Mattingly23NY
Turning Fastballs Into Souveneir's ~
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After reading some old Yankee NY Times articles, this one piece stands out. (1)- as it is the same approach, I used with my own Sons. My Son's benefited from the same approach of disciplined fundamentals, noted in this article. (However they didn't cry and weren't upset, but they never went on to play Pro-Ball either)...maybe they should of cried....!
Can You Name this Yankee Player:.....?
From: The NY Times article: July 11, 2000 by Jack Curry-
Atlanta, July 10-
The father told his 8 year old son to put down the aluminum bat and use a wooden one. The son resisted. The Father repeated why the son would benefit from using a wooden bat. The son frowned, he cried, he refused to give up the aluminum bat. But the boy finally acquiesced because he would not of been allowed to play otherwise.
The father also told his son, who was a natural right handed batter, that he need to bat left handed for five years without interruption. Again, the son was upset. Calmly yet sternly, the father explained why it was important to be a switch hitter. Tears gather in his eyes, the boy moved to the batters box, and stayed there until he was 13.
“I always used to tell him, to remember what we were doing and to remember that it was for the future. Now I ask him do you remember.”
He remembers not being able to use an aluminum bat, but he is appreciative now since he never had to adjust to wood. He remembers feeling feeble as a left handed hitter, but he now really realizes how marketable a solid switch hitting *(player) is in the Majors. “I wouldn’t be here without him, I was a project of his.”
* (the word "player" is substituted for his position, so as not to give away who the player is.)
Can You Name this Yankee Player:.....?
From: The NY Times article: July 11, 2000 by Jack Curry-
Atlanta, July 10-
The father told his 8 year old son to put down the aluminum bat and use a wooden one. The son resisted. The Father repeated why the son would benefit from using a wooden bat. The son frowned, he cried, he refused to give up the aluminum bat. But the boy finally acquiesced because he would not of been allowed to play otherwise.
The father also told his son, who was a natural right handed batter, that he need to bat left handed for five years without interruption. Again, the son was upset. Calmly yet sternly, the father explained why it was important to be a switch hitter. Tears gather in his eyes, the boy moved to the batters box, and stayed there until he was 13.
“I always used to tell him, to remember what we were doing and to remember that it was for the future. Now I ask him do you remember.”
He remembers not being able to use an aluminum bat, but he is appreciative now since he never had to adjust to wood. He remembers feeling feeble as a left handed hitter, but he now really realizes how marketable a solid switch hitting *(player) is in the Majors. “I wouldn’t be here without him, I was a project of his.”
* (the word "player" is substituted for his position, so as not to give away who the player is.)
