The Pursuit of Excellence

Imagine, if you will, a young baseball player, ten or twelve years old, and his father in their back yard. The father tells his boy, "If you work hard, good things will happen." The boy goes on to be one of the best pitchers in his little league. He throws a perfect game and two no-hitters. He blows away the competition.

What should be done for this boy? I would tend to think he should be commended for his efforts, wouldn't you? Now, imagine instead that the boy is instead banned from pitching in any more little league games because he's too good. Because he blows away the competition, he's now an "illegal player."

According to the New York Daily News, from which I've quoted some lines above, it's happened to a boy named Anthony Seblano of Marine Park, New York. Because "he is an overwhelmingly, [sic] powerful pitcher" he has "a very unfair advantage."

This decision is brought to you by the same mindset that encourages taxes for the rich (after all, the rich couldn't possibly have worked for that money).

It's nice to see the little league team so dedicated to encouraging excellence in its players. On the other hand, I suppose this decision is a valuable lesson on how some people will treat those who are better than they are. (Via Common Sense and Wonder)

Posted by Blog Jones at June 3, 2004 09:46 PM | Category: Other News