Wrestling is a CONTACT SPORT! They have Weight Classes... Baseball is NOT a contact sport, they are broken into AGE GROUPS!!!

Touche', Hank...

This kid is no bigger or taller than the other kids.

Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators.
Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

thhis kid is a freak of nature and is throwing the ball at them at 40MPH!

Are you crying? Are you crying? THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!!!

Kids need to be at a level that is at or near their skill, not 'in over their heads to make them step up' or 'below their skill so they can be the star'.

Would you teach your kid to swim by tossing them into the middle of the lake and walking away, would you take your olympic swimmer to a wading pool because 'it's a cake-walk win' or would you do it where they are challenged but not overwhelmed (your answer will truly determine your understanding of what it takes to effectively parent a child)?

you are going to make that one individual suffer the shame of being torn from his peer group...

maybe he sets the bar, and the rest of the kids suck it up and strive to meet the same expectations???

and like I said before... lets compare apples to apples...

We are comparing "apples to apples". I'm talking about how you build skills and develop abilities in kids. The exact sport or skill you teach is not the issue, it's how you teach it that is the point. You seem to want to avoid that.

Part of developing skills and abilities means facing your fears, and others, that are better than you in a particular sport. To think that you are somehow protecting them, by taking away that challenge, is, in my opinion, wrong.

That teams are starting to walk off the field and forfeiting games rather than play is a pretty good hint that the challenge is beyond their scope.

I think this has more to do with the "powers that be" in this league. I honestly think the coaches were told to forfeit if this kid was pitching, because of the politics involved with the other team that he chose not to play for and the sponsers.

Wow, is that what they teach in parenting/family life classes in high school around there? Just toss the kids in over their heads and tell them to "suck it up"? Certainly explains a lot.

Kids are not simply "little adults" who don't know as much yet, "suck it up" works when your dealing with scraped knees and stubbed toes, not teaching new skills and developing abilities.

No one is winning this blame game
Dave Solmon, Register Sports Columnist
08/27/2008


NEW HAVEN — While the rest of the country has already determined that the satanic Liga Juvenil de Baseball of New Haven scores its double plays 6-6-6, we are here to remind all of those who want in on Jericho Scott’s 15 minutes of fame that there are two halves of every inning.

At its worst, the Liga Juvenil de Baseball (LJB) is a league that can’t get its story straight, that can’t figure out who and what it is, and a league that doesn’t fully understand the perception that has prompted Robin Roberts, Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Kimmel, Mitch Albom and so many other to seize on New Haven’s inhumanity to man.

But it is not a league that fails to care deeply about its children and its community — and a league that stands together today because of those facts, even while the rest of the free world is reviled by the notion that little Jericho — age 10, today, and happy birthday, by the way — has been denied his inalienable rights to pitch under the Bill of Rights.

We feel his pain, not because the LJB is a villainous gang, but because lawyers and politics and little league parents have turned his life upside down.

Jericho Scott also plays for an all-star team in the Dom Aitro League in New Haven, where he is coach Mark Gambardella’s fourth-best pitcher and only recently installed as the regular second baseman. We should all be sad when Gambardella says that “the kid is a wreck” over all the attention and the associated guilt trip of a 9-year-old who thinks he has done something wrong.

Conversely, we’re guessing that Nicole and Leroy Scott, the parents of the young man, are on a thrill ride, judging by the comments made by Nicole Scott when a league team threatened to pull its team off the field if Jericho pitched in a game on Aug. 20. According to several earwitnesses that day, Nicole Scott threatened to bring the league to its knees, using vulgar language within earshot of the players.

Like most around the country upon hearing of Jericho Scott’s plight, I was appalled that this kid was being harassed, indirectly as it may be, by league administrators and parents. What do you mean he’s a menace to the batters? Everyone agrees he throws hard and straight. Moreover, I talked to no less than four kids who have faced Jericho Scott without fear in the Dom Aitro League, and at least a couple of them profess to have hits off of him.

But there is a foul smell when a team that is 4-0 with a full complement of players and suddenly adds two Dom Aitro all-stars in mid-year while other teams of modest ability, including at least one team with a short roster, are left to struggle.

“This is a fun league, and it really doesn’t have many rules,” said Chris Helland, whose daughter, Danajah, and nephew, Frankie Scalo, both 10, play for J&I Luncheonette. ”I’ve been with this league from the start, and whenever they have a discussion (over some league issue), they get together and agree on rules. That’s how we decided upon the pitching (total pitches). Otherwise you’d have the same kid pitch every game.”

And here’s where the whole affair takes another sordid turn. Some people in the league bemoan the fact that Jericho has pitched more than is reasonably necessary. In his first day in the league, Aug. 9, a Saturday, Scott pitched five innings. The next day, he pitched three more innings. In the following game, Wednesday, Aug. 13, he pitched another five innings — after which the league was ready to disband Will Power Fitness, unless it gave assurances the Scott wouldn’t pitch any longer.

Understand that this is not your Williamsport-styled little league. It is not affiliated with the official brand and it is best called a developmental league. So when little Jericho and his fastball turned up in mid-season to blow 40 mile per hour smoke past uncertain newbie batters game after game, there were raised eyebrows throughout the league.

Tuesday, in response to threats of a suit from an angry Nicole Scott, the LJB held a disjointed press conference at Criscuolo Field. Attorney Peter Noble, the league’s advisor, hemmed and hawed his way through real questions and kept getting back to the fact that league parents were in fear for the eyes, ears, and noses of their precious kids.

Yet there are a couple others in the league who throw almost as hard with less control. No one is demanding that they turn in their pitching spikes. Moreover, Carlito’s Barber Shop, the team that finished first the previous two seasons, actively pursued Jericho Scott for their team prior to the season.

So is this whole Jericho Scott story a political backlash at Will Power Fitness, to some, an increasingly renegade team in a league where the emphasis of many is on the most elemental teaching aspects of the game? Therein lies the inherent inconsistencies of the LJB because in one breath, the league purports to be all about “Community and Family” (the words on the T-shirts that were distributed to parents for press conference purposes Tuesday). Yet, if it truly wants to be a developmental league, don’t keep score and don’t crown champions. You either play to win or you play only for fun.

One interested observer to the dysfunctional attempt at the press conference was Wayne Morrison, coach of the 9-10 all-star team in the affiliated Pop Smith Little League in New Haven. He came here thinking, from everything that he’d heard the past couple of days, that a gross injustice was being perpetrated upon Jericho Scott and Will Power Fitness.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this ... it was unbelievable ... a kid kind of being denied a chance to play because he’s too good,” Morrison said. “Our first reaction was, Wayne, go over there, find the kid and bring him over to Pop Smith. We’ll welcome him with open arms. It kind of took me for a loop. And then I came out here and I was talking to some of the people who are involved in this and my understanding is that this team was beating other teams (by lopsided scores), and they were trying to kind of balance things.

“The more information I get, the more I understand. You’re talking about 9- and 10-year-old kids here. Is the main thing winning? Sometimes it’s not. I’m just amazed how they let him on this team. I would question that. If a team is 6-0 and you put two all-star kids on it, are you balancing things out? So I’m kind of confused at what the issue is here.”

Around the country, it’s pretty black and white. The LJB of New Haven is being picked over by the pundits and talk show celebrities who have their cause celebre of the moment. But the Liga Juvenil de Baseball of New Haven will survive the ridicule another day, and other year, because enough good people in the community have their hearts in the right place. Jericho Scott, sadly, is caught in the crossfire of a situation that should have been handled with reason instead of threats.

Does he HAVE to pitch? If he has perfected the pitch to the point that he is way out of the division he is playing in, why not have him work on the skills he HASN'T perfected?

Tuesday, in response to threats of a suit from an angry Nicole Scott, the LJB held a disjointed press conference at Criscuolo Field. Attorney Peter Noble, the league’s advisor, hemmed and hawed his way through real questions and kept getting back to the fact that league parents were in fear for the eyes, ears, and noses of their precious kids.

Yet there are a couple others in the league who throw almost as hard with less control. No one is demanding that they turn in their pitching spikes.

Have YOU ever protested over a 9-year old pitcher?
Aug 26, 2008 | 8:45AM |

This question I have posed does seem a little extreme. What reason would you have to be against some 9-year old kid pitching against 8-10-year old kids?

Well, in New Haven Connecticut parents and their kids protested over a young boy named Jericho Scott. Scott is/was a right-handed pitcher who threw about 40 mph and has been so good in the New Haven Youth Baseball League that opposing players and parents urged league officials to ban him from pitching. To add to this story, Scott apparently has pinpoint control and has yet to hit any player in the league this season.

Back on point, are we kidding? You ask the league to stop a great pitcher from pitching? That would be like every country protesting that Michael Phelps shouldn't be allowed to swim because he's too good. Not only is this league wrong for preventing Scott from pitching, they have violated his rights. His parents paid for him to play in this league and he deserves the opportunity to pitch, hit, play the field and more importantly, play baseball.

For those people who opposed Scott from pitching in this league should not only be ashamed of themselves but they are what's wrong with sports.

This is far worse than showing up a player on the field or breaking an unwritten rule, these people have done what they could to break the spirit of a 9-year old boy who loves to pitch. Are you proud of yourselves? Have you accomplished something positive? No, you have brought unnecessary attention to yourselves for all the wrong reasons. This boy should have been given proper respect for his good play, and instead I have to read about how parents and a Youth Baseball League have ripped this kid's heart out. Great work people! Are you going to make the best hitter in the league swing with wood while the rest hit with aluminum bats?

Why don't we punish the kids who get straight A's in school because they are simply too smart in class.

Why don't we punish the salesperson who has 100 clients and makes $100, 000 from each of them because he's simply too good for his company.

In fact let's punish Tiger Woods when he gets back from injury because he should let other golfers win major championships.

This is one of the worst stories to hear when you have lived, breathed and sweat baseball for nearly 20 years. These people should appreciate what Jericho Scott does on the mound and hope that he succeeds later on in life. To take something away from him because of something he didn't do is one of the worst things you can do to a child. Heinous actually.

These are the same people who are allowed to have kids and teach them terrible life lessons like this story. These are also the same people who formulate terrible opinions about sports and are allow to vote in presidential elections. It is scary to think about how responsible parents like these are to a country, let alone their own family. It also paints a terrible picture of how their kids will perceive this situation and feel this is right. It isn't right. It is wrong in the worst way.

Developmental league or not, Jericho Scott's love for pitching was taken away because he happened to develop faster than other kids. Instead of the league being proud of that, they have taken a step backward as to say, "we don't want THAT kind of development". That is a slap in the face to him, his family, his team and his coaches. Shame on you.

Jericho's mother Nicole will meet with a lawyer, and that's the right play. Don't allow shallow, self-centered and naive parents to allow control over your son. And lots of people would have blown their top over this, myself included (probably), if I found out a league banned my son or daughter from pitching because they are too good. What should also be pointed out is he turned down playing for the defending champions of the league who happens to be sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators. Does someone have an AXE to grind on this kid? Or do they really want to repeat this year and banning Scott is the way to go.

This is a sad story for kids who participate in sports. But I'm not sure what's worse; pushing for Scott to never pitch in the league or going to bed at night thinking what you did was right.

I hate that we had to learn about a dominant 9-year old pitcher this way. Jericho Scott has earned and deserved better than this

no wonder America's children and teens are so soft these days. Why not take the challenge and try and hit the kids stuff?? Nooo, the other team packs it in and runs off afraid like a bunch of wusses. That's absurd. Only as far back as the 70's, not long ago, the best played, prospered and moved on to higher leagues. Today, with all the political correctness going on, kids hit off tee's, they play for more than 3 outs an inning, everyone gets a chance to hit the same and everyone feels oooh soo good after the game. It doesn't help you develop. That does not help you become a strong young man when you face no adversity. It has to be a woman who came up with this stuff. "Ohh I don't want my Jimmy getting hurt". America is soft and getting softer. Young boys are being raised predominantly by their moms with little to no adult male interjection and increasingly having female values instilled. It's called the Pussification of America. Young men are wimps these days and wanna cry wah wah wah, like a girl, when things don't go their way. When you don't experience problems you can't adjust to them and take them on either. Jeeez, what about the brainiac kid that wins all the scholarships and comes in #1 and takes up time away from the teacher while the other kids that aren't as gifted don't do as well? What happens? Nothing. This kid who has exceptional arm strength was made to feel like an outcast or worse yet, a freak. He outta take the ball and bean one of the league geniuses that banned him. Totally absured.

I am glad you support the right of Nicole Scott to take legal action.

Bring the league to their knees......
I bet it bankrupts the League

Thats what youth sports is all about... Winning

Everyone should watch her son pitch

Simple solution. Everyone who does not wish to play against this pitcher can quit.