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Baseball Journal

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,738
274
North Carolina
Good-luck as you guys advance in the state tourney...fun time of the year and being able to play in Huntington is one heck of an experience!

For what it’s worth I’d encourage all younger guys / girls to play for as long they can. There is always time to work. I’m about 5 years removed and it’s hard to scratch that competitive itch.
That’s why you fish! 😂
 

5Cent

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
12,290
212
North Central Ohio
Another tough one for Tys 10U team last night with a 4-17 loss. Again he did well pitching his 2 innings, other kid did his mental breakdown nonsense again, but we ID'd two other potential pitchers during last Sundays practice and they stepped up to the need yesterday and pitched very well for their first times. Bats are still slow as a team and the MOJO to play ball just isn't there with this group of kids.

Myles's 8U team continues their streak by routing their contestants last night, him going 4for4 again and living at SS.

I'm going to take a breather tonight and not attend tonight's game and see how it influences Ty. We are comprised of 4 assistant coaches and we all have our own styles, with mine being the most aggressive. My hope is they/he respond to the lighter pressure and I either adopt, or they accept my presence, or it's my que to find my seat again as a spectator. My fear of negatively impacting my sons performance being on the field is starting to manifest, I saw it clear as day just being the 1st base coach fill-in during 1 of Myles' games. They just flat out act and play differently.....
 

cotty16

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
Just got back from Oklahoma so time for an update:

1. My HS team lost to Cambridge in the District finals 3-1. They only had two hits, but were able to capitalize on a couple bad throws from thirdbase. Offensively, we left the bases loaded once after our guy lined one back to the pitcher and their pitcher snagged it and doubled off a runner. If that gets through we are in business. One other inning we threatened, but couldn't get the big hit. So, we got knocked out.

2. Klay's team went two and out in Oklahoma at the JUCO World Series. They lost to Phoenix in the first game 10-8 and Madison, Wi 6-2 in the second game. They should've won both, but errors cost them in each game. The second game was 3-2 into the top of the 9th and one huge defensive blunder gave Madison a big inning.
Klay did pinch run for the DH in the second game and scored to make the game 3-2 at the time. He also batted in the bottom of the 9th and grounded out to second.

So, both team's had their season end in the last few days. Now on to summer ball!
 

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5Cent

Dignitary Member
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12,290
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North Central Ohio
Was a good run for both teams Mike, be proud! Very cool that Klay got to be part of it, I hope he sticks with it if it doesn't interfere with getting a degree.

Ty's 10u team clicked last night, they had fun and made some great plays! Both starting pitchers, Ty and Kaden, threw no hitters for their 2 innings each respectively and game was called for a run rule win of 10-0 in the 4th. More aggression was shown at the plate too by most of the kids which was a welcomed sight. We lost to this team back on 6/12, score of 10-12. Fingers crossed this was the start of a different team as we enter the last 6 games with a 3-5 record.
 
Great update Mike!! Definitely great experiences for your HS team and Klay.

Allen's HS team is getting ready for Districts Saturday. They played a double header last night for prep but hopefully it didn't set them back. The other team could barely find the strike zone and went through several pitchers in the meantime during the first game. A few of our freshmen and JV players brought up to finish out the season got some playing time in as well. Quite a few errors by us on the field for some routine plays though. Allen has continued to improve his hitting, going 2-3 with one walk, all 3 were good line drives to different parts of the field. He got some additional pitch time and caught the last game as well. He's sitting at a little over 56 innings of pitching at the end of season with an ERA of 1.98, 5 wins 2 losses and 2 saves.
 

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Looking for advice. Greyson has always been a great hitter. If anything, maybe too aggressive at the plate. Anything close was getting hacked at. 2 weeks ago he got hit square on the cheek during an at bat. Had the stitch mark's. To his credit he stayed in. Ever since then he has been terrified of batting. I thing he half ass swung the bat once in his last dozen at bats. We've taken him to the diamond a half dozen times since to do BP and to a local batting cage with a machine. He is so timid and wont even get near the plate. He still plays great defensively. I can literally see his fear every AB. Nothing we've done or said seems to help. Only thing I can think of is to start plunking him occassionally during BP to get him over it. I'll hang up and listen
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,738
274
North Carolina
Take him too the batting cage and hog tie him over the plate…. He’ll either get over it or quit all together…. Not too mention you meeting bubba in prison…. He may come for a visit though….
 
Spend a little time telling/showing him how to react when the ball is heading towards him. Turning his back to it and face away from it most importantly. Can use tennis balls so you can throw them right at him to practice it. Then once in a while with BP brush him back to remind him things aren't always perfect.
 
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cotty16

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
Dang Red, that is a really tough one there. Getting plunked in the batter's box or drilled in the face with a bad hop are two things that can make or break a player. Some kids shake it off with no issues... Many let it get in their head. This is probably something Greyson will have to overcome alone. You can spend hours and hours throwing BP to him, but it becomes psychological when someone he doesn't trust is on the mound in a game.

One thing you could try, if you can find someone willing, is get a kid his age (or maybe slightly older) and have them throw live to him on an off day from a game. You can't waste gametime on him overcoming the fear. That will just become frustrating to him and you. He will have to overcome it on his own time. So, I would see if you can find a kid to throw live. Get a catcher involved as well so you can simulate a game situation as much as possible.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
Place a few bats behind his feet to give him something else to worry about, stepping back, stepping out. Worst case he steps on a bat but hopefully remains constant focusing on the ball and stepping toward the pitcher.
 
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OhioWhiteTails

Senior Member
Supporting Member
8,482
191
Flatlands
Looking for advice. Greyson has always been a great hitter. If anything, maybe too aggressive at the plate. Anything close was getting hacked at. 2 weeks ago he got hit square on the cheek during an at bat. Had the stitch mark's. To his credit he stayed in. Ever since then he has been terrified of batting. I thing he half ass swung the bat once in his last dozen at bats. We've taken him to the diamond a half dozen times since to do BP and to a local batting cage with a machine. He is so timid and wont even get near the plate. He still plays great defensively. I can literally see his fear every AB. Nothing we've done or said seems to help. Only thing I can think of is to start plunking him occassionally during BP to get him over it. I'll hang up and listen
You tell Greybob that if he doesn't get back in the box swinging again, I'm buying a bucket of tennis balls... :ROFLMAO: