, well, pretty much just the crashes. I can agree the NBA and NHL are on the downslide, so I won’t even defend them, but to suggest that NASCAR has usurped football as the most entertaining sport, or even baseball, America’s pastime, is completely absurd. There are four aspects of NASCAR that will perpetually deny it from being the most entertaining sport:
"1. Though there are “teams” in NASCAR, the team aspect is lost and meaningless as they don’t win and lose as a team. It is an individual sport masquerading as a team sport. America loves the synergy felt through our televisions as a sprawled out shortstop shovels the ball to the second baseman that turns the double play, or as a quarterback threads a pass through two defenders to a diving wide receiver for a touchdown. It’s the connection between two players amidst chaos that we love.
"2. Fans like a visual connection with the players, which is lost under the helmet, and roof of a car. We want to passion in the quarterback’s eye, and fear in the pitcher’s expression.
"3. We, as fans, want to see physicality in our sports. You can argue all you like about how NASCAR drivers lose 10 lbs in a race, but we could care less about a chubby guy sweating in a hot can. We want to see bone crushing collisions between a receiver crossing the middle of the field, or a player lowering his shoulder into a catcher for a play at the plate.
"4. Finally, we love our team sports because of the connection to a city. That aspect brings a city together. There is nothing more amazing than an entire stadium cheering against the Raiders."
I can agree with a lot of this, but if this is all true (especially point No. 3), then we have a lot of problems in our society that probably should be addressed if we don't want to end up like the ancient Romans. Besides, the physicality of NASCAR is shown when you see a driver fighting the steering wheel when his car gets loose, or when somebody like Jimmy Spencer gets in a confrontation with somebody like a young Kurt Busch, and somebody ends up with a bloody nose.
At the end of the day, a sport is only as entertaining as the fans want to make it, and if people can find a way to overcome their misconceptions about NASCAR, I would bet that they would find it to be a wonderful experience.
-- -- --
Thanks for writing in, though, and be sure to check out the other responses on the blog page at www.valleycenter.com (click on the "RR Blogs" link) and perhaps make a comment yourself. You can also send your comments to me directly by e-mail at sports@valleycenter.com. I would love to hear your thoughts on topics we've already discussed, or suggestions for future discussion, or whatever you'd like to say.
I just hope you use the same rules of grammar for both halves of your submission. We wouldn't want to have any language "purists" banging on our door about the improper use of the Queen's English (which includes words like "humour" and "behaviour") that somehow ruins the experience of reading.
But one stain has long tarnished the validity of the sport: the designated hitter.
Now, it's not the presence of the DH that bothers me, but rather the fact that it is only used in half of the league. The American League is known for being superior in most key offensive categories, and also carries a reputation for being especially difficult on pitchers. The National League, however...well, not so much.
And all that does for the sport is create a lopsided league in which one half is different in key areas and makes for sometimes absurd matchups. This was especially evident in the years before regular-season interleague play, when the only opportunity to play the other league came in the World Series. Each game was different from the last, depending solely on where the game was played.
I know some people like to think this makes MLB more charming, or something like that. But if you look at every other sport, it would be ridiculous to implement a key change to one half of the league, but leave the other half as it is. As if the NBA would approve 11-foot high rims in only the Western Conference, or if the NFL allowed teams in the NFC to use two forward passes per play instead of just one. It would just make the league look amateurish and gimmicky, like Minor League Baseball or the Arena Football League.
I also know that there has been a movement to remove the DH from baseball altogether -- as if to hearken back the "good old days" of the sport's early history.
But if we're honest with ourselves, we have to look at all the other advancements the game has made -- for the good of the game and its fans -- and seriously consider the full implementation of the DH. The original intent of the designated hitter rule was to make the game more exciting, and it has done that. Players like David Ortiz, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas, Eddie Murray, and the immortal Dave Kingman would not have made much of an impact in the field, especially late in their careers, but have become potential Hall Of Famers because they can hit the ball better than most of us could ever dream.
What it boils down to is this -- with ticket prices escalating every year, and with the overall quality of play diminishing as young ballplayers find other sports (mostly football) to meet their competitive needs, who wants to waste time and money to see Justin Germano wave at three pitches when a perfectly decent hitter is sitting on the bench?
Using the DH in both the AL and the NL would start out a little roughly, I have to admit, because the NL teams aren't built to have a DH. But within a few years, the free agent market would move players around, and good hitters on minor league teams would find ways to break into the majors and have a chance to become game-breaking superstars. I know, this would be awful compared to sitting through another David Wells at-bat. That's history-making stuff right there.
As long as we're all being honest with ourselves, we can admit that the only reason we don't have the DH in both leagues is because we just don't want to change something for which we have warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feelings. But every phase of baseball now uses the DH, from Little League to the minor leagues, but somehow pitchers in the National League are expected to somehow become Major League hitters, while their AL counterparts are allowed to focus on their actual job, which is pitching. It would be like asking half of the workers on an assembly line to also do the financial paperwork in addition to their fabrication, but without any good reason and no extra pay. Nobody would sign up for that.
So let's end the travesty of a single-league designated hitter and put a rest to all this nonsense about the purity and integrity of the game.
Because somewhere out there, the next Dave Kingman is only one free roster spot away from making history.
-- -- --
We had some responses to last week's column about NASCAR and how it is clearly the most entertaining sport on the market.
Shockingly, there was some disagreement about the accuracy of my thesis, leading to some interesting points raised.
The best of which came from a David Baker of Escondido, who wrote the following:
"NASCAR is on the rise, we agree on that. Some of it is even interesting… ok, well, pretty much just the crashes. I can agree the NBA and NHL are on the downslide, so I won’t even defend them, but to suggest that NASCAR has usurped football as the most entertaining sport, or even baseball, America’s pastime, is completely absurd. There are four aspects of NASCAR that will perpetually deny it from being the most entertaining sport:
"1. Though there are “teams” in NASCAR, the team aspect is lost and meaningless as they don’t win and lose as a team. It is an individual sport masquerading as a team sport. America loves the synergy felt through our televisions as a sprawled out shortstop shovels the ball to the second baseman that turns the double play, or as a quarterback threads a pass through two defenders to a diving wide receiver for a touchdown. It’s the connection between two players amidst chaos that we love.
"2. Fans like a visual connection with the players, which is lost under the helmet, and roof of a car. We want to passion in the quarterback’s eye, and fear in the pitcher’s expression.
"3. We, as fans, want to see physicality in our sports. You can argue all you like about how NASCAR drivers lose 10 lbs in a race, but we could care less about a chubby guy sweating in a hot can. We want to see bone crushing collisions between a receiver crossing the middle of the field, or a player lowering his shoulder into a catcher for a play at the plate.
"4. Finally, we love our team sports because of the connection to a city. That aspect brings a city together. There is nothing more amazing than an entire stadium cheering against the Raiders."
I can agree with a lot of this, but if this is all true (especially point No. 3), then we have a lot of problems in our society that probably should be addressed if we don't want to end up like the ancient Romans. Besides, the physicality of NASCAR is shown when you see a driver fighting the steering wheel when his car gets loose, or when somebody like Jimmy Spencer gets in a confrontation with somebody like a young Kurt Busch, and somebody ends up with a bloody nose.
At the end of the day, a sport is only as entertaining as the fans want to make it, and if people can find a way to overcome their misconceptions about NASCAR, I would bet that they would find it to be a wonderful experience.
-- -- --
Thanks for writing in, though, and be sure to check out the other responses on the blog page at www.valleycenter.com (click on the "RR Blogs" link) and perhaps make a comment yourself. You can also send your comments to me directly by e-mail at sports@valleycenter.com. I would love to hear your thoughts on topics we've already discussed, or suggestions for future discussion, or whatever you'd like to say.
I just hope you use the same rules of grammar for both halves of your submission. We wouldn't want to have any language "purists" banging on our door about the improper use of the Queen's English (which includes words like "humour" and "behaviour") that somehow ruins the experience of reading.
Monday, June 18, 2007
NASCAR Is The Most Entertaining Sport Ever
Let's just get it all out of the way up front.
NASCAR isn't a real sport.
NASCAR drivers aren't athletes because the cars do all the work.
NASCAR is only for rednecks.
Is that out of everybody's system now? Good.
Because we've all heard it before, and frankly, the same old excuses are starting to wear a little thin.
I could debate with you until I'm blue in the face about all of those issues, but at the end of the day, one thing has to come out more clearly than anything else when we talk about NASCAR.
It is the most entertaining sport in the country right now.
We'll take care of the obvious right away; professional basketball isn't even worth bringing into the debate. Player egos, ridiculous showboating, zero fundamental skill (other than a few exceptions like Steve Nash and Tony Parker) and a bogged-down, isolation-based gameplan have combined to make Major League Soccer look like a more viable option for the average sports fan.
Moving on to hockey, I would have to say that the NHL playoffs were pretty good this year, but I honestly forgot about them for days at a time because I don't really watch the Versus Network...well, ever. And once I get used to all the European names again (I still miss Radek Bonk...and we can only hope that someday, Miroslav Satan will be traded to the New Jersey Devils), then hockey will be pretty decent again.
Baseball is a legitimate argument, but really only because it's been around for so long. Watching things like Barry Bonds' quest for the home run record is pretty amazing because the sport has been around for more than 100 years. And the fairly common experience we've all had of going to a baseball game when we were young makes a trip to the ballpark another way to remind ourselves of the good old days.
But if we can put the nostalgia aside for a moment, the MLB schedule needs to be shortened by about two months. If they played from June to September, with the World Series taking place before Labor Day, I would watch more games because each game would be more valuable, in terms of importance for the team and in terms of opportunity for the fans. As it is, I don't really care all that much that the Yankees are surging, that the Mets are struggling a bit, or that the Orioles just fired their manager. It's only a third of the way through the season. Wake me up when we get to late August.
The main contender for the sports crown is professional football, which is the toughest sport to argue against in this particular case. But we're going to anyway, so settle in.
The NFL has three things going for it that the other sports we've mentioned do not -- they have a short schedule, they play games only once a week, and they have marketable stars. The NFL season goes from September to early February, but each week is a buildup of anticipation because a fan's favorite team only plays one game. If the Chargers played the Raiders 32 times a season (like the Padres and the Dodgers), then it wouldn't be that big of a deal if you missed one of the games. But they only meet twice, and only once here in Southern California, which makes game day a huge deal.
But for all its positives, the NFL still lacks something that only NASCAR brings to the table -- real drama.
Take for example the ongoing saga of Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving his team, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, to drive for Hendrick Motorsports next season. He is leaving the team his late father created because his stepmother, by all accounts, would not allow him to stay.
And not only does he leave, but he goes to the biggest powerhouse team in the sport, a team that has won all but one of the races featuring the new "Car of Tomorrow" (which will be used exclusively in 2008, by the way) and has three of its four drivers in the hunt for the Nextel Cup.
Junior's jump to Hendrick is huge for him because he finally has a chance to get away from the legacy of just being Dale Earnhardt's kid. He finally has the chance to be a good driver without all the added expectations and pressures his fans inexplicably put on him. He will probably drive the third car in the stable (behind Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the two best rides), and he will no doubt surpass any and all expectations usually put on the No. 3 driver on a team.
Hendrick's current No. 3 is Kyle Busch, a 21-year-old phenom who has shown signs of brilliance, but also signs of impatience that get him into trouble. Junior has been around long enough now to know how to take care of good equipment, and once he gels with his team, he should be a nice addition to the team.
I'm just curious to see how his fans respond when Junior helps his teammates. As I've heard from various places, they're going to have to get more accurate with their beer cans or else they'll end up pegging their own guy.
-- -- --
Well I have no doubts that you'd like to share with me what you think the most entertaining sport is and why. And I would love to hear about it. And maybe share it with our readers.
So go ahead and write to me at sports@valleycenter.com, or visit our Web site at www.valleycenter.com and click on the "RR Blogs" link to comment online.
And if you can wake me up from the boredom I'm still experiencing from seeing even a minute of this year's NBA finals, you'll definitely be on the right track.
NASCAR isn't a real sport.
NASCAR drivers aren't athletes because the cars do all the work.
NASCAR is only for rednecks.
Is that out of everybody's system now? Good.
Because we've all heard it before, and frankly, the same old excuses are starting to wear a little thin.
I could debate with you until I'm blue in the face about all of those issues, but at the end of the day, one thing has to come out more clearly than anything else when we talk about NASCAR.
It is the most entertaining sport in the country right now.
We'll take care of the obvious right away; professional basketball isn't even worth bringing into the debate. Player egos, ridiculous showboating, zero fundamental skill (other than a few exceptions like Steve Nash and Tony Parker) and a bogged-down, isolation-based gameplan have combined to make Major League Soccer look like a more viable option for the average sports fan.
Moving on to hockey, I would have to say that the NHL playoffs were pretty good this year, but I honestly forgot about them for days at a time because I don't really watch the Versus Network...well, ever. And once I get used to all the European names again (I still miss Radek Bonk...and we can only hope that someday, Miroslav Satan will be traded to the New Jersey Devils), then hockey will be pretty decent again.
Baseball is a legitimate argument, but really only because it's been around for so long. Watching things like Barry Bonds' quest for the home run record is pretty amazing because the sport has been around for more than 100 years. And the fairly common experience we've all had of going to a baseball game when we were young makes a trip to the ballpark another way to remind ourselves of the good old days.
But if we can put the nostalgia aside for a moment, the MLB schedule needs to be shortened by about two months. If they played from June to September, with the World Series taking place before Labor Day, I would watch more games because each game would be more valuable, in terms of importance for the team and in terms of opportunity for the fans. As it is, I don't really care all that much that the Yankees are surging, that the Mets are struggling a bit, or that the Orioles just fired their manager. It's only a third of the way through the season. Wake me up when we get to late August.
The main contender for the sports crown is professional football, which is the toughest sport to argue against in this particular case. But we're going to anyway, so settle in.
The NFL has three things going for it that the other sports we've mentioned do not -- they have a short schedule, they play games only once a week, and they have marketable stars. The NFL season goes from September to early February, but each week is a buildup of anticipation because a fan's favorite team only plays one game. If the Chargers played the Raiders 32 times a season (like the Padres and the Dodgers), then it wouldn't be that big of a deal if you missed one of the games. But they only meet twice, and only once here in Southern California, which makes game day a huge deal.
But for all its positives, the NFL still lacks something that only NASCAR brings to the table -- real drama.
Take for example the ongoing saga of Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving his team, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, to drive for Hendrick Motorsports next season. He is leaving the team his late father created because his stepmother, by all accounts, would not allow him to stay.
And not only does he leave, but he goes to the biggest powerhouse team in the sport, a team that has won all but one of the races featuring the new "Car of Tomorrow" (which will be used exclusively in 2008, by the way) and has three of its four drivers in the hunt for the Nextel Cup.
Junior's jump to Hendrick is huge for him because he finally has a chance to get away from the legacy of just being Dale Earnhardt's kid. He finally has the chance to be a good driver without all the added expectations and pressures his fans inexplicably put on him. He will probably drive the third car in the stable (behind Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the two best rides), and he will no doubt surpass any and all expectations usually put on the No. 3 driver on a team.
Hendrick's current No. 3 is Kyle Busch, a 21-year-old phenom who has shown signs of brilliance, but also signs of impatience that get him into trouble. Junior has been around long enough now to know how to take care of good equipment, and once he gels with his team, he should be a nice addition to the team.
I'm just curious to see how his fans respond when Junior helps his teammates. As I've heard from various places, they're going to have to get more accurate with their beer cans or else they'll end up pegging their own guy.
-- -- --
Well I have no doubts that you'd like to share with me what you think the most entertaining sport is and why. And I would love to hear about it. And maybe share it with our readers.
So go ahead and write to me at sports@valleycenter.com, or visit our Web site at www.valleycenter.com and click on the "RR Blogs" link to comment online.
And if you can wake me up from the boredom I'm still experiencing from seeing even a minute of this year's NBA finals, you'll definitely be on the right track.
Labels: Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR, opinion, racing, sports
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Lord Stanley Gets A Tan
I'm sure that excitement has never been higher for hockey in Southern California than it is right now. The Anaheim Ducks are the Stanley Cup champions, and if you ask me, they were the best team all playoffs long, even though they really weren't the most talented.
The cool thing (pun definitely intended) is that the Ducks' captain, Scott Niedermayer, is the only active player to have won the cup four different times (all three previous came with the New Jersey Devils, who I hate...although not as much as the Philadelphia Flyers or the Detroit Red Wings).
It's also the first time in the 82-year history of Lord Stanley's Cup that a team on the west coast has won the championship. There have been lots of Western Conference winners like the aforementioned Red Wings, the Stars and the Colorado Avalanche. But with the Cup a stone's throw from the Pacific, it makes one wonder if it's time to reconsider the impact of this largely Canadian sport.
When hockey was first invented, it seemed obvious that it needed to be played in a cold-weather climate. You just don't find that many frozen ponds here in SoCal, so Canada became the logical birthplace. But civilization has caught up enough that I was able to go ice skating with some friends just last weekend, even though it was at least 65 degrees outside at 8 p.m.
The problem lies in the fact that sports fans are a pretty stubborn breed by nature; if you don't believe me, try talking to a supposed sports fan about NASCAR and see how long it takes before they just start laughing at you. My personal record is 13 seconds.
Basically, most sports fans hold to the idea that if they didn't grow up with it, they're not going to follow it. The NHL and NASCAR are the two main sports now that fall into that category, even though they're far and away more entertaining than the NBA or Major League Baseball.
Here's what I'm getting at...now is the perfect time for sports fans in Southern California to jump on the bandwagon of something pretty amazing: the NHL. It will only happen if you give it a chance. I know a lot of you have full enough sports plates as it is, but weed out some of the dead weight (ie. the NBA, college sports, and 80% of the MLB season) and take another good look at hockey.
Because if you don't, then I'm going to make you watch NASCAR with me. And you will love it.
The cool thing (pun definitely intended) is that the Ducks' captain, Scott Niedermayer, is the only active player to have won the cup four different times (all three previous came with the New Jersey Devils, who I hate...although not as much as the Philadelphia Flyers or the Detroit Red Wings).
It's also the first time in the 82-year history of Lord Stanley's Cup that a team on the west coast has won the championship. There have been lots of Western Conference winners like the aforementioned Red Wings, the Stars and the Colorado Avalanche. But with the Cup a stone's throw from the Pacific, it makes one wonder if it's time to reconsider the impact of this largely Canadian sport.
When hockey was first invented, it seemed obvious that it needed to be played in a cold-weather climate. You just don't find that many frozen ponds here in SoCal, so Canada became the logical birthplace. But civilization has caught up enough that I was able to go ice skating with some friends just last weekend, even though it was at least 65 degrees outside at 8 p.m.
The problem lies in the fact that sports fans are a pretty stubborn breed by nature; if you don't believe me, try talking to a supposed sports fan about NASCAR and see how long it takes before they just start laughing at you. My personal record is 13 seconds.
Basically, most sports fans hold to the idea that if they didn't grow up with it, they're not going to follow it. The NHL and NASCAR are the two main sports now that fall into that category, even though they're far and away more entertaining than the NBA or Major League Baseball.
Here's what I'm getting at...now is the perfect time for sports fans in Southern California to jump on the bandwagon of something pretty amazing: the NHL. It will only happen if you give it a chance. I know a lot of you have full enough sports plates as it is, but weed out some of the dead weight (ie. the NBA, college sports, and 80% of the MLB season) and take another good look at hockey.
Because if you don't, then I'm going to make you watch NASCAR with me. And you will love it.
Labels: hockey, opinion, sports
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
I love what I do.
It's mostly because I really love sports, and because my parents saw fit to make my knowledge of proper grammar a priority, I also love to write about sports.
But now, we together will embark on a journey that has me really pumped up because it has fully captured the essence of what drives me as a writer.
I get to tell people what I think about stuff.
Let me back up a bit -- we here at The Roadrunner have always been interested in hearing what you, the fine citizens of Valley Center, think about the things going on here in town.
To further probe into the thoughts of our community, we are introducing a pair of web logs, also known as "blogs," that will hopefully encourage discussion on a range of topics that will cover things not only here in Valley Center, but across the country and even the world. Our esteemed editor, David Ross, and I will be sharing our thoughts on various subjects and providing you, the community, with an outlet for expressing yours, if you so choose.
This space will mainly be dedicated to discussing topics in sports, although I have little doubt that we'll end up covering things in pop culture (such as movies, music, video games, and maybe even fashion).
Welcome to the first installment.
-- -- --
In brainstorming what to discuss right off the bat, I must confess that I've been wanting to discuss this topic for a while now, but have had to content myself with random conversations.
To put it in a specific topic, I'd like to talk about the affect parents have on children in youth sports.
We've all heard the horror stories about people like Todd Marinovich, the former USC quarterback who went on to play for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991. The story goes that his father, Marv, wanting to see his son become an NFL quarterback, tied his son's right arm behind his back so that he would learn to throw left-handed. I've only heard rumors about that, but I do know that Marv hired his son a throwing coach and a nutrition coach before he was 10 years old, so I don't have too much trouble believing it.
Todd did make it to the pros after an impressive career at USC, but played in a total of six games in the NFL and battled legal problems with drugs and sex until he faded into sports infamy.
Obviously this is an extreme case, but the fact remains that there are a lot of small issues within youth sports that are done with the best intentions, but can actually have adverse affects on the children involved.
If we really want to hit this at its heart, we have to look at what it is that parents want for their kids. Obviously parents want their children to succeed, but we have to ask -- how do we define success?
A good place to start is with an article from Reader's Digest (yes, I have been known to pick up Reader's Digest...no, I am not a senior citizen...yes, it's okay for people younger than 55 to read it) back in 2005 called "The Perfect Childhood: Why It's Bad For Kids" by Judsen Culbreth.
The author examines parents who over-protect their children by heaping undeserved praise on them and making tough decisions for them, as well as trends in society like teachers using colors other than red to correct papers.
It's a good article because I think it gets to the point about why parents can get so carried away in trying to create this "perfect" childhood. Check it out online at www.rd.com/content/the-perfect-childhood-bad-for-kids/ if you get the chance.
The basic premise is that if we are honest and realistic with our children, they will benefit from it in the long run. Kids are smart; they know if they're not so good at a particular activity, so if we keep telling them that they are, how can they not be confused about things?
This carries over perfectly into the world of sports, because athletic competitions are just that -- competitions. As in, the one who runs the fastest, throws the hardest, hits the furthest, drives the fastest or jumps the highest will win. We reward the players who achieve the highest level of play.
Of course, the most evident example is in professional sports, where athletes like Peyton Manning, Barry Bonds, LeBron James, Jeff Gordon and Sidney Crosby are paid millions of dollars to do what they do. They are rewarded in terms of their earnings, but also within the scope of their respective sports when they win championships and other accolades that come to the best of the best.
So what if we treated professionals like we treat children? Would we say that J.P. Losman is "just as good as" Peyton Manning, even though he clearly is not? Would we give a participation ribbon to the players on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays just for showing up to play another sub-par season? Would we make up an award to give to Tony Raines, like "Most Cheerful Driver"?
Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying that kids should be treated like professional athletes. If anything, there are more than a few pros who should be treated like children in a lot of ways.
But the point I'm trying to make is that we'll help kids in the long run by being honest and realistic.
I remember being eight years old and signing up to play on my brothers' City Rec baseball team. We had a good team that eventually won the championship that year (and I still have the tiny, powder-blue Panthers shirt to remember it).
It was a great summer...and I don't care one bit that I only played right field on occasion (and most of that time was spent picking dandelions, as my mother likes to point out). If my parents had been telling me that I was the MVP of the team, I would have been more than a little confused, mostly because our clear MVP was our catcher, a gigantic 12-year-old named Josh Pike who may or may not have been Jose Canseco's little brother.
And I also know that if our coach and the league had been set up like some I've seen, we wouldn't have even been keeping score. Working for the local paper back home in Jamestown, we had a few baseball leagues where they didn't keep score, the teams played all of their players in the field all game, nobody got out, everybody batted every inning and I'm sure they all went out for ice cream after the game. If you can call that a game, because it always sounded more like chaos with a bat and ball thrown in the middle.
The coaches always said that the league was set up to keep the kids who weren't as talented from being discouraged. Trust me, a kid knows if he's good or not, regardless of the score. I don't remember the score of a single game from my time with the Panthers, but I do remember that I wasn't very good.
And you know what? That made me want to get better. So I practiced, I stopped picking dandelions, and by the time I was 12, I was the starting shortstop and the league's co-MVP. At least, that's what my parents told me...
Looking back, I see now that the key to the whole thing was about motivation -- if I hadn't experienced what it felt like to be passed over in favor of someone who was better, I wouldn't have put in the time and effort to improve myself. It's a lesson that transfers so easily to the myriad of other aspects of life as well; if you want to go to a good college, you have to study and get good grades in high school, or if you want a good job, you have to learn how to do it by studying in college. I love that about sports; not only are they fun, but they're microcosms of life.
In the end, all I'm saying is that parents can have a bigger impact on their children's experience in sports by letting the kid actually have the experience in sports. Let them run, let them play, let them win, let them lose -- whatever they do, let them do it and let them know that you're behind them no matter what.
Just don't let them pick dandelions in right field.
-- -- --
Now it's your turn, Valley Center.
You can let us all know what you think about this in a number of ways, the foremost by going online to www.valleycenter.com/blog/blogsports.html and commenting. You're here already, so go ahead. It's ok.
You can also send an e-mail to sports@valleycenter.com with "blog comment" in the subject line.
You are also more than welcome to send a hard copy through the mail or fax, and if you're really desperate, I'm sure you can find somebody who can pony express your letter up here to our office for you.
But however they get here, I will take the best submissions and put them in next week's issue of The Roadrunner for all of Valley Center to see. If a particular topic generates more than a single week's worth of riveting discussion, I may print submissions from prior topics. We'll all just have to see how that goes, really.
There are a few house rules, though -- I won't consider anything unless it has the submitter's name, nor will I print anything that is laced with profanity and/or racial epithets.
Basically, if you stick to the point and present your thoughts with any kind of coherence, we shouldn't have a problem. But I will edit for spelling and grammar if I have to.
And just so everyone knows, my mom already told me I did a great job on this article, and I fully expect a participation ribbon from my boss.
It's mostly because I really love sports, and because my parents saw fit to make my knowledge of proper grammar a priority, I also love to write about sports.
But now, we together will embark on a journey that has me really pumped up because it has fully captured the essence of what drives me as a writer.
I get to tell people what I think about stuff.
Let me back up a bit -- we here at The Roadrunner have always been interested in hearing what you, the fine citizens of Valley Center, think about the things going on here in town.
To further probe into the thoughts of our community, we are introducing a pair of web logs, also known as "blogs," that will hopefully encourage discussion on a range of topics that will cover things not only here in Valley Center, but across the country and even the world. Our esteemed editor, David Ross, and I will be sharing our thoughts on various subjects and providing you, the community, with an outlet for expressing yours, if you so choose.
This space will mainly be dedicated to discussing topics in sports, although I have little doubt that we'll end up covering things in pop culture (such as movies, music, video games, and maybe even fashion).
Welcome to the first installment.
-- -- --
In brainstorming what to discuss right off the bat, I must confess that I've been wanting to discuss this topic for a while now, but have had to content myself with random conversations.
To put it in a specific topic, I'd like to talk about the affect parents have on children in youth sports.
We've all heard the horror stories about people like Todd Marinovich, the former USC quarterback who went on to play for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991. The story goes that his father, Marv, wanting to see his son become an NFL quarterback, tied his son's right arm behind his back so that he would learn to throw left-handed. I've only heard rumors about that, but I do know that Marv hired his son a throwing coach and a nutrition coach before he was 10 years old, so I don't have too much trouble believing it.
Todd did make it to the pros after an impressive career at USC, but played in a total of six games in the NFL and battled legal problems with drugs and sex until he faded into sports infamy.
Obviously this is an extreme case, but the fact remains that there are a lot of small issues within youth sports that are done with the best intentions, but can actually have adverse affects on the children involved.
If we really want to hit this at its heart, we have to look at what it is that parents want for their kids. Obviously parents want their children to succeed, but we have to ask -- how do we define success?
A good place to start is with an article from Reader's Digest (yes, I have been known to pick up Reader's Digest...no, I am not a senior citizen...yes, it's okay for people younger than 55 to read it) back in 2005 called "The Perfect Childhood: Why It's Bad For Kids" by Judsen Culbreth.
The author examines parents who over-protect their children by heaping undeserved praise on them and making tough decisions for them, as well as trends in society like teachers using colors other than red to correct papers.
It's a good article because I think it gets to the point about why parents can get so carried away in trying to create this "perfect" childhood. Check it out online at www.rd.com/content/the-perfect-childhood-bad-for-kids/ if you get the chance.
The basic premise is that if we are honest and realistic with our children, they will benefit from it in the long run. Kids are smart; they know if they're not so good at a particular activity, so if we keep telling them that they are, how can they not be confused about things?
This carries over perfectly into the world of sports, because athletic competitions are just that -- competitions. As in, the one who runs the fastest, throws the hardest, hits the furthest, drives the fastest or jumps the highest will win. We reward the players who achieve the highest level of play.
Of course, the most evident example is in professional sports, where athletes like Peyton Manning, Barry Bonds, LeBron James, Jeff Gordon and Sidney Crosby are paid millions of dollars to do what they do. They are rewarded in terms of their earnings, but also within the scope of their respective sports when they win championships and other accolades that come to the best of the best.
So what if we treated professionals like we treat children? Would we say that J.P. Losman is "just as good as" Peyton Manning, even though he clearly is not? Would we give a participation ribbon to the players on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays just for showing up to play another sub-par season? Would we make up an award to give to Tony Raines, like "Most Cheerful Driver"?
Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying that kids should be treated like professional athletes. If anything, there are more than a few pros who should be treated like children in a lot of ways.
But the point I'm trying to make is that we'll help kids in the long run by being honest and realistic.
I remember being eight years old and signing up to play on my brothers' City Rec baseball team. We had a good team that eventually won the championship that year (and I still have the tiny, powder-blue Panthers shirt to remember it).
It was a great summer...and I don't care one bit that I only played right field on occasion (and most of that time was spent picking dandelions, as my mother likes to point out). If my parents had been telling me that I was the MVP of the team, I would have been more than a little confused, mostly because our clear MVP was our catcher, a gigantic 12-year-old named Josh Pike who may or may not have been Jose Canseco's little brother.
And I also know that if our coach and the league had been set up like some I've seen, we wouldn't have even been keeping score. Working for the local paper back home in Jamestown, we had a few baseball leagues where they didn't keep score, the teams played all of their players in the field all game, nobody got out, everybody batted every inning and I'm sure they all went out for ice cream after the game. If you can call that a game, because it always sounded more like chaos with a bat and ball thrown in the middle.
The coaches always said that the league was set up to keep the kids who weren't as talented from being discouraged. Trust me, a kid knows if he's good or not, regardless of the score. I don't remember the score of a single game from my time with the Panthers, but I do remember that I wasn't very good.
And you know what? That made me want to get better. So I practiced, I stopped picking dandelions, and by the time I was 12, I was the starting shortstop and the league's co-MVP. At least, that's what my parents told me...
Looking back, I see now that the key to the whole thing was about motivation -- if I hadn't experienced what it felt like to be passed over in favor of someone who was better, I wouldn't have put in the time and effort to improve myself. It's a lesson that transfers so easily to the myriad of other aspects of life as well; if you want to go to a good college, you have to study and get good grades in high school, or if you want a good job, you have to learn how to do it by studying in college. I love that about sports; not only are they fun, but they're microcosms of life.
In the end, all I'm saying is that parents can have a bigger impact on their children's experience in sports by letting the kid actually have the experience in sports. Let them run, let them play, let them win, let them lose -- whatever they do, let them do it and let them know that you're behind them no matter what.
Just don't let them pick dandelions in right field.
-- -- --
Now it's your turn, Valley Center.
You can let us all know what you think about this in a number of ways, the foremost by going online to www.valleycenter.com/blog/blogsports.html and commenting. You're here already, so go ahead. It's ok.
You can also send an e-mail to sports@valleycenter.com with "blog comment" in the subject line.
You are also more than welcome to send a hard copy through the mail or fax, and if you're really desperate, I'm sure you can find somebody who can pony express your letter up here to our office for you.
But however they get here, I will take the best submissions and put them in next week's issue of The Roadrunner for all of Valley Center to see. If a particular topic generates more than a single week's worth of riveting discussion, I may print submissions from prior topics. We'll all just have to see how that goes, really.
There are a few house rules, though -- I won't consider anything unless it has the submitter's name, nor will I print anything that is laced with profanity and/or racial epithets.
Basically, if you stick to the point and present your thoughts with any kind of coherence, we shouldn't have a problem. But I will edit for spelling and grammar if I have to.
And just so everyone knows, my mom already told me I did a great job on this article, and I fully expect a participation ribbon from my boss.
Labels: parents, perfect childhood, youth sports
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