Adidas' Daily Poll...a serious, ethical dilemma

[Adidas410s]

This is an article written by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated. Please read first and then vote and discuss on what your choice would have been. It's been a very splitting issue in their community and has even drawn those from the political world trying to spin it one way or the other.

This actually happened. Your job is to decide whether it should have.

In a nine- and 10-year-old PONY league championship game in Bountiful, Utah, the Yankees lead the Red Sox by one run. The Sox are up in the bottom of the last inning, two outs, a runner on third. At the plate is the Sox' best hitter, a kid named Jordan. On deck is the Sox' worst hitter, a kid named Romney. He's a scrawny cancer survivor who has to take human growth hormone and has a shunt in his brain.

So, you're the coach: Do you intentionally walk the star hitter so you can face the kid who can barely swing?

Wait! Before you answer.... This is a league where everybody gets to bat, there's a four-runs-per-inning max, and no stealing until the ball crosses the plate. On the other hand, the stands are packed and it is the title game.

So ... do you pitch to the star or do you lay it all on the kid who's been through hell already?

Yanks coach Bob Farley decided to walk the star.

Parents booed. The umpire, Mike Wright, thought to himself, Low-ball move. In the stands, Romney's eight-year-old sister cried. "They're picking on Romney!" she said. Romney struck out. The Yanks celebrated. The Sox moaned. The two coaching staffs nearly brawled.

And Romney? He sobbed himself to sleep that night.

"It made me sick," says Romney's dad, Marlo Oaks. "It's going after the weakest chick in the flock."

Farley and his assistant coach, Shaun Farr, who recommended the walk, say they didn't know Romney was a cancer survivor. "And even if I had," insists Farr, "I'd have done the same thing. It's just good baseball strategy."

Romney's mom, Elaine, thinks Farr knew. "Romney's cancer was in the paper when he met with President Bush," she says. That was thanks to the Make-A-Wish people. "And [Farr] coached Romney in basketball. I tell all his coaches about his condition."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/08/07/reilly0814/

[Sweetwater Red]

Was the opposing coach supposed take a chance on losing the
game for his kids because someone on the other team has a
terminal illness? Romney's parents put him on that baseball team.
That's what competition is about. If he would have pitched to the
other kid and he parked it this story wouldn't even be news.

[Bullaholic]

Big diff between 9 and 10-year olds and high school and up. I say at this age, you pitch to the hitter. In the bigger leagues--no.
Any of you "hard" cases want to flame this grandfather for having a "soft" spot for young kids---go ahead---I've got a tough old butt. Winning ain't everything in a situation like this---and that is what I would tell the parents of the winning team if I was their coach.

[AggieJohn]

it's competition.......

and by the way, this was a championship game in a "non-competitive" league.....


i vote you walk the star to get to the weakling kid....

and i have a friend who's cousin is in this situation and i know that his dad would totally agree with this situation

[Adidas410s]

One thought...

The parents put the kid on the baseball and basketball teams because they want him to feel equal. They don't want him to go through life as the boy that had cancer.

Do you not think that any kid that would have struck out with the bases loaded to end the championship game would have been sad and probably cried as well? :thinking:

[Sweetwater Red]

Originally posted by Bullaholic
Big diff between 9 and 10-year olds and high school and up. I say at this age, you pitch to the hitter. In the bigger leagues--no.
Any of you "hard" cases want to flame this grandfather for having a "soft" spot for young kids---go ahead---I've got a tough old butt. Winning ain't everything in a situation like this---and that is what I would tell the parents of the winning team if I was their coach.

Yeah, but what if the weaker kid would've got a bloop single or
something. Then this story would be all over ESPN and win an
ESPY next year.

[wedo]

If it was some league where they didn't keep score, then yeah pitch to him!! But it was a championship game, I would play to win!!! Its not my fault that the other coach put the worst hitter behind the best!!! Isn't the worst hitter usually hit last??

[AggieJohn]

Originally posted by Sweetwater Red
Yeah, but what if the weaker kid would've got a bloop single or
something. Then this story would be all over ESPN and win an
ESPY next year. a.k.a jason mcElwain

[SWMustang]

Couldn't the best hitter have pulled a "Kelly Leak" and reached out for a pitch? I think Romney's coach screwed up by not having more protection in the lineup for his star hitter. j/k :)

I'm with Bull on this one. I don't think you intentionally walk kids in the 9-10 year old age group. Who wants to win like that?

[Sweetwater Red]

Originally posted by SWMustang
Couldn't the best hitter have pulled a "Kelly Leak" and reached out for a pitch? I think Romney's coach screwed up by not having more protection in the lineup for his star hitter. j/k :)

I'm with Bull on this one. I don't think you intentionally walk kids in the 9-10 year old age group. Who wants to win like that?

The twelve or so kids that did win I would guess...:D :devil: :D .

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by Sweetwater Red
Yeah, but what if the weaker kid would've got a bloop single or
something. Then this story would be all over ESPN and win an
ESPY next year.

Lots of scenarios here, Red--

What if the "star" struck out?
What if the "star" was legally walked.
What if the "star" grounded or flyed out?

Deliberate walks, "squeeze " bunts, "brush-back" pitches, plowing into the catcher in the baseline, intercepting signals, etc. are tactics employed by the "big" boys---do we do that in little league, also? Would get you the wins, but would it be worth it?

[Ranger Mom]

Im sure yall have all seen this email...but this post reminded me of it:

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question. "Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is God's plan reflected in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents itself. And it comes in the way people treat that child."

Then, he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team. But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates.

Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled "Run to second, run to second!" By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Shay ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the
bases toward home.

As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming, "Shay! Run home!" Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the hero, for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan into this world."

My personal footnote: Winning isn’t always the score in the game but it's always what kind of person you are.

[pirate4state]

I wonder if this was Romney's first appearance in the game? :thinking: This is a "everyone gets to play" league, but the sad truth is that the kids (regardless of any health issues) that aren't any good usually don't play until the end of the game. So, why aren't we asking why the coach of the Sox didn't play him before the last inning, if that is the case?

[AggieJohn]

i was listening to the dan patrick show....and romney's dad called up and said that romney said that "he was sad for the guy in front of him who didn't get to bat because he got walked"

now that's using the mind of a child

[garageoffice]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
One thought...

The parents put the kid on the baseball and basketball teams because they want him to feel equal. They don't want him to go through life as the boy that had cancer.

Do you not think that any kid that would have struck out with the bases loaded to end the championship game would have been sad and probably cried as well? :thinking:

I agree with adidas on this one. Kids in this type of situation want to play, and parents put them on teams, to preserve some feeling of normalcy, a chance to be with other kids. I'm not a hard case, but unfortunately, you can't have it both ways. You can't say to people, "Treat me like anyone else" until the championship is on the line.

Would I have walked the other kid? Probably not, but I don't think the opposing coach is a fiend for doing it.

[Sweetwater Red]

Originally posted by Bullaholic
Lots of scenarios here, Red--

What if the "star" struck out?
What if the "star" was legally walked.
What if the "star" grounded or flyed out?

Deliberate walks, "squeeze " bunts, "brush-back" pitches, plowing into the catcher in the baseline, intercepting signals, etc. are tactics employed by the "big" boys---do we do that in little league, also? Would get you the wins, but would it be worth it?

Gotchya...

What the coach should've done was have the pitcher throw two
pitches well outside mixed with a couple well inside and it
wouldn't have appeared as an intentional walk. :D

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by Sweetwater Red
Gotchya...

What the coach should've done was have the pitcher throw two
pitches well outside mixed with a couple well inside and it
wouldn't have appeared as an intentional walk. :D

Red, that would have been the "politically" correct thing to do in this instance---much as I hate "political correctness" I would have "overlooked " it--- kind of like when I tell a "white" lie to my 2- year old grandaughter for her own good.

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by pirate4state
I wonder if this was Romney's first appearance in the game? :thinking: This is a "everyone gets to play" league, but the sad truth is that the kids (regardless of any health issues) that aren't any good usually don't play until the end of the game. So, why aren't we asking why the coach of the Sox didn't play him before the last inning, if that is the case?

From what was said. Every kid on the roster gets to bat...whether they are in the field or not. They bat until there are either 3 outs or 4 runs in the inning. Evidently, the kid has struck out plenty of times before according to what I heard on Dan Patrick. Rick Reilly was on the segment before the boy's dad...I missed the dad's interview.

[tigerpride_08]

it shouldnt be taken so personal...its only a game...

[3afan]

Originally posted by garageoffice
I agree with adidas on this one. Kids in this type of situation want to play, and parents put them on teams, to preserve some feeling of normalcy, a chance to be with other kids. I'm not a hard case, but unfortunately, you can't have it both ways. You can't say to people, "Treat me like anyone else" until the championship is on the line.

Would I have walked the other kid? Probably not, but I don't think the opposing coach is a fiend for doing it.

well put ...

[Blastoderm55]

I'd pitch to the good batter and see if my team could come together for the out. If he scores so be it. Then, at least the other kid has a chance to win the game for his team, which would be WITHOUT A DOUBT, a huge experience in his young life. If he struck out swinging, so be it, at least he tried. At that age, the coaches really need to avoid instilling a "win at all costs" attitude in their kids. The kids are just out there to play the game. Let them wait until high school before they have to learn some of the strategies used for important games.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by Sweetwater Red
Was the opposing coach supposed take a chance on losing the
game for his kids because someone on the other team has a
terminal illness? Romney's parents put him on that baseball team.
That's what competition is about. If he would have pitched to the
other kid and he parked it this story wouldn't even be news.
It also would be a non-story if the boy wasn't a cancer survivor. Take that out of the equation and you pretty much have what could be a standard league championship game.

[DaHop72]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
It also would be a non-story if the boy wasn't a cancer survivor. Take that out of the equation and you pretty much have what could be a standard league championship game. :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Sweetwater Red]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
It also would be a non-story if the boy wasn't a cancer survivor. Take that out of the equation and you pretty much have what could be a standard league championship game.

And like somebody said earlier. His parents just wanted him to
be treated equally. Well, he was and now they're crying foul.:(

[Phantom Stang]

Originally posted by Adidas410s

Parents booed. The umpire, Mike Wright, thought to himself, Low-ball move. In the stands, Romney's eight-year-old sister cried. "They're picking on Romney!" she said. Romney struck out. The Yanks celebrated. The Sox moaned. The two coaching staffs nearly brawled.

And Romney? He sobbed himself to sleep that night.

So what do y'all think REALLY hurt this kid more? Striking out? or having to see and hear all this crap, comming from his own people as he went to the plate?

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
And Romney? He sobbed himself to sleep that night.

"It made me sick," says Romney's dad, Marlo Oaks. "It's going after the weakest chick in the flock."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/08/07/reilly0814/
I haven't read everyone else's comments, but this is what makes me sick. The man is so afraid of seeing his son fail that he makes excuses for his son's chance to be a hero. Cancer or not.

You see, as a nation we're teaching our kids to be afraid to try, and that's exactly what's happening here. Where are the guys like Michael Jordan, Otto Graham, and Larry Bird? You know, the guys with ice in their veins and the fearlessness to take that last shot, but the intestinal fortitude to shrug it off if they lost.

Have we become that much a nation of wusses??? Twenty years down the road, are Little League baseball games going to have all the kids thrown out onto the field at the same time (you know, because nobody wants to sit the bench), with full-out football pads and helmets so that they don't get hurt, playing for 'the fun of the game' and not for the 'thrill of the competition' (they won't keep scores)?

Was it a low ball move by the other coach? Maybe. Will you ever hear me condemn him for using appropriate baseball strategy in this situation? Hell no. If my son is the least athletic guy on his baseball team and he's the last man up with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, I'd cheer him on in victory or defeat, and I'd NEVER let him hang his head or cry a single tear over trying. I'd rather him try and fail than be scared of trying.

Actually, I despise what that father's doing to his son far more than what that coach did to him. His father's teaching that kid that he should use his cancer as a crutch instead of a success story.