Recently, a controversy has arisen over a Little League championship game in Utah. The father of one of the players has taken exception to the fact that the best hitter on his son's team was intentionally walked by the coach of the other team in order to get to his son, who is a cancer survivor. At the time it happened, his son's team was down by one run in the final inning with a player on third. His son struck out and his team never got the tying run across the plate and therefore lost the game.
However, this man's anger is not justified. This is just another example of someone illogically getting his nose out of a joint over some kind of unwritten rule that exists only his imagination. The other team won the game fair and square. The coach of the other team did exactly what he should have done in that situation. As a coach in any sport, at any level, you never want to allow the best player on the opposing team to beat you. There's nothing dirty or mean about that kind of strategy. In critical game situations like he was in, any coach worth his salt will force a lesser player on the opposing team to beat him. If that player comes through, then the other team deserves to win. A coach must look out for the best interests of his team and never make anything easier for the opposition that it has to be.
That father should quit whining and get over it. If he was incapable of handling that situation, then perhaps he should not have attended his son's game. Little League baseball is a competitive sport, it's not charity. Instead of getting angry, he should be thanking God that his son is able to play Little League baseball.
About the Author Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, free-lance writer, amateur political analyst, and blogger from Hopewell, VA. On his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com - he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
