My son has been involved in playing some variation of organized baseball since he was 4 years old. At this point, he plays in the "Rookie 1" division of the local Little League wherein a mechanical pitching machine is used. This is his first (and last) full year in this division for one main reason that we'll get to in a minute. Last year he played in the "Coach Pitch" division where the coach would make 5 or so pitches and if the kid couldn't hit the ball then a "T" was used and the child could simply hit off the "T". The "Rookie 1" division is the bridge between the "Coach Pitch" and "Rookie 2" where the kids start pitching to each other on their own. One of the things that really has irritated me about this league is that the coaches always want to fiddle with the machine during the game. We have yet to play a game where the (opposing) coaches didn't waste 5-10 minutes of game time trying to adjust the machine to some fairy tale non-existent perfect setting. I would like to point out that I am extremely proud of my son's coach because she (yes, she) basically has not wasted one second of game time adjusting the machine this year. This is a problem for a number of reasons but two come to mind most prominently. Number one the machine can't possibly be adjusted to anything close to a perfect setting. It is a mechanical pitching machine and by its very nature is not perfect. How do I know this? Because I own one. I bought one for my son to practice with when we started this division because I knew it would be a difficult transition for him and wanted him to be able to hit the ball well and enjoy playing the game. So I have enough experience with the machine to say beyond any doubt that you simply cannot adjust it to throw perfect strikes every time. The second and even more important reason that this is problematic is that the games are limited to 6 innings with the additional rule that no inning can be started after an hour and 15 minutes have passed. So every time some coach decides to play with the machine the only thing that is accomplished for certain is to take away game time from the kids that want to play.
After a long and brutal day of clinic, I was relieved to finally get to go to my son's baseball game. I usually serve as scorekeeper for the team but I arrived a few minutes late because of some chaos in the clinic. I therefore was able to simply watch the game and enjoy it more as a spectator. It was an enjoyable and close game. Our kids plated 2 runs early on and the other team came back to score one a couple innings later. So it was 2-1 heading into the 5th inning. As usual, the opposing coach had wasted around 10 minutes of game time messing around with the settings of the pitching machine. I typically tolerate this and banter back and forth with the person keeping score for the other team regarding the futility of it almost in hopes that they will relay some of those sentiments on to the coach. So the end of the 5th inning rolls around and our team is up 2-1 at a total game time of 1 hour and 15 minutes. The umpires rightfully call the end of the game at that point and the teams line up to shake each others hand and congratulate one another. The opposing team's coach comes out to the umpires loudly protesting that the game time is only 1 hour and 14 minutes and that we should play the 6th inning. The umpires refused and the coach stewed on about it for several minutes. I finally couldn't contain myself any longer and yelled out to the coach that if he hadn't wasted 10 minutes of game time adjusting the pitching machine that we would have been able to play the 6th inning. The umpires looked my way with a grin and a shake of the head and the opposing coach tucked tail and walked off. The end of game congratulations were carried out and our coach met with the team for several minutes after that as per the usual routine. We gathered the kids and equipment and started walking back to the truck. On the way, we passed the opposing coach complaining to one of the league officials that "the umpires wouldn't let us start the 6th inning even though we were only 1 hour and 14 minutes in and our team was down 2-1". And there you have it. If his team would have been ahead then I'm sure he wouldn't have been nearly as excited about that last inning. But everyone is jockeying for playoff position and he is worried about his record. (Playoffs in a baseball league for 7 year olds using mechanical pitching being another farce all it's own but I guess I could save that for another day). I wanted to go back and punch that dipshit in the face but being on Little League grounds I figured that would be a bad idea.
For the record, I wouldn't be surprised if the Little League sent me a reprimand for yelling out at the end of the game and that's fine if they do. I just couldn't tolerate any more of the absurdity of complaining about an extra minute to play one last inning when he had wasted 10 times that in a futile effort to adjust the pitching machine to his teams best advantage.
So, I'm sure you're wondering how the heck I'm gonna tie this one back into politics. Well, it occurred to me a couple of games back when we watched one coach that was particularly egregious with the amount of time he spent adjusting the pitching machine. It all boils down to the mindset of these people who waste so much time adjusting the pitching machine and how they approach life. Their approach is based on the presupposition that every kid can be successful. It then logically follows that if the kid isn't successful then the system must be to blame. Therefore, they feel justified in trying to manipulate the system (pitching machine) to the point that it is perfect for everyone and no single kid fails. Unfortunately, this is simply not possible and some kids are doomed to fail (strike out) no matter what because they aren't any good at baseball to begin with and even with a perfect pitch (system) they won't be able to hit it (succeed). No system (setting) can be created that is perfect and that enables everyone to succeed. It occurred to me that this is exactly the problem with the Democratic party mindset. Their viewpoint is that everyone is capable of success and if they didn't succeed in life then the system somehow failed them. Therefore the system can and should be manipulated until it enables them to succeed. It then logically follows that if they failed in life they should be compensated because the system is to blame. This is exactly the mindset of how we end up with massive welfare and entitlement programs that prop up these people at the expense of everyone else. After all, their failure was due to a problem with the same system that allowed everyone else to succeed. Adjusting the pitching machine is a microcosm of that. If we spend too much time adjusting the pitching machine, then the kids who are good at baseball and enjoy it become bored and disinterested at the same time the kids who are no good at baseball are failing no matter what you do. By adjusting the machine too much, we've created a system where no one can succeed because those capable are hindered (taxed) too much and those incapable have a fate that is unchanged. My opinion is that each and every kid has the same opportunity to see pitches from the machine. Some will be good and some will be bad. It is the kids responsibility to learn to identify the good pitches and swing at them and also to learn to identify the bad pitches and lay off of them. I don't think we can blame the system (pitching machine) because it is equally fair for everyone and the kids simply need to learn to work within the system and learn how to hit (succeed). But then again, I am a Libertarian who is all about some personal responsibility and accountability.
So next year, ready or not, we are headed for Rookie 2 baseball for a number of reasons. First and foremost, my son wants to pitch and I really think he could do a decent job of it. Second, he has had trouble adjusting to the machine for a number of reasons. These include the lack of arm motion with the machine that makes it difficult to pick up on the ball. Also the variability in the location of the pitches has been difficult for him. Last and not least, I just can't handle any more adjusting of the pitching machine. Vote Ron Paul if you can't handle any more adjusting of the pitching machine either and you just want to let the kids play.
