Just when you least expected it, The Czar is back! This time, it’s Vol. 3: The High School Baseball Edition.
(For the uninitiated, I appointed myself as Czar of the sports world, if only someone would put me in charge. Still waiting.)
I watch a lot of high school baseball. Probably 40 or so games a year. Sometimes, I’ll drop by a couple of innings, but I’ll see almost every Shreveport-Bossier team when it’s all said and done. I realize you may not have seen 40 high school baseball games in your lifetime, but stay with me on this.
If you haven’t seen a game in a few years, a lot has changed. The facilities are light years from where they used to be. Teams have four or five coaches now, as opposed to just the assistant football coach and the P.E. instructor who got the job by default in the old days. Equipment and technology have greatly improved the quality of play.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some issues that need to be discussed. Which is why The Czar has finished warming up in the bullpen and is ready to go.
Let’s start with a cute little scenario that plays out dozens of times each game. It is a sign of the times in more ways than one.
If you stumble on a game and having a hard time determining which parents go with which kids, fret not. There’s an easy way to spot that. Simply wait until the cell phone comes out of someone’s pocket and is carefully positioned against the backstop net. As soon as the player leaves the batter’s box, the phone goes back in the parent’s pocket.
Trust me; they aren’t videoing some random sophomore.
We’ve all seen the Facebook video of your next-door neighbor’s kid who hit a two-run double and mom posted it for all the world to see. At least, that’s what you think happened because you really can’t see anything. It’s not exactly Stephen Spielberg quality footage we are talking about. It’s just me here, but I’d rather enjoy Junior’s at bat instead of worrying about whether my framing and autofocus were good enough.
NEXT! Another thing you can’t help but notice is the number of coaches (and sometimes players) who are outside the confines of the dugout while the game is in progress. There’s lots of wandering around while the game is being played. The field is the field (including foul territory); the dugout is the dugout. Everyone should be where they are supposed to be. The same instruction or defensive positioning can be made three feet further away inside the dugout instead of outside it. You don’t see it in MLB and you don’t see it in college.
CONTINUING ON! Some of you fans need to get a grip when it comes to complaining about umpiring on ball and strike calls. In particular, those who are not seated behind home plate. You have no perspective from that angle and the problem is that you think the catcher is always set up directly behind home plate. Therefore, when he’s set up a foot outside and doesn’t move the mitt, you think that has to be strike. No, it’s not. It’s a foot outside. But that doesn’t stop the catcalls from the stands. Let me assure you of something — the vast majority of umpires are already fairly generous to calling strikes on pitches that are a little off the plate. Take that and be happy with it. Find something else to complain about. (I know you will.)
LAST (AND POSSIBLY LEAST)! In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t really matter but it really, really bugs me. And has for a long time.
Whenever the offense gets runners on first and third, there will be a semi-dramatic pause before the next pitch is thrown. The catcher will stand up, go in front of home plate, shout out “FIRST AND THIRD!” and go through all sorts of gyrations to indicate what signal for base coverage has been sent in from the dugout. That’s right, a signal for a signal. And the catcher will carry on like he’s got ants crawling all over his equipment.
C’mon guys. Do we really need all of this drama? How about we all just look in the dugout – or, sadly, in front of the dugout! – and get the signal from the coach without all the histrionics. It’s not like the other team is over there trying to decipher the signals like it’s Morse Code. No need to try to fool them because they don’t care enough to be fooled.
Granted, I realize how shallow this is of me. It’s only 10 seconds of wasted time, though it will happen multiple times in a typical game. But it just seems so unnecessary, especially since 80 percent of the time, the runner is going to steal second without a throw.
OK, The Czar has spoken and will go back and crawl into his hole under the pitcher’s mound. Which, by the way, are rarely made of dirt anymore. But that’s another issue for another time.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com