BackYardBaseballExpress.com

Posts Tagged ‘players’

Archbishop Murphy wins regional baseball final
BELLINGHAM — Burlington-Edison held a 2-1 Tigers lead over Archbishop Murphy heading into the bottom of the fifth inning of Saturday’s regional championship baseball game at Martin Stadium.

Read more on Everett Herald

Mountlake Terrace conquered at state baseball tournament
EVERETT — It was an unforgettable day for the Mountlake Terrace High School baseball team. The Hawks achieved something no squad in their program’s history had ever done.

Read more on Everett Herald

H.S. baseball and playoff highlights and scores May 20-22
Click for playoff scores and Saturday’s highlights from your favorite H.S. baseball and softball teams.

Read more on KIII Corpus Christi

Elbert baseball makes state bracket
In the Class 1A high school baseball state championship tournament, the Elbert Bulldogs entered the dance and faced Eads in the first round. The Eagles ended the Dogs’ season May 15 at Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver on a 4-3 final.

Read more on Elbert County News

Coastal League honors its top baseball, softball players
Seven Lake Quinault players earned first-team honors on the all-Coastal League baseball and softball teams announced recently. Quinault’s Cameron Daniels and Josiah Rhoades shared the Most Valuable Player award for baseball.

Read more on The Daily World

If you have attended an independent professional baseball game then you know that the level of play is equivalent to different levels of the regular “affiliated” Minor Leagues. What is not known by many fans, however, is how little money many of the independent baseball players make.

Unlike many jobs across North America, independent baseball players do not have a union or company department like Human Resources. They can be released almost at any time, for almost any reason, and there is usually nothing in their contracts which guarantees any sort of payment after players retire. When told all about this, many fans say, “Why would these players do that?!?”

Here are a few of the reasons:

A genuine love of the game: Many players in independent baseball believe that they have been overlooked by the Major League teams’ scouting departments. They genuinely believe that they deserve a chance to be in an “affiliated” farm team with one of the Major League organizations; and they truly love playing baseball. Many fans whom have attended independent baseball games comment on the hustle and passion of the players. A player who believes that he was overlooked may play with a “chip on his shoulder” in order to prove that he belongs with a Major League-affiliated farm team.

A need to be closer to home: Often, there are a few guys in each independent league who genuinely belong in a higher level of baseball. For whatever reason, however, they need to be closer to home with a less-grueling travel schedule. Sometimes players just started a family, others need to help out with a sick family member, and others need the support of friends and family in order to be comfortable with playing at the professional level.

A desire to continue his career in baseball: Many players will play in an independent baseball league in order to gain credibility for his post-playing career. Certain players want to manage or coach in professional baseball, others want to coach at the college level, and others want to transition to the front office of a professional sports team after they retire.

A need for camaraderie: If you have ever watched any documentary about “life in the minors” then you know that the players love playing baseball, enjoy crazy antics with their teammates, playing cards in the clubhouse, and the chance to develop lifelong friends especially on those long bus trips! If a player is good enough to be considered professional then many will take the opportunity to play in the independent leagues because he knows how competitive the demand is. Other players from around the continent are more than willing to take his spot, so he knows that he part of an elite level of baseball even though it is considered to be independent of the affiliated organizations.

A chance to rebuild his career: Sometimes an extremely talented player ends up in an independent league due to an injury, salary cap move, or simply due to “politics” in organized baseball. Such a player will play on an independent baseball team in order to prove to scouts that he is healthy, willing to go back at a more economical price, or simply that the other team which released him made a mistake. In a given year, dozens of players in independent baseball sign contracts with affiliated Minor League teams; and each year a few will get to play in the Major Leagues.

The next time you see an independent baseball game, or if you meet some independent baseball players around town, now you have a better understanding of why they do what they do regardless of the price at which they play. If you ever have said that you think pro athletes need to play with more passion and that they are overpaid, then be sure to attend an independent pro baseball game. You will be pleasantly surprised!

Why Little League Baseball Awards Should Go To All Players

As the All-American sport, plenty of our youngsters grow up learning how to play the extremely popular game of baseball. And all baseball players know baseball trophies and baseball go hand in hand.
This is why it is vital to not only buy awards for the most talented players on the team, but for each player on the team, too. And as a coach or parent, this is the last thing you want your tiny sportsman to do. But you can’t just award a prize just for showing up either!

If you are shopping for the best trophies for small League players, keep the following concept under consideration : When kids start to play sports, winning should not be everything. We must teach these young children about sportsmanship and an affection for the game.

Unless the awards you give out are for real accomplishments, they lose seriousness and worth to those that really did an amazing job. Therefore , the list below should give some concepts the simple way to accomplish these apparently opposing objectives – giving trophies to the best players to reward outstanding achievement and all the other players to keep them motivated and happy about baseball.

Kinds of small League trophies

Here are some great prizes you can hand out to your team members :

1 ) Best Hitter trophy – simply because you need everyone on your team to be motivated, never forget that your best players need to be rewarded, too. One major award to hand out is a Best Hitter trophy.
As a prestigious trophy, this award should stand proud of the rest. A pleasant gold or silver-plated standard column prize with a baseball player on top would make a great Best Hitter trophy.

2 ) Best Sportsmanship trophy – some people consider this sort of trophy just as beneficial and satisfying as a winning award. Show your young team that being a good sport can be just as rewarding as hitting a home run.

Many people on a team can win this award, so small, cheap resin prizes shaped like baseballs would be great. Another concept is to award engraved baseball gongs to each receiver of this award.
3 ) One for All! – occasionally the team’s budget is tight. If that is the case, do not worry.

Then, memorialize your team’s name and the playing year laser etched.
When athletes are young, they need steerage and positive beefing up to truly excel in baseball, or any other sport for that matter.

When everybody on a small League team receives baseball trophies, baseball gongs and awards, this can help add a feeling of team unity and spirit to your keen young players. To see more, scan our complete catalog at www.hittrophy.com

Find any glass awards you can imagine here. and engraved plaques too.

See these too:

Why Little League Baseball Prizes Should Go To All Players
.

• ISBN13: 9780061558436
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description
From the icons of the game to the players who got their big break but never quite broke through, The Baseball Talmud provides a wonderful historical narration of Major League Jewish Baseball in America. All the stats, the facts, the stories, and the (often unheralded) glory. The Baseball Talmud reveals that there is far more to Jewish baseball than Hank Greenberg’s powerful slugging and Sandy Koufax’s masterful control. From Ausmus to Zinn, Berg to Kinsler, Holtzman to Yeager, and many others, Megdal draws upon the lore and the little-known details that increase our enjoyment of the game, including: Which Jewish player spent a portion of his retirement as a spy Who received $50,000 and a car to quit sch… More >>

The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players

We know quite a few baseball players will not have a job come spring training. Who do you think will be out of baseball/retiring soon?

My money is on Frank Thomas, Nomar, Tom Glavine, Moises Alou, Ivan Rodriguez to officially hang it up soon.

I am not sure about Jim Edmonds, Ken Griffey, or Luis Gonzo for that matter.

Who do you think will be out of baseball come the 2009 season?