Was Stealing Home Poor Sportsmanship?

[robertc3]

I am the coach of a LL minors team (9-11 year olds). We are not a team that is trying to rack up wins. Everyone plays the same number of innings and roughly the same percentage of innings infield and outfield. We bat a continuous batter order all season long so everyone gets the same number of plate appearances. This is developmental, recreational softball and we treat it that way.

Last night we played a team that didn’t have much in the way of pitching. We have a five run per inning limit and in the first inning they walked in five runs while throwing two strikes. They improved a little each inning, but basically I told my players that if they saw a hittable pitch they had to swing because they might not see another one. We took four called strikes all game long. In the second inning I started encouraging our runners to steal home. I didn’t tell them to steal; I just gave them the green light to steal if they thought they could make it. I was not trying to run up the score. I was just trying to give my players the chance to learn something about base running in a game in which they could make mistakes and it wouldn’t matter. The runner was likely to score by being walked in if they just waited at third, but they don’t learn anything that way. That stealing home also gave the other team a chance to make an out was nice, but not part of my reasoning for encouraging our girls to run. If this had been a game at a competitive level of play stealing home when you have a sizable lead would not have been something I would have allowed. I read through the thread on running up the score in travel tournaments. I believe this was different. This isn’t a competitive level of play, but I feel like I may have looked like I was running up the score. We tried to steal home five times and were caught twice. Was I out of line?

 

[teammom2]

If you're asking how it looks from the team that is beating itself and also being beaten by the opponent it would look like you were running it up. Taking advantage of the situation in order to teach. If the team was losing big already, stealing home was adding insult to injury to some extent. Back in the beginning of my softball parenting career, this would have infuriated me! I can hear myself says, "GEEZ, you KNOW you're going to win--why are you sending them home?!" Just one moms opinion. Can't wait to hear what others have to say.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

I don't see what they are learning by stealing on a pitch that was wildly thrown or a passed ball by the catcher.

Next time work on something that will be useful when they get older like a delayed steal or squeeze play (tough to bunt without strikes, I understand).

 

[CoogansBluff]

We tried to steal home five times and were caught twice. Was I out of line?

If you were caught 2 out of 5 times, then no. The worst thing a team can do when it is scoring runs at will is to make outs on the bases, so if you're getting caught, then you are helping the other team, not running up the score. The other issue is that there is a 5-run limit. It sounds like you're going to score 5 runs no matter what.

 

[robertc3]

I don't see what they are learning by stealing on a pitch that was wildly thrown or a passed ball by the catcher.

Next time work on something that will be useful when they get older like a delayed steal or squeeze play (tough to bunt without strikes, I understand).

In our league stealing home on a passed ball is the only way it is allowed. The runner can't leave the base until the ball crosses the plate, you can't steal home unless the ball gets behind the catcher and there is no delayed steal. Bunting isn't prohibited, but it is discouraged.

Teammom2, thank you. Your reaction is what I fear they may have felt. We won the game 16-6 so it isn't like we were blowing them out 25-0, but the game wasn't in doubt.

 

[robertc3]

If you were caught 2 out of 5 times, then no. The worst thing a team can do when it is scoring runs at will is to make outs on the bases, so if you're getting caught, then you are helping the other team, not running up the score. The other issue is that there is a 5-run limit. It sounds like you're going to score 5 runs no matter what.

We scored fewer runs than if we had held the girls at third. It had the effect of helping the other team out of the inning, but I don't know if they all understood that. We could have scored five an inning if that had been the goal.

 

[teammom2]

We scored fewer runs than if we had held the girls at third. It had the effect of helping the other team out of the inning, but I don't know if they all understood that. We could have scored five an inning if that had been the goal.

It comes down to perception sometimes. You're helping the other team, but it doesn't look like it. If that makes any sense. Having a runner leave early doesn't look the same as a runner getting out stealing home. Both are helping, but one can end up scoring a run.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

I would have worked on leading off a lot at that game. Score wasn't ran up, but remember the div. you are at is a learning and developmental stage. Play for the future..........

 

[Mike]

You did nothing wrong, sounds like you need to find a more competative atmosphere for your team though. In what you described nobody is learning anything of value.

 

[CoogansBluff]

It had the effect of helping the other team out of the inning, but I don't know if they all understood that.

By ''they,'' do you mean the opposing players, or opposing coaches/parents? ...

I remember coaching an 8U rec game about six years ago where the opposing parents complained that we continued to take extra bases in a blowout. It was coach pitch, so we weren't stealing bases, just forcing them to stop the lead runner even with the game in hand. Maybe we won 15-1, something like that. I was more often on the losing end of those.

Anyway, if that's the league habit, to play one-base-at-a-time when you get a big lead, so be it. But I still contend that there was no harm because the opposing players hardly care about the score at that age unless they see their parents or coaches agitated. Half of the kids don't even know the score, and probably a quarter don't know who's winning. The way I saw it, let's just play every play the same way - hard - regardless of who's winning or how much. I think the kids, if not influenced by overly competitive parents, would see it the same way. They just want to play.

But this was 8U. The league in question for this post is 9-11. Maybe things change a little by then. Maybe not.