Feel Good Story About Having Good Sportsmanship

[stkjock]

 

[Tksjewelry]

Here's one from one of my games last week. 11u national tournament under OBR. Home team is my states #1 team and this organization and HC have quite the reputation for being huge picky vicious pita's. VT is from MN and doesn't quite get the rules of Baseball, they are a hockey team that plays some weird version of rec LL, so they don't understand pitching rules, stealing bases, nor how to even play their positions in the infield. Top of 1st inning HT shuts VT down in 9 pitches. Bottom of 1st, 1HR in the can and a R1. F1 balks his third pitch of the game. He was totally perplexed as were his coaches (they didn't even know what a balk was). We spent a minute or two explaining the balk and we continue. Next batter, now two points on the board and R3, pitcher balks again. Im getting ready to call it when I see the HTHC (former MiLB player) stand up (he never gets off his bucket normally) and shakes his head at me and mouths "no balks for them". I call time to explain what he did wrong without calling it and the HTAC (they have two AC's who were both D1 players) comes on to the field and starts shows the pitcher how to pitch. He spends about five minutes out there, while this is happening, the 1st base AC is walking around to the infielders and showing them how to stand with runners on, where to be with no one on, etc.... The game ended in 3 with a 28 - 3 score, VT's catcher hit a home run in the third and all the HT players lined the base path around the bases to high five him and the other runners as they rounded the bases. The game only lasted 50 minutes. After the game and hand shakes, my parter and I walk to the parking lot right next to the field and watch as the HTAC's spend another half an hour coaching the VT.

I ended up seeing the team from MN later in the tourney. They won their next game handily. They were now playing for 8th place and lost but the coaches told me they would have been 3 and gone had it not been for the generosity of the extra coaching. The parents just wanted the team to have a real baseball experience and they were thrilled to get the kids a lesson in sportsmanship and kindness as a bonus. Good for these kids as they are the #1 hockey team in the state at their age.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[stkjock]

thanks for sharing that @Tksjewelry

[umpire_scott]

Nice story but who takes a team that doesn't know basic baseball rules and have coaches so inept that they need the opposing teams coaches to show the kids where to play out of the state for a tournament?  I thought the HTHC mouthing "no balks for them" was pretty classy and a nice move.  But spending 5 minutes of game time to show the opposing pitcher how to pitch would seem to embarrass the opposing coach and is a little presumptuous I would think.

Sorry to rain on the sportsmanship parade, but sometimes overly good sportsmanship that removes competitiveness can also come across as condescending and arrogant.  

[Tksjewelry]

Nice story but who takes a team that doesn't know basic baseball rules and have coaches so inept that they need the opposing teams coaches to show the kids where to play out of the state for a tournament?  I thought the HTHC mouthing "no balks for them" was pretty classy and a nice move.  But spending 5 minutes of game time to show the opposing pitcher how to pitch would seem to embarrass the opposing coach and is a little presumptuous I would think.

Sorry to rain on the sportsmanship parade, but sometimes overly good sportsmanship that removes competitiveness can also come across as condescending and arrogant.  

It really wasn't, these coaches were clueless and told us so at the plate meeting. They were just daddy rec ball coaches who never lost the deer in the headlights look. They were very appreciative of the help and since one of the coaches never really left the 1st base coaches box and was talking to the HTAC, I'd bet there was some discussion about it. They came to the tournament thinking they would loose every game but getting a real baseball experience while getting to attend the CWS. (these were deep pocket parents) It was about the adventure for this hockey team, and pin trading.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk