Article:Please Make the Big Bad Nine Year Old Stop

Let’s go back in time on this one…Remember when you were nine years old? Like I said, we’re going back in time, now some may not be able to remember that far back…And for them, well may God be with you. Oh well I guess, we all have problems. Oddly enough this little ankle bitter who resides in New Haven has issues of his own too, surprisingly enough considering his age. No, the problems don’t stem from him wetting the bed either…It has more to do with what every ankle bitter wants to do at that age, play baseball.

So he sucks right, that’s why he can’t play? On the contrary! Turns out nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player…In fact too good, it turns out. Wait, huh? The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said. Now that’s what I’m talking about…F******** intimidation…Screw you Roger Clemens! Speaking of which, has young Jericho been tested for any Rocket Fuel in his body yet? In all honesty, this same thing happened to me when I was a little tike…Thus, me not choosing to play Little League. And I bet I’m not the only one either!

League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast.

"He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."

Noble acknowledged that Jericho had not beaned any batters in the co-ed league of 8- to 10-year-olds, but say parents expressed safety concerns. "Facing that kind of speed" is frightening for beginning players, Noble said. I just love attorneys…They always have the ability to talk out of both sides of their ass!

Okay, true getting pegged with a 40 mph heater when you’re an ankle bitter does exhibit some safety concerns, I’ll agree with that, but my God, it’s called baseball! And last time I checked, that’s all part of the game! Hell, if anything, it teaches them to get the hell out of the way…Or teaches them the ability to duck! Love them parents as well…They want "lil’ Johnny" to play sports, but then when lil’ Johnny gets hurts it’s "poor little Johnny". If you’re going to baby your kids, then they don’t need to participate in the world of sports! But pointing the finger at Jericho, saying that he doesn’t belong in the league and can’t play because he simply throws too hard and your kid can’t hit what he’s throwing is purely asinine! How can you possibly punish a kid for being too good? So in that line of thinking, why hasn’t/doesn’t the PGA Tour invoke the same rules towards Tiger Woods? It only would make sense to do so, since he hits the ball too damn far.

The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching. "I feel sad," he said. "I feel like it's all my fault nobody could play." When in all actuality it has nothing to do him with, but just goes to show you that in more and

more cases these damn parents are always ruining everything for little ones out of pure jealousy. "I think it's discouraging when you're telling a 9-year-old you're too good at something," said his mother, Nicole Scott. "The whole objective in life is to find something you're good at and stick with it. I'd rather he spend all his time on the baseball field than idolizing someone standing on the street corner."

While she may see it as such, parents of the kids who are being blown away by this nine year old only see their "meal ticket" not panning out. Truth be told, kids nowadays are looked at more and more as meal tickets in their parents eyes…And if parents see that it’s not panning out the way they’d like it to, well, you have what you have here. A big uproar over a child being too good…Come on, you can’t be serious! Yet again, this is just another case of it being less about the kids who just want to play and more about the political/parenthood aspects of youth sports!

[http://lastrowsports.com/ Who’s your preseason Heisman Trophy Candidate? Tebow, Daniels, White, Wells, Crabtree? Vote now at LastRowSports.com in the latest Pick’em Poll!]