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?"
How can a league do this? Isn't there another older league he could move up to and play? This is a sport and the point is to get the best players you can and win the title. This is a move that is strictly the parents being upset that their kids can't hit on this kid and they want things to be "equal".
1 comment:
Several years ago, why didn't parents demand the removal of Vince Young when he was "too good" as the Texas Longhorns QB? Then, the USC Trojans could have won the national title that year.
The point is that this Youth Baseball League situation back East is just ridiculous and absurd. Let Jericho Scott play baseball among his peers!
Post a Comment