Sometimes I’m watching a game and one of the teams has a pretty good receiver. I mean, he’s got a barrel for an arm, good size, quick feet there, blocks really well, and so on.
But little things happen in games with guys like these and I sit there scratching my head thinking, “Why didn’t he do this? Or, why didn’t he do that? Or, he had it there if he’d just thrown.” that!” There may be a short list of these things that this “pretty good” receiver does or doesn’t do. It’s only recently that I think I realize why I see this kind of thing today.
Think back, folks, to when your video game was Pong, or at best, the original Atari. There were no computers (no instant messaging, thank goodness!), no cell phones, no X-Box 360, etc. What did we do, besides having to cut the grass? Well, we play baseball, softball, and sometimes soccer in the same day. We did this day in and day out and still had baseball games at night. We developed many baseball “instincts”, even as young children. Kids no longer play neighborhood pickup games. Everything is organized now, down to the smallest detail.
Years ago, even though kids didn’t play as many organized games, I think on average kids played more baseball. As they got older, they developed a lot of instincts… things that tell you whether or not to shoot, in a split second. Catchers knew how to read hitters. They knew how to read runners and remember that #14 would always look down when he started back to first as soon as he saw the catcher’s hand go up and start throwing back at the pitcher. Catchers knew when they had to go on the mound and say mean, silly things to get a laugh from the pitcher, just to relax. Many catchers were calling their own pitches at thirteen years old.
Today, this seems to be less and less. Receivers are more like wind-up dolls. Just go and watch a game today, even the older kids. You’ll see catchers looking into the dugout after every pitch, looking for the next signal and pitch to call. Many times they have no idea why some of these are called. It’s like a wireless video game for the coaches sitting in the cubes near the waiting circle. And to top it off, after each release, what do you usually listen to? You hear two or three coaches barking at the catcher, pitcher and infielders with multiple instructions and demands. Sometimes it’s a puppet show… not a baseball game.
Players attempt pickoffs when prompted, or if there is a play underway. If they do it alone and throw the ball, you’ll hear, “Hey! What was that? Did I say that? Come on!” So much for instincts. I won’t do that again.
I’m not saying today’s receivers aren’t good. In fact, I think they are much better than in the past in most cases. I will see many more trained in shooting and blocking than years ago. Hitting, well, I think today’s players are much better hitters than they were in the past. Today’s kids are more exposed to different baseball training methods and different baseball drills. They receive much more instruction and are therefore more skilled than the children of years ago.
It’s those little things that they don’t have as much as players in the past. Those little things are instincts. I suppose they do get them eventually, but only at an older age.
There are coaches who encourage the receiver to think for himself in different situations. It can always be corrected and taught later. This is commendable as it doesn’t happen very often anymore. In time, you and he will think alike and you will see him become a smart receiver, not a wind-up dummy looking for the next instruction.
Maybe some of the coaches can let their receivers and other players work on developing some of their own instincts sometimes. There might be a game where you know you’re going to win or a game where the score says maybe you can let the catcher try to call the pitches, encourage the infielders to communicate with each other and try to fix some things on your own. Let them take control. Let them be responsible for what happens on the field. They will make mistakes, sure. But that’s when you, the coach, come back to talk for a little bit or two and then walk away. If things seem to be going the wrong way, take control again.
You will see them become smarter players over time. They will be developing some instincts. They’ll think a little differently and maybe understand why you do some of the things you do.
More importantly, they’ll look forward to that moment in certain games when they win enough for you to say, “Hey! You guys got it…don’t blow it!” They will have fun… like we did in the neighborhoods years ago.
