Pulling a kid mid inning

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sluggers

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May 26, 2008
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Dallas, Texas
I avoid pulling a kid mid-inning like I avoid the plague.

So, why isn't a pitcher emotionally scarred for life when she is pulled mid-inning? Seems that if the SS will suffer life long trauma from the indignity of being pulled, wouldn't the pitcher also be harmed?
 
Jul 27, 2015
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So, why isn't a pitcher emotionally scarred for life when she is pulled mid-inning? Seems that if the SS will suffer life long trauma from the indignity of being pulled, wouldn't the pitcher also be harmed?

My daughter pitches. She has been pulled one time for just being 100% off. All the other times were when she was just done. She had given her all and was too tired to do more. She has never had a problem being pulled. She usually tells the coach she is done. He usually leaves her out there even after he is told. (I don't like that.)

It is highly unlike a SS will ever be so tired she has to go out mid-inning. In that case, you are generally pulling for performance only. Since it is not done much, it really is humiliating.
 
Aug 8, 2010
352
18
A couple of times I have went to the mound and pulled the whole team in for a talk. In that talk I made the defensive switch and the girls broke the huddle and went to their positions. The change wasn't blatant and the struggling player stayed in the game, just at a new position.
 
Oct 22, 2009
1,532
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PA
I admit I have pulled a player mid-inning. Similar to Ken, I try not to "punish", but rather get the player out of a spiral that will only get worse the longer I leave her in. The position does not matter. When you see a player struggling, sometimes it is best for everyone involved to get her out and give her a break to compose herself.
 
Nov 8, 2014
182
0
I saw my shortstop and third in 12U watching the other game as our pitcher released the ball. I sent LF to 3rd and CF to SS and sent the infielders to the OF. I walked over to their parents and told them why. When the kids came in in between innings I explained the switch to the whole team and explained how deadly that could have been. The next half inning everyone returned to their original spots. I think I nailed that teaching moment.
 
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
So, why isn't a pitcher emotionally scarred for life when she is pulled mid-inning? Seems that if the SS will suffer life long trauma from the indignity of being pulled, wouldn't the pitcher also be harmed?

Competitive ball yes, I'll pull any player anytime she looks like a team liability. Pitchers have days when they are "off", and position players are no different. The reason some fear the pull is, that many teams don't have a viable replacement.

For those concerned about "humiliation", which is worse? A coach swapping you out for awhile to get out of the funk, or leaving you in too long where everyone sees you're struggling in a bad way. A coach who knows their players, should know at what point ( before it's too late ) he/she has to make that difficult decision.
 
Jul 14, 2010
716
18
NJ/PA
I have done this once in my coaching career, to a kid who had made three errors on two consecutive plays at 2B. She was clearly checked out and the errors ultimately cost us two runs (and the game). This was a 12U A tournament game against one of the toughest teams in our area, and we were winning 1-0 at the time.

After the game, one of my coaches told me he thought it was a low-class move to do that to a kid. For sure the kid's mom was not happy. But at some point it has to be about the team, not the player.
 

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