The simplest decisions confuse me
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Everyone, here is your high school sports question of the week ... answer this ... How does a team (we will call them the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs baseball team) win a division of their league (let's call that league the Southern Hills League) and have just one player named to the postseason all-league team?
If you can convince me they have only one player that deserves to be on the all-league team, well, you better have a grand argument because it's going to take a long-winded person and some convincing bullet points to make me stop analyzing exactly what happened here.
Anyone? Anyone at all have a reason how this happens?
I know I could be making a mountain out of a molehill, but somebody has to at least try to figure out this problem we have here.
At least it's a problem for me because I have a majority of the stats, have seen 90 percent of the SHL play baseball, and for the Mustangs to only have one ... yes, I just wrote out the word "one" ... logically makes zero sense. Nothing against those who did make the team – I'm not saying they aren't deserving as well – but maybe the list should have included more players from a three-peat league champion, who this year alone outscored their league opponents 126-51, more than doubling their league opponents' scores when played head-to-head.
LC's two losses came to Fayetteville, who were the Division II league champions, and to Ripley ... they swept the rest of the league. The reason I keep talking about the league aspect is for the fact those who vote for the all-league team had the opportunity to see the Mustangs up close and personal as they went 11-2 in league games this season.
Some want to see the votes; I don't really care who voted for who because I like and really respect many of the coaches in the league, but what I would like to know is why did it happen, and why didn't any of the voters who happened to be in attendance step up or make a phone call to those who weren't able to attend, realizing LC players were getting the shaft, knowing full well how good some of their players are?
Again, I could care less about the individual voting, but all of the LC stats are online, updated following every game, and you can't tell me or even explain to me how two players who went 4-1 in league games pitching ... players the voters saw first-hand ... aren't "good enough" to make an all-league team.
What about players who batted .389 in 22 games or .357 in 22 games or .343 in 24 games, along with one of the 4-1 league pitching records?
I'm not even being biased because if it happened to another team in the league who won their division and only had one player make it, I'd have questions.
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Reminds of of a couple years ago when LC got shafted in the girls' soccer vote, which still to this day is the most spineless vote I've ever heard of. (The player who was left off that list is only going to play women's Division I collegiate soccer this fall, but what do I know?)
What could make this vote even more of a farce is when the All-District teams are released later this month. The Mustangs could possibly have more players on that postseason team than their own league postseason team ... a league where they not only won the large school division but completely dominated it.
One of the teams that LC swept this year that had more players than them voted onto the all-league team ... LC outscored them 35-2 ... either LC just overachieved (that was sarcasm), or the Mustangs could have the greatest coaching staff since the Big Red Machine, which could be true ... I don't know.
Maybe the seven league games where LC scored 10 or more runs against their brothers of the SHL weren't enough to prove to those with the power of the voting democracy they were worthy enough to have more than one player on the all-league team.
Maybe the two one-run wins they had against their fellow league members didn't show they could get the job done in clutch situations.
Maybe the 10-game SHL winning streak to end the season didn't quite cut the mustard when it came time to remember how good they were when facing their amigos of the 10-team league.
Another league I cover, I feel, has a more modern way of voting for an all-league team ... if you win your league, you are guaranteed so many first-team players ... if you are second, you are guaranteed a certain number of first-team players ... and so on.
That's another thing ... all-league teams should have a first and second team, and if you really want to make it better, though it could possibly hurt the feelings of others in the process, have an all-league team with a player of the year ... it would be really fun to see that vote.
Members of the Lynchburg-Clay baseball team deserved better. I know it. Community members from different parts of Highland County know it (I've had folks from other leagues tell me it was wrong how it happened), and hopefully the voters know it.
I do have some good news for the LC players ... it's a good thing the league championships are won in between the white lines of the diamond and not by a vote because you've already proven that the past three seasons, with no voting ballots needed.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.
If you can convince me they have only one player that deserves to be on the all-league team, well, you better have a grand argument because it's going to take a long-winded person and some convincing bullet points to make me stop analyzing exactly what happened here.
Anyone? Anyone at all have a reason how this happens?
I know I could be making a mountain out of a molehill, but somebody has to at least try to figure out this problem we have here.
At least it's a problem for me because I have a majority of the stats, have seen 90 percent of the SHL play baseball, and for the Mustangs to only have one ... yes, I just wrote out the word "one" ... logically makes zero sense. Nothing against those who did make the team – I'm not saying they aren't deserving as well – but maybe the list should have included more players from a three-peat league champion, who this year alone outscored their league opponents 126-51, more than doubling their league opponents' scores when played head-to-head.
LC's two losses came to Fayetteville, who were the Division II league champions, and to Ripley ... they swept the rest of the league. The reason I keep talking about the league aspect is for the fact those who vote for the all-league team had the opportunity to see the Mustangs up close and personal as they went 11-2 in league games this season.
Some want to see the votes; I don't really care who voted for who because I like and really respect many of the coaches in the league, but what I would like to know is why did it happen, and why didn't any of the voters who happened to be in attendance step up or make a phone call to those who weren't able to attend, realizing LC players were getting the shaft, knowing full well how good some of their players are?
Again, I could care less about the individual voting, but all of the LC stats are online, updated following every game, and you can't tell me or even explain to me how two players who went 4-1 in league games pitching ... players the voters saw first-hand ... aren't "good enough" to make an all-league team.
What about players who batted .389 in 22 games or .357 in 22 games or .343 in 24 games, along with one of the 4-1 league pitching records?
I'm not even being biased because if it happened to another team in the league who won their division and only had one player make it, I'd have questions.
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Reminds of of a couple years ago when LC got shafted in the girls' soccer vote, which still to this day is the most spineless vote I've ever heard of. (The player who was left off that list is only going to play women's Division I collegiate soccer this fall, but what do I know?)
What could make this vote even more of a farce is when the All-District teams are released later this month. The Mustangs could possibly have more players on that postseason team than their own league postseason team ... a league where they not only won the large school division but completely dominated it.
One of the teams that LC swept this year that had more players than them voted onto the all-league team ... LC outscored them 35-2 ... either LC just overachieved (that was sarcasm), or the Mustangs could have the greatest coaching staff since the Big Red Machine, which could be true ... I don't know.
Maybe the seven league games where LC scored 10 or more runs against their brothers of the SHL weren't enough to prove to those with the power of the voting democracy they were worthy enough to have more than one player on the all-league team.
Maybe the two one-run wins they had against their fellow league members didn't show they could get the job done in clutch situations.
Maybe the 10-game SHL winning streak to end the season didn't quite cut the mustard when it came time to remember how good they were when facing their amigos of the 10-team league.
Another league I cover, I feel, has a more modern way of voting for an all-league team ... if you win your league, you are guaranteed so many first-team players ... if you are second, you are guaranteed a certain number of first-team players ... and so on.
That's another thing ... all-league teams should have a first and second team, and if you really want to make it better, though it could possibly hurt the feelings of others in the process, have an all-league team with a player of the year ... it would be really fun to see that vote.
Members of the Lynchburg-Clay baseball team deserved better. I know it. Community members from different parts of Highland County know it (I've had folks from other leagues tell me it was wrong how it happened), and hopefully the voters know it.
I do have some good news for the LC players ... it's a good thing the league championships are won in between the white lines of the diamond and not by a vote because you've already proven that the past three seasons, with no voting ballots needed.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.