9-year-old boy told he’s too good to pitch

Yahoo Sports ^ | 8/25/08 | JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

[Teflonic]

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

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.

[Joe 6-pack]

"ugh, I just can’t stand modern society!!"

It gets worse...

Harrison Bergeron
- Kurt Vonnegut

[brityank]

Connecticut. Massachusetts.

There’s a difference ?

;^)

[petitfour]

Maybe the really good pitcher is not that great of a batter or fielder, so he needs to play in a development league to get better at those other skills. He can’t pitch all the time if it is a “little league.” Even the non “little leagues” where our boys play have pitching rules for various age levels. The child cannot pitch for every game. And making a 9-year-old play with 11/12yrolds could be too much for him. (I don’t think so based on our boys, but it’s possible. Our second son has been playing with 12yrolds since he was barely 9. He hasn’t had a problem except when he was catching for a boy who was throwing 75+. He cried a few times when he had to catch for that boy, but by the next season, he loved the challenge.)