Post by unknown on Dec 23, 2009 0:14:55 GMT 10
I have spoken to a lot of people across baseball, and have read every post on this site regarding player selection and etc - and I have this simple question...
Would you rather see the best team we can put out there, or would you rather see the guys who are club players, but who you know and see every weekend?
I know there are 2 schools of thought on this issue -
1) A number of people feel like the club guys are simply being dismissed for the signed guys, and would much rather see those club players out there simply because they feel like they can relate to them, or are just happier seeing players they know better.
2) The other side of this coin is that if baseball is going to survive and grow into a long term Australian sport again, the thought is we need to put the absolute best product available on the field.
There is talk that essentially the 6 ABL clubs will all be 'affiliated' with a few MLB clubs and will likely have 3-4 of their minor leaguers from outside Australia on each club. I personally struggle to see why anyone would have a problem seeing players from other countries with more ability over seeing our club guys go out there and struggle at the next level. The ABL should be a showcase of baseball, not necessarily of Australian baseball.
Remember the days when Homer Bush, Gary Matthews Jr, Paul LoDuca, John Jaha and Pat Kelly (among the 90+ internationals) played here in the ABL? Those were the guys I personally went to see - the prospects who'd already been tabed as quality baseballers.
I will try to summise my view here:
1) I don't think it's any coincidence other states are putting up better results this year while using some of the imports they have playing here in Australia this season.
2) The Rams are struggling this year, but it isn't the signed players they are selecting that are the problem. There are simply too many young kids in that squad right now, and there isn't much that can be done about that - it has been mentioned before, but many players have made themselves unavailable for personal reasons this year. The core of that team (Schoenberger, B. Dutton, Naughton and even Baker and Utting) are doing everything expected of them. The rest of the squad, and in particular the pitching staff (excluding Simon Morris) have been well below par. Teams don't win championships based on the performances of their stars, usually it's a result of the last 5 guys in the team / squad - whatever the sport.
I have played and watched baseball more than i've done anything else in my life, and I will pay practically anything next season if the QLD team is filled with quality players from wherever we can access them. However, if the team is selected only from the club baseball I see every week, then I won't be there.
NB - Obviously the best 'vote' here would be for a mix of both locals and imports, which I am ok with too, if done correctly. But for sake of discussion and getting a feel for public opinion, i've omitted that option from the vote, so please try to stay away from that opinion if posting comments below.
Would you rather see the best team we can put out there, or would you rather see the guys who are club players, but who you know and see every weekend?
I know there are 2 schools of thought on this issue -
1) A number of people feel like the club guys are simply being dismissed for the signed guys, and would much rather see those club players out there simply because they feel like they can relate to them, or are just happier seeing players they know better.
2) The other side of this coin is that if baseball is going to survive and grow into a long term Australian sport again, the thought is we need to put the absolute best product available on the field.
There is talk that essentially the 6 ABL clubs will all be 'affiliated' with a few MLB clubs and will likely have 3-4 of their minor leaguers from outside Australia on each club. I personally struggle to see why anyone would have a problem seeing players from other countries with more ability over seeing our club guys go out there and struggle at the next level. The ABL should be a showcase of baseball, not necessarily of Australian baseball.
Remember the days when Homer Bush, Gary Matthews Jr, Paul LoDuca, John Jaha and Pat Kelly (among the 90+ internationals) played here in the ABL? Those were the guys I personally went to see - the prospects who'd already been tabed as quality baseballers.
I will try to summise my view here:
1) I don't think it's any coincidence other states are putting up better results this year while using some of the imports they have playing here in Australia this season.
2) The Rams are struggling this year, but it isn't the signed players they are selecting that are the problem. There are simply too many young kids in that squad right now, and there isn't much that can be done about that - it has been mentioned before, but many players have made themselves unavailable for personal reasons this year. The core of that team (Schoenberger, B. Dutton, Naughton and even Baker and Utting) are doing everything expected of them. The rest of the squad, and in particular the pitching staff (excluding Simon Morris) have been well below par. Teams don't win championships based on the performances of their stars, usually it's a result of the last 5 guys in the team / squad - whatever the sport.
I have played and watched baseball more than i've done anything else in my life, and I will pay practically anything next season if the QLD team is filled with quality players from wherever we can access them. However, if the team is selected only from the club baseball I see every week, then I won't be there.
NB - Obviously the best 'vote' here would be for a mix of both locals and imports, which I am ok with too, if done correctly. But for sake of discussion and getting a feel for public opinion, i've omitted that option from the vote, so please try to stay away from that opinion if posting comments below.
