When is enough enough?

I've seen some very impressive 10u pitchers in Georgia.

Just ask the dude if he can call a few changeups for your DD. He seems to be into developing the girls so I don't know why he wouldn't be open to that suggestion. I don't think 0-2 is necessarily the best time to call it, though.

I like that he bats them all. I do, too, unless I'm in a qualifier. This is 14U A ball with top competition. I kind of crack up when I come up against a team that is batting nine against us. We are a pretty good team .... why wouldn't you want all your girls to get that experience? How are they going to get better?

True story: We were playing in a tourney a few weeks ago when we drew a fairly new team (mid-tier org that didn't have a lot of girls aging up from 12U) that had a first-time head coach (he had assisted within the org, however). This was the first round of elimination play. I handed my lineup card to the ump and said, "I'm hitting them all." The other coach did a double-take then handed his lineup over .... he was also hitting everyone. Long story short, we were home team and we managed to put up 14 runs in the first two innings. When we recorded the final out in the top of the third, our pitcher had only faced 11 hitters. They had 13 in their lineup. After we shook hands, the coach says, "Man! I was hoping all of our girls would get a chance to hit off of your girl but you got us out before my last two could get up. Crap!"

This coach cared every bit as much about the number 12 and 13 girls on his roster as he did his top nine. I said to him as I was walking back to the dugout, "Write down your email address and phone number. I'll send her to one of your practices so those girls can get their chance."

I am not trying to be self-serving, here. I just wanted to convey that some people in the travel ball world not only like to see teams hit all their players, they respect it.

87'sFan said:

Let me start out by saying I like my Daughter's manager on a personal level he just can't manage a team. It is his first time managing a travel team 10u. He bat's his entire lineup on Sunday's and does not see anything wrong with it even though we are the only team batting 11 on Sunday. He start's pitchers on Sunday that didn't practie all week or pitch on Saturday usually his daughter's friend's. He does not seem to know how to call a changeup my daughter was pitching she was up 0-2 on the batter he started calling fastball away batter fouled off three times daughter shook off the catchers sign of another fastball away still calling fastball away the batter crushed it my daughter told me she knew the girl was gonna hit if she threw the same pitch again but did what she was told. In a game when my daughter pitched 5 innings she threw 1 changup. How should I approach the manager or should I? I will also say there is a really good coach on the team who agrees with me but he has no desire to manage he told me to tread softly with the manager?

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I kinda like a manager who bats roster at 10U, even on Sundays. IMO, at that age player development is more important than the trophy.

On the fastballs away against the batter who was fouling them off; there's not enough info here. How was she fouling them off? Was the batter late on them and just catching up to them at the last instant (they were too fast for her) or was she fouling them straight back (she was right there, but didn't quite square up)? If a batter can't catch up to the fast ball, then fast balls are what she should get. Don't give her something slower that she might get to. On the other hand, if she's fouling them into the backstop, you've got a hitter who's getting the timing down. That's the batter you should try to fool with the changeup or with a different location, etc. JMHO.

I do think that a pitcher with a good changeup should be throwing it more than once a game!