re: Smoltz crushes Travel ball in HOF speech

What smolts is throwing under the bus is showcase baseball......

quote:

---

If u think baseball is bad go look at some other sports

---

There was an article in this Sunday's Dallas Morning News about how travel basketball is causing all sorts of problems in terms of de facto "high school recruiting".

Two years ago a team in a rural part of the DFW Metroplex went 12-17 and got bounced in the first round of the playoffs by about 30 points. Then a multi-millionaire decides to build a house in the district.

He also happens to operate a travel basketball team with its own "home school" (both of which are run by a former HS b-ball coach). Of course, he just also happens to be "legal guardian" to four of the team's top players, all of whom (surprise surprise) end up enrolling in the school.

They end up winning the state title (in the semis they defeated the defending titleists--who had their own recruiting issues themselves--the four "transfers" had all 68 of the team's points). And since they're all juniors, they will all be back to defend the title.

My secretary has kids that play softball almost year round. I gave her a copy of an article from Dr. Andrews that stressed how too much ball is hurting young kids. She took it home to her husband and he threatened to come fight me. Lol all because I gave her an article and never said another word about it. He's got a 12 year old he's convinced is gonna get a scholly. Now he's got her playing right field on a team full of 16 year olds. Drags her back and forth between regular practice and his own special batting practice. When the other two girls mentioned they didn't want to play ball this summer, he started treating them like crap.

quote:

---

The Showcases for the teens via PG and other costly outfits are the new business model separating people and their money. This, along with the sports academies that charge thousands of dollars to field an 18-20 man team where you son only plays sporadically. It's all about "keeping up" and the fear/perception generated that your son or daughter is falling behind

---

biggest scam out there....in baseball anyway.. if a kid can play - the people whose jobs depend on it.. FIND THEM...

quote:

---

biggest scam out there....in baseball anyway.. if a kid can play - the people whose jobs depend on it.. FIND THEM...

---

The baseball people I interact with and respect repeatedly tell me this as well.

quote:

---

biggest scam out there....in baseball anyway.. if a kid can play - the people whose jobs depend on it.. FIND THEM...

---

Exactly.

Little Bradyen started playing travel ball at 8 and has done so almost year round for the last 7 years. He's 5'7", 145 lbs. Throws 73 mph. Mom and Dad have spent every vacation day available over those last 7 years traveling to tournaments. They just know their investment will pay off when he gets that (partial) scholarship to play D-II baseball.

Robbie from across town is 6'2", 185 lbs at 15 years old. His single mom can't afford travel ball, but he's played some local little league. He can throw 86 mph at 15.

Which one of those two do you think a scout will be more interested in?


It's pathetic to watch "adults" prioritize what is nothing more than expensive little league over other things that are much more important, like education. Sadly, my brother and sister are in that category. Their decisions as to where to send their kids to school are almost solely based on a High School's athletic program. They talk about "possible" baseball scholarships for their kids who can barely maintain a C avg. My comments that there are a hell of a lot more scholarships available for kids who do well in school than baseball scholarships are met with disdain. It will be a sad day when they realize MLB isn't going to come calling.

Not all play spring summer and fall. But plenty still practice and train year round with breaks so they don't get burned out.

And Smoltz should have said stop using your kids to beg for money in front of WallyWorld because the parents don't want to pay for little Johnny's travel ball expenses. And I love how these teams go to these so called world series in Florida as if they earned it. They didn't earn it, they bought their way in. Its a racket. My grandsons team just got back from one in which they won. They were good, but didn't go undefeated here in La. And yet they beat teams from FL., Ala., Ms., Tex., and so on.

quote:

---

Exactly.

Little Bradyen started playing travel ball at 8 and has done so almost year round for the last 7 years. He's 5'7", 145 lbs. Throws 73 mph. Mom and Dad have spent every vacation day available over those last 7 years traveling to tournaments. They just know their investment will pay off when he gets that (partial) scholarship to play D-II baseball.

Robbie from across town is 6'2", 185 lbs at 15 years old. His single mom can't afford travel ball, but he's played some local little league. He can throw 86 mph at 15.

Which one of those two do you think a scout will be more interested in?


It's pathetic to watch "adults" prioritize what is nothing more than expensive little league over other things that are much more important, like education. Sadly, my brother and sister are in that category. Their decisions as to where to send their kids to school are almost solely based on a High School's athletic program. They talk about "possible" baseball scholarships for their kids who can barely maintain a C avg. My comments that there are a hell of a lot more scholarships available for kids who do well in school than baseball scholarships are met with disdain. It will be a sad day when they realize MLB isn't going to come calling.

---

for a baseball snif in LA you better be tops qualified

what many parents don't realize is that - coaches, scouts and bird dogs at the levels beyond HS don't care that little joey has 10 years of lessons from a washed up MILB player... or that he went .420 with a .09 era vs weak comp.

they look at the tools and the intagibles - nothing more nothing less....

travel ball is fun and healthy in moderation - league ball in 99% of cases now is simply an abomination of the sport...

mercenary and show case baseball is a money and ego racket



showcases are a good place for upper level hs teams to get in some very quality reps vs quality talent.

but doing that every weekend all summer... nope..

and what is 7on 7 if not year round football?

Ive been coaching high school football for 7 years now and spent 5 as an Offensive Coordinator so I have first hand knowledge of what y'all are talking about. With that being said it the kids that train to be "athletes" that make it most of the time. Meaning they work on running and getting faster, they work on agility, they work on power (weightlifting) and various other aspects. Not the players that take batting practice and throwing for 4 hours a day. Obviously you have to do those things but the major emphasis was becoming an athlete.