Randy Smith: Keep The "Hired Guns" Out Of Travel Baseball

  • Wednesday, February 19, 2020
  • Randy Smith
Randy Smith
Randy Smith
I have written before about my support of travel or select baseball which is a big turn around from how I felt five years ago. I still feel there are several negatives in kids playing select, but in the past year I have discovered perhaps the biggest single negative. "Hired Guns" or "Mercenaries" who play with as many as a half dozen teams each summer are damaging the already tarnished concept of select baseball. 

When my oldest grandson began playing select a couple of years ago, I had no idea that certain teams would "pick up" very talented players for a couple of tournaments each summer just to be able to win.
The next weekend, those same highly regarded players would be playing with another team. In some cases, teams would fly these players in from Texas or Oklahoma or wherever they live for the weekend just to play baseball. This is simply not right.

When nine- and 10-year-old kids are pawned to the team with the best offer just to play baseball, someone needs to step back and re-evaluate what they're in this for. And when most of these people who run these weekend tournaments re-evaluate their stance, it's very likely not going to change. Why you ask? Because of money. These tournament directors stand to make thousands of dollars over a two-day tournament, especially the bigger events. When you run several of these each spring, summer and fall your annual income begins to look better and better.

I am not against tournament directors making money, don't get me wrong. But when dealing with youngsters under the age of 13, priorities need to be set and making money shouldn't be at the top of the list. These special players who have freak athletic ability and will someday play in college or the pros should be limited to being on one roster.  There should not be plane tickets purchased for a player and his dad to play in a big tournament each weekend. If a player is talented enough to catch interest from college coaches or professional scouts, he will be found. 

Parents of kids with extraordinary abilities may be the biggest problem with playing select baseball. I recently saw a meme on Facebook that stated, "Radar guns are being banned from baseball games this year and parents are being used to determine actual speeds to guarantee accuracy."  I know that to be true for a fact. Overbearing parents have always been a problem in kids' sports  and will likely continue to be.

Playing select baseball isn't for every kid, I've stated this many times before. There overbearing parents are putting their own kids in select baseball when they would be much better suited to playing rec ball. It;s been said that select ball is killing the recreational leagues and to some degree this may be true. But there is always a place for kids with minimal or average ability to play and enjoy the great game of baseball. There is room for both but there should be some real restrictions on select teams and keep these "Hired Guns" out of the picture.
 
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com

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