As we enter the hottest days of summer, every youth baseball
league is now in the midst of all-star competition to see who can
reach Williamsport, Penn., Irving, Texas or Monterey. Nice places
to go, but tough to string along consecutive wins to get there.
As we enter the hottest days of summer, every youth baseball league is now in the midst of all-star competition to see who can reach Williamsport, Penn., Irving, Texas or Monterey. Nice places to go, but tough to string along consecutive wins to get there.
And every year the same questions arise. What constitutes an all-star player? Why wasn’t my son chosen? Why was that player chosen, he can’t hit? Why is the process so political? How could they not pick that player, he hit .750 during the season?
The list of questions go on and on and while some of the concerns are legitimate and justified, it basically comes down to talent, plain and simple. Period. End of sentence.
There may be a lot of variables that sneak into the equation, but picking an All-star team is no easy task.
For some managers it’s uncomfortable and emotions must be put aside. There are different processes based on a league’s by-laws, but usually players are nominated by their respective coaches. Depending upon each league’s election process, the teams are formed from there.
Including overall skills, players should be selected on three basic qualities. They must be able to hit, pitch and play defense, preferably more than one position. Two of three doesn’t really constitute an “A” player and one out of three diminishes their All-star potential.
Exceptions to this rule surface as the team is formed by the manager. If he feels he has a solid 10 players his last two or three selections may be chosen by what skill they can best offer to the team. Usually a good hitter or fielder will round out the team, but neither of them may see a lot of action.
That one skill may overshadow another player left off the team that has two good skills. Those two skills, however, were already taken by the other players on the team.
Debates will emerge from this, but as previously stated, this is where the decisions are agonizing.
Batting averages, how many hits a player gets, how many strike outs a pitcher accumulates during the season or how many bases were stolen doesn’t mean a thing in the All-star selection.
Why? Well, determinations must be made as to how well the best players perform against the best players. Overall season stats don’t show this. Match ups pitting the best pitcher against the best hitter and vice versa are what managers want to see.
In addition, how well each of the best players can field hard hit ground balls, not just little dribblers, and what kind of arm strength do they have from certain positions, including the outfield, goes a long way in determining which of them are going to fill out the team.
Despite debates and arguments it still comes down to talent. Will some players be left off a team because of the numbers game? Certainly.
Does a certain player perform better at a designated position than the All-star player chosen ahead of him? You bet.
Assessing talent isn’t easy. Just ask all the scouts from the Kansas City Royals, who are 26 games out of first place. Somebody, somewhere, made some bad player selections. At the time they looked good. Now, they don’t. Who’s to blame?
In reality, most leagues nominate the correct players, appoint the right coaches and pick the best talent. The process will always have its pitfalls, just like it does in picking major league baseball’s all-star squads. But parents and players should always remember that not making an all-star team doesn’t make you a bad player. Just one that needs to improve on the three major skills.
Once that’s achieved, you’ll make the selection process easy for everyone.
Rich Taylor is the owner, head instructor and CEO of Taylor Made Baseball. He can be reached at rj********@***oo.com.
