The Pitcher's Father

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Oct 15, 2013
727
63
Seattle, WA
I'm finding these guys are a bit much to take. They blame the catcher for their daughter not hitting their spots. "Is she [the catcher] calling what I'm calling?" Yes, she is, but your daughter is 12 and really can't hit a spot with any consistency except the dirt in front of the plate. And then after somehow getting out of an inning where she threw 15 dirt bombs he tells the head coach "The only real problem we had out there was with passed balls". I understand it can be stressful to watch your DD pitch; she's in the spotlight, it's the most important job on the team (after catcher;) etc., but don't blame the catcher for her struggles. She's not as good as you think she is, just like everyone else's DD and like everyone else's DD she'll have some off days. That's ok. You don't need to make excuses or blame others.
 
Sep 11, 2014
229
0
Pa
My daughter is 10 and the starting pitcher on our travel team. I also manage the team. Only time I say it was the catchers fault is if it hits her glove and falls out.

I do disagree with the pitcher being the most important spot. To me there isn't one spot more important then the other. I have seen teams with great pitchers and catchers that were horrible every where else. Once the batters caught up to the pitch and started hitting, it was all over.
 
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Oct 30, 2014
292
18
Seattle
This seems like a pretty broad generalization for what sounds like a very specific occurrence. I've seen all types of pitchers dads to the overly vocal in games to the ones who are very quiet in every situation. I have also seen a fair share of pitchers dads who are much harder on their kid than anyone else's. That being said on average the pitchers dad is probably more likely to be very into the game, more so than another parent, probably because of all the work he sees his daughter put in (most of which he has to participate in!). Obviously, I'm not condoning the guy in your example yelling at other people's kids but I think you might have gone a little harsh on the entire population of pitchers dads.
 
Oct 30, 2014
292
18
Seattle
My daughter is 10 and the starting pitcher on our travel team. I also manage the team. Only time I say it was the catchers fault is if it hits her glove and falls out.

At 10u even this seems a little harsh. 14u, 16u+ yes catchers should catch all balls but 10u they are still just learning.
 
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
I do disagree with the pitcher being the most important spot.

I know that is the politically correct thing to say but let me ask you this. Your team has 13 players, your only 2 pitchers quit the team, you are screwed, and the team implodes and disbands (just happened to one of our local 12U TB teams). Contrast that with 2 of your outfielders quit the team. You can easily replace them with other players from the team and the team will survive. Not saying outfield is not important, but the pitching/catching battery is the most critical link to the success of the team.
 
Apr 22, 2015
103
0
N.C., USA
Haha, when my daughter was in HS (playing SS) the catcher's dad would hollar out 'How can she throw out anyone if the SS doesn't cover 2nd'. The coach at the time would tell my daughter to slide way over into the hole so it was difficult for her to make it to 2nd easily. If she would slide over towards 2nd (like she was supposed to) this would not happen but the coaches would always yell 'DON'T CHEAT towards 2nd'. Nobody ever hit one in the hole during a steal btw. After about 4 games of this the dad yelled at my daughter again about covering 2nd saying 'how can she know where to throw it if the SS isn't there yet'. I said (so all could hear) "It is that square white thing down there... just throw it to the bag". Anyway... he got all up in my face and trying to make me back down (which I did not). It was bad.
The catcher had been bouncing throws or throwing it into the outfield. It wasn't the covering anyway... it was the throw most times.
It was the coaches fault... there was no reason to yell at any of the players. I got tired of it. He thought he was the knowitall loudmouth... I helped him learn that he didn't know so much. Wasn't so much of a loudmouth afterwards either. Somebody finally stood up to him. There are all kinds.
 

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