What a Statement

Hey guys, sorry it seems like it has taken forever for a new post, (it has), that is my fault and I promise it wont happen again. That being said I think I have one that will make you think today. So I was at softball practice the other day, when one of my teammates, lets call him Kevin because that’s his name, hits me with this astute observation, “…You know when I was younger I used to think the premise of Rookie of the Year was much more believable than that of Little Big league but now that I am older my thinking is reversed…” How do you respond to that? I completely lost focus for the rest of practice trying to wrap my mind around what I had just heard. I agreed with his assessment but why? And if I had the choice for either one of those situations to happen to me, which one would I choose?

I understood Kevin’s assessment of the believability factor. When you are a young kid growing up playing baseball there really is nothing you want more than to be a big league ballplayer. Being a manager never really crosses your mind, much less inheriting that responsibility from your dead grandfather. I remember seeing Rookie of the Year and going to bed every night hoping I would break my arm in a freak accident, suddenly gain the ability to throw 100 mph, get a call from the Sox, have a 30 year career and then move onto managing. Clearly my dreams did not come true.

While Little Big League was a great movie, and yes I still watch it every time it comes on TBS, no 12 year old kid playing Little League aspires to be a manager, hell no 19 year old college player aspires to be a manager. Managing is something you get into because A) You had a great playing career, and because you hit 500 home runs you need absolutely no credentials to manage a baseball team, B) you had a mediocre to good playing career, and every time you came to the plate the commentator would say something along the lines of, “…this guy is such a student of the game…” or C) you had a poor playing career, followed up by the realization that if you were going to do anything in baseball you might as well coach.

The fact of the matter is every kid playing ball wanted to believe that Rookie of the Year was more realistic than Little Big League, when in fact the opposite is true. Having grown up now we all, or at least most of us , realize that the chances of inheriting a baseball team, while extremely slim, are much greater than tearing your arm to shreds and becoming a human cannon. Could you imagine if Rookie of the Year was made today how many parents would be planting booby traps in their backyards hoping that their kids would somehow stumble upon it and suffer a debillitating injury all the while having the number for Dr. James Andrews’ practically waiting on speed dial. I guess what I am trying to say is that the scenario that we as individuals thought was more realistic could have been a result of our own dreams at the time rather than a rational belief.

To prove this point, at least from my perspective, I think these days at 26 years old I would much rather be a manager than a player. Even though I would still love to be a big league baseball player I know that this is probably not going to happen, what with getting back into baseball shape, hiring an agent, making my way through the minors and finally getting the call to The Show. (Stop laughing, all of this COULD happen.) Having managed a Little League team for 3 seasons I could see a scenario in which a long lost relative dropped dead and in their will left me, someone they have never met, the reigns to a Major League Baseball team. I mean my experience speaks for itself, my all-time managerial record is 37-10. That’s about a .775 winning percentage. I think it would be great, because now I could actually let players like say…J.D. Drew know exactly how I felt every time I saw them strike out looking with the game on the line, and not only strike out looking, but strike out without swinging the bat once. I mean for all of you people who don’t understand baseball you get three strikes, that means three chances to swing at a decent pitch in what is called the strike zone. Sorry, I got a little carried away.

The fact of the matter is Kevin brought up an excellent point with his assessment of the two movies and should be commended for his viewpoint. If Saturday Night Live was still any good that statement should have been submitted for one of the Deep Thoughts segments.

By the way, before I go, I think my favorite part in either Rookie of the Year or Little Big League comes at the end of ROTY when Henry is back playing baseball for his Little League team and you see him playing in jeans...JEANS!!!! First of all jeans are ok in tee-ball and maybe coach pitch, but once you are facing live pitching its time to go to Sports Authority (it was bigger than Dick's Sporting Goods at the time the movie was made) and buy a pair of baseball pants and cleats. Secondly, its not like he couldn't afford them, he was a MAJOR LEAGUER!! That scene has and always will annoy me. Also do you think Gary Busey remembers making that movie? Till next time....