IslandMix

Give me a god damn break. I really think parents raising kids to be some softies.

FOX Sports on MSN - - 9-year-old barred for pitching too well

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player - too good, it turns out.


Parents of some opposing players say Jericho Scott's 40 mph fastball is too intimidating. (Douglas Healey / Associated Press)
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.

"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?"

I was reading this earlier.....if the kid is so damn good, just move him up to pitch against the 11-12 years olds and done. I don't see why this is turning into such an issue.

If I was his parent and I see him blowing away the competition so, I goh find a league with better (older) players who are more to his talent level so he can continue to improve, with coaches who are ready for his talent level to take him further.

I don't even see why his mother is bothering wit dem ppl.

You know, this was my initial reaction too, until I read this part:
So, I grudgingly have to side with the league here. If this is strictly a developmental league, clearly this kid is already developed. He doesn't need to be there. It's time for him to move up to his appropriate talent level.

This is pure BS.........anyway u look at it.....cause if they were interested in development the first thing to do would not be to tell the boy he cant pitch no more....it would be to find another alternative.....put him in a higher age or something....

so suppose another kids develops to be a good batsman u gine send he home too

But how can u have a kid that developing and then tell he stop playing now u too good...

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wow dirty scouting and recruiting practices in the baby leagues too.

Mystic Ex thats like preventing a kid in school from being a runner "within in age group" because he's too fast and wins all the races.
If there are rules and the league is divided into cohorts then how could she let him move up to an older division anyway. Even if he it is "developmental" god gave him his abilities who is to say he's really developed he just started off better than everyone else naturally.
I do see the point about challenging him further but he's 9 there's a reason why sports have age groups.

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that's true, their initial action -- moving him to 2nd base -- was incorrect. as far as the story goes, they did eventually get around to suggesting he move up to another talent level......

hmmm somehow team sports seem a bit different here.
being a fast runner doesn't stop the flow of the competition per say, the other kids still get to compete.

i think there are usually regulations that would allow a child who can prove he belongs to compete in the older leagues. i'm not 100% sure here, but I'm pretty sure that is the case.

i understand the right and wrong here; what I'm saying is, it doesn't benefit a single person -- not the boy, not his parents, not the other children, no one -- to keep him in the developmental league. sometimes u gotta go with logic over rules and regulations. he has a right, yes, but there's just no logic or sense in him being there.

Point well taken, but i don't know maybe I see it from the point that him being there the other players can benefit from his talent, in terms of their hand eye co ordination and speed. (I can remember being 7 years and getting conked on the head with a baseball my uncle was throwing to me and it actually helped me learn from my mistake and keeping a good eye on the ball, cause I never got hit like that again)

Let the kid play......the league officials should be ashamed of themself for there actions........If this is a developmental league as there claiming, how do they expect kids to get better and have that competitive edge if they playing other under performing kids......coaches from the other teams are some punks, before they teach there kids that nothing in life comes easy they teach them the coward way out.......and moving the kids to play with 12year old kids could do more harm than good, he's 9 and i'm sure alot of his teammates are his friends, so he's having fun and enjoying the game with his friend, he has PURE love for the game now, dont turn it into something of a duty or job for him at this young age, he might drop the sport sooner and we'll never know how great he could turn out...dont rush him



should they have banned Lebron from playing HS ball when he was miles ahead of all the other HS kids, he use to outscore teams by himself, guess it would of been right for the other team to walk off when they saw him cause they knew they were not as good............



this team should sue the league........if that league wants to be taken serious and be competitive they should not have any problems with the kid.....if they gonna ban there best player then they might as well just organize pick up games in a park on sunday and make it a picnic hang, nothing serious.

People are missing the point... this isn't about a kid being too fast to run within his age group or some kid having an advantage over the others... there's a clear safety issue here as well.

This right there is the problem with too many adults... this coach seems to be too caught up in winning to fully appreciate the danger posed to the kids batting against this kid. Grown professionals don't have absolute and total control of their pitches (they make mistakes all the time... mistakes that often turn into home runs thankfully, and not bean balls)... what makes him think a 9-year old has that kind of mastery over his control? Kids have a greater chance of being hurt by being unable to protect themselves from a 40-mph fastball than do grown ups. A point that really shouldn't even need mentioning.

40mph eh no joke nuh... when I go to the batting cage even I have problems making contact sometimes... that's how fast them pitches coming. Even so, more than once I've had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit... and this is a machine that's pitching to me.

Even de machine can't get it right 100% of the time...but other li'l 9-year olds should take their chances. Yuh ent see allyuh people mad, lol

When you are an 8-year old just learning how to hit, staring down a 40-mph fastball is not going to help you develop hitting skills.

High school basketball is a competitive league, it is not a developmental league.

See the difference?

You already acknowledged that they have stated they are a developmental league. Hence, they don't want to be taken "serious", and they do not want to be competitive.

Here's another thought: what happens if one kid eventually takes a 40-mph fastball to the head and gets seriously hurt? Is anyone thinking about the danger of someone pitching that fast to kids that can't get out the way and who's bodies can't take the blow?

Someone pitching that fast is potentially daaangeeeeroouuuss.

true true.....now that u mention it, what that coach said is completely asinine.

"he's never hurt anyone".....so that automatically means it's never and can't possibly ever gonna happen? yea, ok.

In Ontario in high school there are 3 groups for basketball: Midget (grade nine) Junior (10-11) and Senior (12). Kids in grade nine have been known to play senior because they were too good and playing in their own age group would have been a waste of time. He might as well move up a group or two. He'll never improve if all opposing batters are doing are looking at a called strike three.

Since this is a developmental league, why not just put the boy in a stronger league??? SHEESH!

Sorry if this was mentioned before I didn't read the thread through.

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yup, there are tons of examples of exceptional young athletes moving up to a group to match their talents.

now, here is something else to be considered -- potential injury. Not to the batters he faces, but to the pitcher himself:

Pitch Count

It's a fairly detailed article about pitch counts and the like for adolescent pitchers. One thing that struck me was at the very end:

Although this kid's 9yr old arm may be capable of throwing 40mph, can him arm handle the wear and tear? Do his coaches have enough experience with someone with this kind of other-worldly talent to bring him along at a proper pace? Or are they just letting him throw it up there all day with all he's got?

I fear the people in this kid's corner -- starting with that mother and coach -- are not acting in his best interests. This kid is a prodigy, and they seem to be treating him like a ringer.