The Evolution of Players

I’m asked a lot about how players are different today as opposed to when I was younger. My answer is always the same in that I say they’re better and worse at the same time. There is no question that players today are far more advanced fundamentally then when I was in high school and college. With the increasing popularity of private instruction, camps/clinics, and travel ball players today have much more opportunity to improve and are more prepared when they reach the college and professional levels. So in that regard the players today are far better then just 15-20 years ago.

The problem I see is that everything in the game has become too organized. Players today have so much opportunity to play organized baseball, on nice fields, with nice uniforms, umpires, coaches, and fans that they rarely, if ever play a simple pick up game, over the line, or even whiffle ball. In my opinion this is hindering the players today by taking some of the fun from the game and stifling their creativity. Players today are so used to playing in an organized, regimented environment that they’ve lost the ability to just go out and play. This has translated into an increase in the number of players suffering from fear of failure and has increased the stress levels of many players. It appears that very few players today play for the shear joy of the game. From an early age they are constantly striving to reach a higher level of play, to improve, and to reach some level of performance or some long term goal.

It’s important for us to remember that baseball is just a game. One that should be enjoyed and played with passion and joy from the earliest levels of T-Ball all the way up to the Major Leagues. The more we organize the game, the more we rob the players of today of the joy of playing. Instead of worrying about constantly pushing to develop take some time to get back to the pure essence of the game. Go out and play some whiffle ball, play a game of over the line. Encourage young players to get a couple of friends together and play a pick up game. It may not seem like these unorganized games away from parents and coaches are valuable however it helps remind players what they play for. It helps players develop creativity which is where great plays come from. It helps players play freely without the pressure of winning and it helps players take ownership of their own game which develops in them the passion and desire to put the work in to improve.