| When I was a little kid, I loved playing baseball. | | | | mistakes that he began to cry. But why? Why |
| The smell of the freshly cut grass, sunflower | | | | should a player get so upset over such a little |
| seeds, and a day at the ball park were enough to | | | | thing as making one minor mistake? The answer - |
| excite me beyond anything else. And while the | | | | Pressure. These young boys are put under a |
| early morning hours weren't exactly at my peak | | | | tremendous amount of pressure. Because they |
| activity hours, you could count on me getting up | | | | are gifted athletically for their age, these players |
| early every Saturday morning to get ready for | | | | simply destroy the competition during their little |
| the weekly game. Simply put, there was | | | | league careers. They begin to develop a history |
| something magical about little league games for | | | | of winning. When that happens, anything else is |
| me. | | | | unacceptable. Winning, not the game, becomes |
| Nowadays, though, it seems as if some of the | | | | the main objective, the driving force. However, |
| magic has been taken out of the game. A prime | | | | for the most part, the kids are not the ones who |
| example of what I am talking about happened last | | | | yearn for victory. They simply want to play ball. |
| night during a Little League World Series game. In | | | | The parents and the coaches, on the other hand, |
| the Northwest Regional Championship game, Lake | | | | who seem to relive their glory days vicariously |
| Oswego, Oregon took on Kent, Washington. | | | | through their children, need the "W" and are |
| These two teams had met previously in a game | | | | wholeheartedly disappointed when they don't get |
| thouroughly dominated by Kent. The game | | | | it. Believe me, I've been there. Overly-critical |
| started as most do in these tournaments - both | | | | coaches are the main reason I stopped playing |
| pitchers were throwing heat and dominating the | | | | baseball, even though I too played on the all-star |
| opposing hitters. Then, in the 2nd inning, the Kent | | | | team. |
| pitcher gave up a solo home run. Up until that | | | | We need to remember that baseball is just a |
| point, he had recorded somewhere in the ball park | | | | game for kids. Whereas the lucky few who find |
| of 4-5 stikeouts. He ended the game with | | | | their way to the professional baseball ranks should |
| upwards of 10 strikeouts, giving up a meager 3 | | | | expect criticism, little leaguers should not. They |
| runs. Yet, despite his stellar performance, he | | | | don't get paid for playing baseball. The American |
| began tearing up with every hit or run Lake | | | | mentality of winning is a must and second place is |
| Oswego produced. | | | | the first loser has created a situation in which |
| Another example happened in the same game. | | | | young boys are subjected to pressure for which |
| After having had two solid at-bats, a Lake | | | | they have not been prepared. The result - cry |
| Oswego player struck out on his third attempt. | | | | babies crop up every game, terrified of what |
| He, too, began to cry, even though his team was | | | | their coaches or parents might think if they make |
| winning. One would think that having a .667 batting | | | | a mistake. Seriously, baseball is just a game. We |
| average in a victory would be cause for praise. | | | | need to calm down a little bit and realize that the |
| However, as evident from the aforementioned | | | | Little League World Series is not the real World |
| examples, that is not the case. In both cases, | | | | Series. After all, Little League baseball is for kids, |
| each player was so broken up by minimal | | | | not parents. |