It doesn't matter whether a kid is failing math, they all can figure a batting average (BA). They all

have a pre-season goal like; I'm going to hit .400. They start off 0-7 and go home and extrapolate

the math and I've got to hit .575 the rest of the season to hit .400. This season SUCKS! It becomes

a self-fulfilling prophecy. This player hit the ball hard three times! Had they found a hole, he's a

happy camper! But because he is concerned with his BA, he is losing confidence and becoming

tentative. Sounds like a SLUMP to me.

Batting Averages are so subjective as to be almost meaningless. If the scorekeeper’s son is a pitcher,

all balls that are not converted into outs are errors. All balls that get by the catcher are pass balls not

wild pitches. Hence junior's ERA stays low even though he gave up 10. If the scorekeeper's son is a hitter,

those boots are all bad hops or too hot to handle. I once noticed that one HS team had 5 players hitting

over .500! Yet, their record was 3-16. Must have been some pretty bad pitching.

I keep stats on my team but I no longer post them in the dugout. I got tired of Dads coming up to me

with their interpretation of their son's stats and arguing that I should change an error to a hit. I really don't

care what their BA is. I don't need to see their BA to know if they are a productive offensive player.

As I have said before. A player must learn that he can only concern himself with those things over

which he has control. He can only control:

1. The amount of preparation he has done so that he can expect to have success.

2. The pitch at which he chooses to swing

3. How hard he runs to first.

He cannot control whether the SS stabs his rope, the umpire makes a bad call, or the scorekeeper

calls his shot in the hole an error. To concern ones self with any of those things is completely

counterproductive. Baseball is a game of failure. Only failure 2 of 3 times for your career and

you will end up in the Hall Of Fame. But you failed twice as much as you succeed. More players

are driven out of the game not because they can't play but because they can't handle the failures

that come with the game.

SEE ARCHIVES

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