During the baseball banquet Monday night, the head coach reserved several of his nicest comments for Will. I paraphrase:
“When I heard this young man was joining our team, I was excited. Then when I heard about his schedule, less so” (I could certainly understand his feelings).
“He missed three weeks of the six week season” (Slight exaggeration. He missed 2-1/2 weeks, and the original schedule was 11 weeks).
”Probably the most talented player in the program.”
“Great leader. The other players rallied around him.”
“Even when he wasn’t playing well, the other players played better with him around”
“He is a fine spiritual leader”
While speaking about Will, the coach told how the team voted for captains at the beginning of the season. One player got nine votes, and another received eight. Since he would miss the 2-1/2 weeks, no captains were named. The coach also mentioned that “if a dad comes to practice and helps, I consider him an assistant.” That’s a good thing in my book, especially if the coaches can help provide more individual instruction.
With all the rainouts and JV games, I hadn’t thought that Will had missed that many games. Still, I thought it an honor that he was given the “Armor Award” for his character. Like when Chipper played less than 130 games and missed out on Gold Glove consideration, I thought it nice that Will still received one of four awards, despite having missed the 2-1/2 weeks.
Obviously, this baseball team was not Will’s top priority. Many of the players probably missed little or no time. All three of the other award winners missed at least a couple of the games I attended. For two of them, it was obvious that baseball was their top priority. At this time when young people are involved with so many things, some things are “mandatory” and can’t be missed. When I was in high school, the expectation was that every practice, game, and meeting would be attended. I’m sure that those expectations are still in place on public school teams.
I was quite happy that Will played most every inning of the games he attended, at shortstop, catcher, second, center, or pitcher. He almost always batted second or third. My main goal for his season was for him to play as much as possible, preparing for the summer ECB season. For at least half the season Will struggled at the plate. He made a few errors at shortstop. He was mostly brought to pitch in tough situations, with runners in scoring position,. For the most part he pitched well, striking out many more than he walked.
Several freshmen pitched more innings than Will. My guess is two things: Younger players pitched to get experience for next season, and Will was needed more at other positions, for defense. And Will would be available to pitch the team out of jams.
Tanner was voted MVP, an easy choice. He tied for the team lead in home runs, and hit well for most of the year. He also pitched consistently, probably leading the team in innings pitched. Generally, Tanner throws strikes. A junior, he probably only missed a game or two. It was his third season playing for Crown. His parents are quite involved: his mom serves on the baseball committee, and his dad is an assistant coach. All three worked hard to pull off the banquet.
During the banquet there was no delineation mentioned between varsity and JV games. The team record was not mentioned, only that 32 of 42 scheduled games were played. Several of these were JV only, and others the second game of doubleheaders. Sometimes people only count game one in the standings. It was apparent that the statistics quoted at the banquet combined the JV and varsity games, from my observation and scorekeeping. I am well aware how statistics can be made to prove different points.
Scorekeeping is quite the inexact science. I’ve been scoring games for the better part of my life, and am well aware how bias comes into play. It’s so hard to determine hits versus errors at any time, and even more so when your child is involved. To be as impartial as possible, I have read extensively on the subject. A MLB error is quite different from a T-ball error, in my opinion. What’s the difference between an ECB error, an East Cobb public school varsity error, and a home school high-school error? JV vs. Varsity? Freshman vs. Senior? Should there be any difference?
The other awards were for Best Hitter and Best Fielder. They appeared to be given to the players with the highest batting average, and the player committing the fewest errors. That means the awards were somewhat in the hands of the team scorekeeper, who decided hits and errors. I didn’t see all the games, and I didn’t see any JV games. In the games I did see, there was a huge disparity between the two players who tied with the highest average. One slugged numerous doubles into the gaps, while the other went hitless in the February and March varsity games I attended (he walked once). Small in stature, he appeared to be held out or replaced at times when he was obviously overmatched. You would think another stat could break the tie.
The player who made the least errors was a freshman who mainly played rightfield. He did pitch, and played some first-base and centerfield. While all the freshmen were given as much playing time as possible, the award winner played more than the other freshmen. Ian, the slick-fielding freshman shortstop/second-baseman, made several great plays, but also a few errors…because he was in the middle of things all the time. In my world, these awards would not be merely statistical.
Life ain’t fair. We all know that. I accept that the Crown season (and awards) played out based on the leadership’s wishes, based on their perception of reality. Going in I knew Will would play when and where the coaches wished, as would the rest of the players. Same with ECB this summer. I had no desire to help coach, to try to influence things. I can’t be there for the rest of my children’s lives to make their paths smooth. They’ll have to make their own way at some point. Whatever happens, there’s a good chance something will be unfair.
Interestingly, rival Flight doesn’t hand out such awards. Crown has never beaten Flight.
MY batting order:
SS…Ian Fr SS, 2B…should’ve played every inning at shortstop.
C…Will Jr C, SS, P, CF…I would’ve caught and pitched him more. Hit 2 HR.
1B…Braden So 1B, P…hit very well. Great player. Missed several games.
DH…Tanner Jr, P, 3B, 1B…Hit and pitched well, but struggled playing third & running bases.
RF…Trey So, P, RF…hit two clutch HRs…should’ve played more. Had health problems.
CF…Sam Fr 3B, OF…hit a HR, should’ve played more.
LF…Patrick So C, OF, 2B, P…did well in OF, and held his own against older teams.
3B…Chris, Sr P, INF, OF…struggled more this spring than last year. A good leader, perhaps the Armor Award should’ve gone to him.
2B…Russell Fr OF, 2B, P…played well for a freshman.
P…Nate Sr, P…pitcher only…seems like he could’ve pitched more.
Subs
Charlie Fr OF, P…pitched well in spots.
Matthew Fr OF, 2B, P…overmatched at times.
Michael Fr OF, 1B, P…played well for a freshman, but was overmatched at times.
Nathan Fr C, 2B…fastest on team. Should’ve batted left, and played second & OF.
Nathaniel Sr RF…like brother Chris, struggled more this year than last. Led fall team in hitting.
Many of the freshmen were often overmatched, usually playing against seniors and juniors. It was evident to me that the season was devoted toward seasoning young players. Winning can’t be an equal goal with this. That's fine, though possibly frustrating to upperclassmen (Will never voiced this). It was announced that next year Crown will play in a small Christian private school league, so they can play for a championship. Reading between the lines, this means the competition could well be easier…perhaps eliminating games against superior teams like the Barons and Home Plate.
Perhaps Will would be better served playing rec ball at Sandy Plains . The competition would be the same, at a far lower cost. Everyone has their own reality, be it hits or errors or giving awards. This is my own little world. My reality.
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