I drove by the knothole park in Trenton this past week on a fantastic day....and not one kid was out there playing. What has happened in the last 30 years?

Growing up in Trenton in the 60's and 70's, the average boy played probably 30 to 40 pickup ball games compared to every single organized game. Has this piece of American culture disappeared everywhere?

And, if so, how long has it been gone? And why is it gone?

The Trenton ballpark used to have so many bicycles parked at it, that it looked more like a herd of horses standing in a corral. And every kid that rode up had a glove (or two) over the handle bars. Several would have a baseball jamed into the frame and some would have one or two bats slung over their shoulders.

If we didn't have enough guys to field two full teams, we'd play anyway. Maybe we'd call right field dead, or double or nothing, or pitcher's hand. Do young kids even know what these expressions mean anymore?

And if it was a particularly sloppy day, and we could only get 7-10 guys out, we'd play wiffle ball in someone's back yard. A home run would be called if you launched one over a particular power line or over a house of a patient parent.

And if we had fewer guys than that, we'd play pickle or just plain take turns hitting fly balls to each other.

It wasn't that uncommon to see fathers out hitting fly balls either. Those are some cherished memories.

Sometimes, I read diatribes about what's wrong with the current generation and I have to laugh. People my age sometimes bitch about the lack of standards current young people have.....and they forget all about the craziness of the 1960's and 1970's.

But I do think something has really changed in the social fabric of our youth when you look at these empty ball fields on perfect summer days.

This is not only Cincinnati but....kids spend all their time on the computer, Wii and Playstation. We're raising a bunch of pussies that don't want to go out in the cold and rain. You expect me to ride my bike to the park? Man, give me a ride in the car to the movies, its too far for me to walk. Drop me off and pick me up and oh, give me $20 so I can buy a bunch of crap candy to feed my overweight ass. These are the same kids who's Mommies pick them up from school everyday and bring them to Starbucks for lattes. Who wants to play for the Reds anyway? They suck every year. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez all rolled into one. Who's kid wants to be an overweight has-been like Ken Griffey or a sloth like Adam Dunn? They've never won anything. They're losers. I can do Playstation and blow away 100's of people with realistic graphics. That's way more fun. If you were born in the 90's you don't really remember ANY winning teams in Cincinnati, only what Daddy could recollect from way back in 1990. You'd be too young. What's so great about sports in Cincinnati today? The Bungholes and Mike Brown? I don't blame the kids. Sports leadership in Cincinnati has been made up of losers. I'll reserve judgement on Castellini for a few years.

People don't realize baseball was created around/for radio and it obviously doesn't translate that well to TV.

I think baseball is too laid back for this fast pace electronic world kids are faced with today. I like baseball more than football ...thanks to the Bengals!

What I believe......

"I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me."~Annie Savoy (Bull Durham)

I would rather my kids play soccer than baseball. My son played ball for 3 years to include select and it was just painful to go to games that lasted 2 hours. Worst was sometimes my kid might touch the ball only once or twice. Standing around out in the sun and rarely touching the ball was not much fun for my hyperactive kid. Once we went to kid pitch it got even worse. Our coach would not let the boys swing at the ball until there were 2 strikes so half the time he would walk to 1st without even moving his bat. BORING.

Soccer has plenty of action, exercise and I know that once the game begins, I will be in my car in X number of minutes regardless.

Fortunately, he LOVES football both tackle and flag. Flag football is the best sport I have ever coached. The kids just love the game. 5 v 5, lots of action, everyone touches the ball if you are a real coach (not the trophy hunting types), lots of trick plays, great exercise etc..

We are going to start playing Lacrosse which I never did until I went to school on the east coast. It was the most fun I ever had. We had intramural teams in college and it was just too much fun.

Baseball has nostalgia and tremendous history but it just does not do much for me anymore. Probably has much to do with the Red's demise but also the watering down of talent and frequent player moves have really hurt the game in my eyes.

_____________________________________________
January 6,1991: The last post season victory for the Bengals.

I see your point, SF2, and certainly have no argument with it. But I'm still perplexed.

As I said in my original piece, it's not the organized ball that caught my attention. I think those leagues still fill up.

But I don't see kids playing pickup baseball anymore. And since you mentioned it, I'm not sure I've even seen kids playing pickup soccer ever. Or pickup football in the last 20 or 30 years.

I guess it's not an end of the world observation, but it still seems unsettling that a piece of Americana is apparently gone. For the last generation or two (or maybe three, I'm getting so old), that social, cultural experience of kids getting together to play sandlot ball is over.

I think the problem is our kids play WAY TOO much organized sports. My kid was practicing and playing soccer 4 sometimes 5 days a week at the age of 7 almost year round. The last thing he wanted to do was play more.

Select baseball is just as bad.

I rarely see kids playing pick up anything anymore. Maybe basketball more than anything.

Baseball is a dying sport, you can blame video games and select sports all you want but the truth is kids are playing less baseball than ever before, participation in recreation basketball has skyrocketed in the area I live in while participation in organized baseball has plummetted, when I was a kid I knew every baseball player on every team, ask any kid today who the Reds starting SS is and 9 out of 10 will shrug their shoulders.

I blame MLB itself, used to be you would imitate your favorite players and watch or listen to every game you could, your favorite team always had a chance, not any more and with the Yankees and Red Sox dominating yearly its become ho hum. Also don't forget how MLB never passes up the chance to alienate themselves from todays youth, it is now illegal for a little league team to be named after a MLB team, truly sad

Bye Bye Baseball, I won't miss you, my kids won't miss you but eventually you will miss my kids.

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Q: How is Chad and Marvins relationship?

A: Marvin is the Ringmaster

Mikey admitting this organization is a circus

Baseball is only boring when you are in a bad league.
I coach in the same league as Chris Welsh.
(his son is a monster on the mound)...
Solid baseball, every game is played tough and just like in the majors, pitching and defense will win most of the games.
I believe it all jsut depends on the league and the level of talent these kids are playing in.

Knothole died when the "everyone gets a trophy era" came along.
These kids never know how to fail.
You have to have fail first to understand what you are trying to achieve.
Baseball is a game of failure, it rewards failure....so allow the kids to fail and learn from the mistakes they have made.

My parents pay about 1000.00 per season.
That was the price to get thier kids out of knothole.

When the talent is there, it is worth it to pay that kind of money.





“…man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”

"Baseball is only boring when you are in a bad league."

Or if you are a Reds fan.

The last good team we had was when we had a racist for an owner...LOL

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

"but also the watering down of talent and frequent player moves have really hurt the game in my eyes."

You know SF2, I still am not used the Mariners and Blue Jays. Now you have the Rockies, Marlins, its like watching busch league play. You have a good point, I know the starters from those old Dodger, Pirate, Phillies teams better than the teams today.

Despite their ownership, the Marlins have won two World Series since their inception. Reds? I may make my grave before they see another playoff game.

Baker needs to be fired today!
He sucks.
His loyalty to bad players is killing this team.

Last night, they had 2nd and 3rd down 1 in the 7nth inning.
Left hander on the mound.
So he sends up to the plate...Corey Patterson.
Patterson is batting .077 life time vs the left hander and simpply cna't hit any left hander.
Andy Phillips is a right hander, can play the outfield, hits better than Patterson....
Jr. still was on the bench, he is not stellar vs lefties either, but atleast, I would take my chances with a Hall of Famer instead of some azz clown that sucks.

He is the only person in baseball that thinks that Patterson is worth more than five dollars.
he has sent this guy to the plate several times with the game on the line and Patterson has failed.
Get him the hell out of here and if Dusty has a problem with it, send them both out of here.

Starting pitching was the big issue, they have played well, despite the Goons numbers.

They can't hit...and it starts with Dunn and patterson in the line up.
Adam Dunn had a 3-1 count, runners in scoring position....so he lets a fast ball over the plate go and then swings at a 3-2 count in the dirt.

It is amazing to watch this guy get paid to play baseball.
He hits long home runs....when he is hot....can't play the outfield, last night gave up a run b/c he is too slow to get to a ball down the line, and he is never hitting those monster bombs when the game is on the line.

Patterson/Dunn/Bronson/Gonzo/Encarcion/Blanco----should be gone today!

“…man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”

Murf, Chris Welsh drives his kids over to Ohio to play baseball? I know he lives in Burlington. Don't get me wrong, there are some really good players and leagues on this side of the river but if you want to pay $1000 thats great but its not necessary.



------------------------------------------

Q: How is Chad and Marvins relationship?

A: Marvin is the Ringmaster

Mikey admitting this organization is a circus

The team is based in KY...but the league is SWOL.
I play 3 teams from KY....2 in Flr. and 1 in Ft. Thomas
The league covers select baseball from Dayton Ohio to Flr.
Great league, talent level is solid...
Put it this way, if your kid played right field b/c he was not that great of a player...this league will exploit that fielder in 2 seconds....no place is safe to hide a bad player.

Welsh's boy is a stud on the mound.


“…man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”

Where are all the kids?

Playing the WII and X-Box their parents bought them so the kidas are busy and the parents dont have to parent...

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."