Little League Bullies

I realize I've been quiet, and haven't posted since May 25, despite the Angels having some fantastic wins.  My mind has been occupied lately with Little League, and the unfortunate drama involving parent politics that sometimes always goes with it.  Our League is no exception, and it seems our League is the winner of "King of all Pre-All Star Drama" in our District.  I been quiet because I'm just not sure what to say if anything about it.

This year's All Star vote reeked of collusion, kids being threatened with violence if they voted for any one player from one particular team and good ole' boy parent politics.  I hate it.  It sickens me that 10, 11 and 12 year old kids lose out on the chance to play All Stars because of something so immature.  It's corrupt.  It's wrong.  It's bullying.  Someday, I'm going to write a book about all the drama that goes on in Little League.  Not now though, and not while I'm a League and District volunteer. 

At this point, I've deleted most of what I wanted to say and have been trying to say.  In a way, not speaking up means the bullies have won.  However, in the long run, Kharma will win out.  As a reminder as we enter this Little League post season, let's read the Little League Pledge:

"I trust in God
I love my Country
and I will respect its laws
I will play fair, and
strive to win
but win or lose
I will always do my best."

Simple, yet the words have such meaning.  And as I referred to in a recent post, "strive to win" is something embraced by Little League, and hopefully only in the upper age divisions, and not in the developmental divisions.  Few people know that there is also a "Little League Parent/Volunteer Pledge".  Our league chooses to have a parent from each team read it before the beginning of the All Star game.  It reads;

"I will teach all children to play fair and do their best.
I will positively support all managers, coaches and players.
I will respect the decisions of the umpires.
I will praise a good effort despite the outcome of the game."

In case you were wondering, our son did not make All Stars this year.  He was disappointed, but we were not all that surprised.  Our league has a lot of talented 11 year olds.  Was does upset me is that I think some of the reason he wasn't selected by the coaches is in direct relation to who his Father, a manager, and his Grandfather, our League's District Administrator for Little League.  Knowing that a coach would ignore a talented player simply to avoid the parents is sad.  That didn't just happen to my son, but to two other extreamly talented players who were on the team that won the State Championship last year; and who's parents voiced opinions to the Manager (the same manager this year) about their playing time. 

In my opinion, a coach has lost all credibility when he tries to manipulate a vote, a team roster or parents to meet his needs and expectations.  As opposed to working with the best talent as voted by the players.  Again, Kharma will eventually win out.

So our Little League season as come to an end, and next year will be my son's last at age 12.  It goes so quickly.  I am enjoying the Angels winning and home run hitting of late.  At least there is some good baseball to watch for a change.

Don't Blame Pujols for Hatcher's Exit

I've talked to Mickey Hatcher a couple of times at Fan Fest and other autograph opportunities.  He's a really great guy!  Always positive, always happy and always encouraging.  His wife seats near our season tickets, and she is always friendly and sweet.  Mickey is like a Rex Hudler.  A fan favorite and a strong hold in the community.  He is a presence with the Angels that will be missed, but sometimes even nice guys don't get the job done.

That said, I'm tired of reading posts and tweets from angry fans claiming this is just the first change made by management that is directly related to Albert Pujols.  You know what?  That's not really true.  Let's be honest, our offense hasn't been getting it done for a couple of years now.  If anything, Mickey's close friendship with Manager Mike Scioscia is the reason Mickey didn't lose his job back in 2009.  Your offense has to to support the pitching with runs.  We have an incredible pitching staff.  Santana should not be 2 and 5. 

It's not Albert Pujol's fault that Mickey got fired, but I'm sure he was the straw the broke the camels back.  The signing of the greatest player in the MLB today and then his sudden, dismal hitting slump simply made the decision more clear.  Mickey had to go.  It happens, he will be fine, and Angels fans will always have a special place in their heart for Mickey Hatcher.

On a different note - so glad to see Santana get the win last night.  I just love his smile.



Ervin Santana and my son JD - Little League Day 4/22/12



Welcome & Welcome Back!

I started this blog in 2006.  At that time it had little to do with baseball, and a lot to do with personal things and my own attempt to become a real life "blogger."  If was my first real attempt at writing about something other than my daughter Jenelle.  It was fun, therapeutic, and sometimes this blog was very popular.  I met many new friends, some I still keep in touch with today and still have never met in person.  Then, in November 2008, I got cancer.  And during my fight to survive, this blog became inactive.

Well, that ends today.

I spent some time this weekend re-vamping the template, changing photos, links and colors.  Archiving all the personal fluff posts, venting posts, game playing posts and meme posts.  Mostly preparing this blog for a return to the Internets, and perhaps to a new audience.  I have resigned myself to start writing again about stuff that really matters in life; about baseball. 

Never met me?  Well, let me introduce myself!  My name is Kelly.  I'm married with two kids; a boy age 11 named Jack, and a girl age 9 named Jenelle.  Jenelle has special needs, and you can read all about her at her blog; Jenelle's Journey.  My husband Brett is a financial planner and a Little League Baseball Coach.  I am Team Mom for a Challenger League in our hometown, and an Assistant District Administrator for the Challenger Division of our Little League District.  My day job is working as a litigation paralegal, and my life long dream is to be a writer.

In addition to writing, my hobbies include baseball (Angels Baseball, Little League Baseball, Travel Team Baseball, Challenger Baseball), knitting, score keeping, and spending time with friends and family.  I hope you enjoy my writing.