Changes in youth baseball are concern
Friday, July 24, 2009
By George Guido, FOR THE VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
See original article at Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
FREEPORT — Thursday night was the annual old-timers game at the Freeport International Invitational, but the focus was clearly on the future.
Two participants, Ford City’s Denny Harriger and Ellwood City’s Jeff Potter, lamented the state of baseball among today’s youngsters.
“I grew up here and I want to give back to the community,” said Harriger, who conducts fall and winter instructional clinics. “I’d like to rebuild baseball around here. In the smaller towns, baseball has taken a back seat to football. I’d like to see baseball get back to an equal footing with football.”
Both men grew up playing baseball, and doing it very well.
Harriger helped Ford City to WPIAL and PIAA titles before being drafted by the New York Mets. He played in the majors with the Detroit Tigers. Potter was a standout at Ellwood City and pitched against Highlands in the 1971 WPIAL title game at Three Rivers Stadium when the Golden Rams won, 5-4. He was later drafted by the Tigers.
After his playing days were over, Harriger returned to the area and now lives in Kittanning. Potter lives in Odenton. Md.
Today, they’d each like to see baseball, the game they love, rebound, particularly in smaller communities.
It’s fallen on rough times in cases, according to Potter. He’s got a book out titled “Whatever Happened to Baseball” that discusses the lack of fundamentals taught to today’s players and the scarcity of neighborhood pick-up games that his generation thrived on.
“The way baseball is going, no one seems to be happy,” Potter said. “Not the parents, not the coaches and not the players. It’s gotten way out of hand and it seems we’ve gotten away from the basics of playing baseball.”
Potter’s book (available for $15 at the Freeport Invitational) explores how life’s lessons are no longer taught in youth and high school baseball like they once were. Instead, the game is all about wins and losses and parents who hope to see their sons get baseball scholarships, he said.
For example, Potter writes on page 19, “Egos have taken over with power struggles and politics….You shouldn’t teach your kid how to hit a ball 15 feet further, but not teach him how to be a good teammate. You shouldn’t spend thousands of dollars on showcases but not a cent on a tutor for a class he’s failing.”
He also touches on the issue of teaching kids to throw curveballs at younger and younger ages.
“I wouldn’t teach breaking balls to a kid until he’s 15 or 16, depending on his maturity,” Harriger said. “The kids fall in love with it, instead of using it sparingly.”
There’s nothing wrong with a player being a late bloomer, as one event before the game proved. Alan DiNotto, who just graduated from Purdue University, had a tryout with Pirates scout Dave Rettig, who later played in the old-timers game.
Rettig said he particularly liked how DiNotto can get outs by changing speeds.
“He’s probably nervous right now,” Harriger said of DiNotto. “He’s getting a once in a lifetime chance. He seemed to be throwing pretty well.”
As for the old-timers game itself, it featured 67-year-old Chip McGurdy — the oldest participant — who batted twice and pitched two innings. He struck out two batters who looked to be less than half his age.
Two expected guests didn’t show. They were Matt Clement, who recently retired after 10 years as a major league pitcher and took over as head basketball coach at Butler High School — he had a practice with his new team — and former Steelers linebacker Robin Cole, who’s recovering from an operation.
