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Sheldon Ocker: Pitcher is caught in adult game

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

POSTED: 09:43 p.m. EDT, Aug 30, 2008

Did you hear the one about the kid pitcher who got his team kicked out of the league because he was too accomplished? The Indians should have such problems.

If you listened to radio or watched television last week, you probably are aware of the bizarre events that unfolded in New Haven, Conn., so you know this is no joke. Actually, the ongoing fracas would be hilarious, if it weren't such a maddening example of grown-ups acting badly.

These are the basics: Nine-year-old Jericho Scott, who turned 10 last Wednesday, joined the Will Power Fitness team of the Liga Juvenil De Baseball De New Haven three weeks ago, in the middle of the season.

Jericho pitched three times, and his team, unbeaten when he arrived, lifted its record to 8-0. That's when the trouble began. In Will Power Fitness' next game, league officials told coach Wilfred Vidro that Jericho no longer could pitch. So he played second base instead.

But Jericho did take the mound the following game and the opposing team walked off the field, the umpires declaring a forfeit. According to witnesses, angry parents/fans of the Will Power Fitness players, especially Nicole Scott, Jericho's mother, raged about the injustice of disallowing Jericho to pitch.

Why did the league object to Jericho pitching? Officials said that because his fastball topped out at 40 mph, he was a danger to batters who are just learning the game. Liga Juvenil is considered a ''developmental'' league composed of relatively unskilled players or novices.

Moreover, league administrators claimed, hitters were so fearful of Jericho's pitches, they might quit the league and never play baseball again. These officials insisted their only concern was for the safety and well-being of the tikes who were in mortal danger from a fellow 9-year-old.

Since then, there have been legal threats — naturally, both the league and Jericho's parents hired lawyers — and a back story has emerged that puts into question Liga Juvenil's ostensible reason for keeping Jericho off the mound.

More beneath surface New Haven Register columnist Dave Solomon did a little digging and discovered that Jericho also plays on a Pony League team called Dom Aitro. Solomon describes the players in this league as all-stars and Jericho as only the fourth-best pitcher on the team, who recently became the regular second baseman. Solomon talked to at least four kids who play in the Liga Juvenil and asked them whether they were afraid to bat against Jericho. Each of the players said he had no fear of standing in against Jericho, and a couple claimed to have gotten hits off him. Liga Juvenil says it is disbanding Will Power Fitness and dispersing its players to other teams. Officials also say that Vidro has resigned as coach. He says he hasn't quit and has vowed to keep the team together. So what really is going on here? Apparently, just the usual grown-up mischief: misplaced ambition, trying to win at all costs, living through their children, lack of perspective, total lack of common sense, which obviously isn't common at all. Nicole Scott says that her son Jericho was approached about five months ago by officials of Liga Juvenil, who asked him whether he would like to play for Carlito's Barber Shop team, two-time defending champion. It just happens that the league president either is an owner of the shop or works there. Jericho chose to play for Will Power Fitness instead, but not until mid-August. Why the time lapse? Did Will Power Fitness see a chance in midseason to unseat Carlito's? The team apparently recruited another player from Pony League in August. Could it be that the league, or at least Carlito's, decided to respond to the threat to its title hopes by getting rid of Jericho under the pretense of his being a danger to other players? Jericho's parents say that his pitches have never been clocked, and league officials admit that he never has hit an opposing batter. And what is the risk of bodily harm if a 9- or 10-year-old throws 40 mph? I'm guessing that the distance between the pitcher's mound and the plate in Liga Juvenil is about 45 feet. I have been told more than once that just to keep a baseball in the air throwing from a big-league mound to the plate (60 feet, 6 inches), the velocity must reach 35 mph.
Lawyers join fray Meanwhile, the antagonists have their lawyers on the case. The attorney for the Scotts, John Williams, said his objective is to see to it that Will Power Fitness remains in the league and gets into the playoffs, where it belongs. He also is threatening to sue the league for pain and suffering to Jericho and other players. Parents are holding a carwash and possibly other fundraisers to pay Williams, who is known in New Haven as a lawyer who will take on unusual cases. This is a story the big media couldn't resist. So there were calls to the Scotts from Letterman and Leno, the Today Show and Ellen DeGeneres. That kind of exposure ensures one thing: Reporters will follow Jericho Scott's baseball ''career'' at least until he is 21 to see whether he ''makes it.'' But right now, Jericho — the Randy Johnson of Liga Juvenil De Baseball De New Haven — is a forgotten soul, even though he has been described as both perpetrator and victim in this melodrama. What he has become is a pawn of the adults on both sides, who I'm sure are ready to carry their fight to the Supreme Court or into a WWE ring (good news, folks, you can whack each other with metal chairs) to obtain satisfaction. Jericho had the most sensible reaction the day he was banished from the mound: He cried. He also spoke to the sensibilities of other children who are caught in a tug of war between irrational and overzealous parents, when he said, ''I feel sad. I feel like it's all my fault that nobody could play.'' Unfortunately, the grown-ups wouldn't want it any other way, kid.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.

Did you hear the one about the kid pitcher who got his team kicked out of the league because he was too accomplished? The Indians should have such problems.

If you listened to radio or watched television last week, you probably are aware of the bizarre events that unfolded in New Haven, Conn., so you know this is no joke. Actually, the ongoing fracas would be hilarious, if it weren't such a maddening example of grown-ups acting badly.

These are the basics: Nine-year-old Jericho Scott, who turned 10 last Wednesday, joined the Will Power Fitness team of the Liga Juvenil De Baseball De New Haven three weeks ago, in the middle of the season.

Jericho pitched three times, and his team, unbeaten when he arrived, lifted its record to 8-0. That's when the trouble began. In Will Power Fitness' next game, league officials told coach Wilfred Vidro that Jericho no longer could pitch. So he played second base instead.

But Jericho did take the mound the following game and the opposing team walked off the field, the umpires declaring a forfeit. According to witnesses, angry parents/fans of the Will Power Fitness players, especially Nicole Scott, Jericho's mother, raged about the injustice of disallowing Jericho to pitch.

Why did the league object to Jericho pitching? Officials said that because his fastball topped out at 40 mph, he was a danger to batters who are just learning the game. Liga Juvenil is considered a ''developmental'' league composed of relatively unskilled players or novices.

Moreover, league administrators claimed, hitters were so fearful of Jericho's pitches, they might quit the league and never play baseball again. These officials insisted their only concern was for the safety and well-being of the tikes who were in mortal danger from a fellow 9-year-old.

Since then, there have been legal threats — naturally, both the league and Jericho's parents hired lawyers — and a back story has emerged that puts into question Liga Juvenil's ostensible reason for keeping Jericho off the mound.

More beneath surface New Haven Register columnist Dave Solomon did a little digging and discovered that Jericho also plays on a Pony League team called Dom Aitro. Solomon describes the players in this league as all-stars and Jericho as only the fourth-best pitcher on the team, who recently became the regular second baseman. Solomon talked to at least four kids who play in the Liga Juvenil and asked them whether they were afraid to bat against Jericho. Each of the players said he had no fear of standing in against Jericho, and a couple claimed to have gotten hits off him. Liga Juvenil says it is disbanding Will Power Fitness and dispersing its players to other teams. Officials also say that Vidro has resigned as coach. He says he hasn't quit and has vowed to keep the team together. So what really is going on here? Apparently, just the usual grown-up mischief: misplaced ambition, trying to win at all costs, living through their children, lack of perspective, total lack of common sense, which obviously isn't common at all. Nicole Scott says that her son Jericho was approached about five months ago by officials of Liga Juvenil, who asked him whether he would like to play for Carlito's Barber Shop team, two-time defending champion. It just happens that the league president either is an owner of the shop or works there. Jericho chose to play for Will Power Fitness instead, but not until mid-August. Why the time lapse? Did Will Power Fitness see a chance in midseason to unseat Carlito's? The team apparently recruited another player from Pony League in August. Could it be that the league, or at least Carlito's, decided to respond to the threat to its title hopes by getting rid of Jericho under the pretense of his being a danger to other players? Jericho's parents say that his pitches have never been clocked, and league officials admit that he never has hit an opposing batter. And what is the risk of bodily harm if a 9- or 10-year-old throws 40 mph? I'm guessing that the distance between the pitcher's mound and the plate in Liga Juvenil is about 45 feet. I have been told more than once that just to keep a baseball in the air throwing from a big-league mound to the plate (60 feet, 6 inches), the velocity must reach 35 mph.
Lawyers join fray Meanwhile, the antagonists have their lawyers on the case. The attorney for the Scotts, John Williams, said his objective is to see to it that Will Power Fitness remains in the league and gets into the playoffs, where it belongs. He also is threatening to sue the league for pain and suffering to Jericho and other players. Parents are holding a carwash and possibly other fundraisers to pay Williams, who is known in New Haven as a lawyer who will take on unusual cases. This is a story the big media couldn't resist. So there were calls to the Scotts from Letterman and Leno, the Today Show and Ellen DeGeneres. That kind of exposure ensures one thing: Reporters will follow Jericho Scott's baseball ''career'' at least until he is 21 to see whether he ''makes it.'' But right now, Jericho — the Randy Johnson of Liga Juvenil De Baseball De New Haven — is a forgotten soul, even though he has been described as both perpetrator and victim in this melodrama. What he has become is a pawn of the adults on both sides, who I'm sure are ready to carry their fight to the Supreme Court or into a WWE ring (good news, folks, you can whack each other with metal chairs) to obtain satisfaction. Jericho had the most sensible reaction the day he was banished from the mound: He cried. He also spoke to the sensibilities of other children who are caught in a tug of war between irrational and overzealous parents, when he said, ''I feel sad. I feel like it's all my fault that nobody could play.'' Unfortunately, the grown-ups wouldn't want it any other way, kid.

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.



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