Post by Marshy on Feb 15, 2016 15:59:35 GMT 10
All,
It's been a while since I even visited this site let or loan posted, but I have been thinking long and hard over a perception I have about the general standard of baseball and I wanted to see what those involved thought.
Just to clarify how I THINK I am qualified to make this observation, I have been playing for over 30 years. I was a junior state representative and I have played at 6 different clubs, 3 winter and 3 summer. I have played in teams ranging from the 3rds in div 2 to the ones in Div 1. I have played with many great players even legends and I have also played with countless 1 or 2 season players whom I have never seen or heard of again. Using that experience, I have formulated the opinion that the standard across the board has dropped significantly over the last 10 years and I think I can draw correlations, maybe tenuously, to the increased schedule being played by our Div 1 and 2 firsts.
There has been several arguments about whether more games does or does not improve the standard of play at the high level. Let's not go there. Yes, game play is better than training blah blah blah...BUT, what I think is never discussed is the fatigue that these extra games has on our players. Before you dismiss me, please allow me to elaborate.
For the purpose of context, I will create a fictitious player, let's call him Peter, he is 26 years of age. Peter is a full time employed tradesman, who works on average 40-50 hours per week, depending on his workload. He is married with a young baby. Peter is also playing division one baseball for a middle of the rung club. I think this scenario is somewhat atypical of the players in the firsts. During baseball season, he gets to the game early to support the seconds and warm up. He's a good club man and often hangs around after the game for a beer. He basically dedicates his Sunday to baseball.
On Tuesday, he attends club training, as this has traditionally been the day that firsts and seconds train. He gets home at around 9-9.30 as he does have to travel a short distance to get to his club. On Wednesday, during the height of the season, he often has a midweek game that he needs to leave work early for, as his job is in Blackburn, but he's playing the early game at Altona, or a variation of that concept. He is NOT a regular at Thursday night club training as his wife likes him home occasionally and he enjoys helping her with housework. She is NOT a ball breaker, but he understands he has responsibilities and he feels he should support her.
So, in short, Peter dedicates one complete day per week and two, sometimes three nights per week. By the end of the season, to be totally honest, Peter is a bit over baseball, particularly the travel aspect.
Problem one. Early in the season, Peter's club reaches out to all players asking for experienced players to take on a junior coaching role. Whilst Peter would love to, he has to decline as this would mean additional time Sunday morning/Friday evening, and probably an additional weeknight for training.
Problem two. Peter does not attend club training and only attends the ones and two squad training on Tuesday, he does not get a great opportunity to impart his knowledge and experience onto the younger players working their way through the threes and fours.
Problem three. Similarly, Peter doesn't get much of an opportunity to meet players from the lower teams at his club. The club has noticed a decrease in the attendance at club functions as the club seems to have been divided into teams, not combined as a club.
So we have an experienced player, getting good game time, but due to being so involved in his own baseball requirements, he's not really able to pass on his experience and knowledge to others.
The roles traditionally filled by Peter and his experienced, skilled team mates, are now filled with players who don't have such a heavy baseball workload, but lack the depth that Peter has. As a consequence baseball knowledge is becoming quite top heavy.
I hope you can all see where I am going here.
Counter arguments will no doubt contend that players have always been involved 2-3 nights per week plus most of Sunday and that things haven't really changed. I hope you can see that at a very basic, short sighted level, this is correct, but when you look closer it's the input made during those times that has changed.
When I only got to play once per week, I was so hungry for baseball that I wanted to attend training. I gave it my all and so did those around me. I needed a baseball fix and if I couldn't play, training was the next best thing.
I can remember shagging several hundred flyballs/groundballs twice per week and being told what I was doing right or wrong by the guys in the higher teams. I was given detailed instructions on what to do in certain circumstances and how to read the game. Playing in the fourths now, my team mates are amazed that I "know" when a runner is going to steal. The reason I "know" is because I was drilled for many hours both as a fielder and a runner as to when the best time to steal a base is. In general, today's players in lower teams just don't have this same knowledge.
Even general standards have dropped. Here is a short list of items that I would have been torn a new one for doing/not doing when I was coming up through the ranks, but seem to be common place now:
Not coming to training or leaving early
Not wanting to sit on the bench in the ones
Wearing my hat any other way than the proper way - backwards was unheard of.
Showing up in a dirty uniform
Showing up to training in shorts
Arguing with a coach, about ANYTHING
Leaving the ground before it was raked/tidied
Not attending club functions
Failing to show up for a rostered, junior umpire gig or canteen shift
Lastly, the time that was spent prior to the increased game schedule, was predominately spent AT THE CLUB. This not only meant knowledge and experience was passed down, it also meant that a true sense of club was formed. I spent many nights locked in the Malvern Baseball Club rooms after training, playing stupid games with players from every team until 2,3 or 4 in the morning. One year we even made a rule that you couldn't leave earlier than you did the time before. That sort of club camaraderie is hard to form when your star players are playing at Altona and club training was cancelled due to lack of numbers.
This is not a criticism, nor is it an attack on the powers that be. It's one person's opinion based on observations over a number of years. I guess the old saying of "quality, not quantity" may be somewhat applicable.
Whilst Peter might be a better baseballer from all his extra games, is Victorian Baseball as a whole better?
It's been a while since I even visited this site let or loan posted, but I have been thinking long and hard over a perception I have about the general standard of baseball and I wanted to see what those involved thought.
Just to clarify how I THINK I am qualified to make this observation, I have been playing for over 30 years. I was a junior state representative and I have played at 6 different clubs, 3 winter and 3 summer. I have played in teams ranging from the 3rds in div 2 to the ones in Div 1. I have played with many great players even legends and I have also played with countless 1 or 2 season players whom I have never seen or heard of again. Using that experience, I have formulated the opinion that the standard across the board has dropped significantly over the last 10 years and I think I can draw correlations, maybe tenuously, to the increased schedule being played by our Div 1 and 2 firsts.
There has been several arguments about whether more games does or does not improve the standard of play at the high level. Let's not go there. Yes, game play is better than training blah blah blah...BUT, what I think is never discussed is the fatigue that these extra games has on our players. Before you dismiss me, please allow me to elaborate.
For the purpose of context, I will create a fictitious player, let's call him Peter, he is 26 years of age. Peter is a full time employed tradesman, who works on average 40-50 hours per week, depending on his workload. He is married with a young baby. Peter is also playing division one baseball for a middle of the rung club. I think this scenario is somewhat atypical of the players in the firsts. During baseball season, he gets to the game early to support the seconds and warm up. He's a good club man and often hangs around after the game for a beer. He basically dedicates his Sunday to baseball.
On Tuesday, he attends club training, as this has traditionally been the day that firsts and seconds train. He gets home at around 9-9.30 as he does have to travel a short distance to get to his club. On Wednesday, during the height of the season, he often has a midweek game that he needs to leave work early for, as his job is in Blackburn, but he's playing the early game at Altona, or a variation of that concept. He is NOT a regular at Thursday night club training as his wife likes him home occasionally and he enjoys helping her with housework. She is NOT a ball breaker, but he understands he has responsibilities and he feels he should support her.
So, in short, Peter dedicates one complete day per week and two, sometimes three nights per week. By the end of the season, to be totally honest, Peter is a bit over baseball, particularly the travel aspect.
Problem one. Early in the season, Peter's club reaches out to all players asking for experienced players to take on a junior coaching role. Whilst Peter would love to, he has to decline as this would mean additional time Sunday morning/Friday evening, and probably an additional weeknight for training.
Problem two. Peter does not attend club training and only attends the ones and two squad training on Tuesday, he does not get a great opportunity to impart his knowledge and experience onto the younger players working their way through the threes and fours.
Problem three. Similarly, Peter doesn't get much of an opportunity to meet players from the lower teams at his club. The club has noticed a decrease in the attendance at club functions as the club seems to have been divided into teams, not combined as a club.
So we have an experienced player, getting good game time, but due to being so involved in his own baseball requirements, he's not really able to pass on his experience and knowledge to others.
The roles traditionally filled by Peter and his experienced, skilled team mates, are now filled with players who don't have such a heavy baseball workload, but lack the depth that Peter has. As a consequence baseball knowledge is becoming quite top heavy.
I hope you can all see where I am going here.
Counter arguments will no doubt contend that players have always been involved 2-3 nights per week plus most of Sunday and that things haven't really changed. I hope you can see that at a very basic, short sighted level, this is correct, but when you look closer it's the input made during those times that has changed.
When I only got to play once per week, I was so hungry for baseball that I wanted to attend training. I gave it my all and so did those around me. I needed a baseball fix and if I couldn't play, training was the next best thing.
I can remember shagging several hundred flyballs/groundballs twice per week and being told what I was doing right or wrong by the guys in the higher teams. I was given detailed instructions on what to do in certain circumstances and how to read the game. Playing in the fourths now, my team mates are amazed that I "know" when a runner is going to steal. The reason I "know" is because I was drilled for many hours both as a fielder and a runner as to when the best time to steal a base is. In general, today's players in lower teams just don't have this same knowledge.
Even general standards have dropped. Here is a short list of items that I would have been torn a new one for doing/not doing when I was coming up through the ranks, but seem to be common place now:
Not coming to training or leaving early
Not wanting to sit on the bench in the ones
Wearing my hat any other way than the proper way - backwards was unheard of.
Showing up in a dirty uniform
Showing up to training in shorts
Arguing with a coach, about ANYTHING
Leaving the ground before it was raked/tidied
Not attending club functions
Failing to show up for a rostered, junior umpire gig or canteen shift
Lastly, the time that was spent prior to the increased game schedule, was predominately spent AT THE CLUB. This not only meant knowledge and experience was passed down, it also meant that a true sense of club was formed. I spent many nights locked in the Malvern Baseball Club rooms after training, playing stupid games with players from every team until 2,3 or 4 in the morning. One year we even made a rule that you couldn't leave earlier than you did the time before. That sort of club camaraderie is hard to form when your star players are playing at Altona and club training was cancelled due to lack of numbers.
This is not a criticism, nor is it an attack on the powers that be. It's one person's opinion based on observations over a number of years. I guess the old saying of "quality, not quantity" may be somewhat applicable.
Whilst Peter might be a better baseballer from all his extra games, is Victorian Baseball as a whole better?
