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Better Youth Baseball Gloves

Word Count:
1082

Summary:
Baseball is a game that is dependent on equipment though, and if the equipment is poor quality or in doesn’t suit the kids using them, it can dampen their enthusiasm for little league baseball. It’s important to buy youth baseball gloves for your child, not small adult baseball gloves which will discourage your youngster.

Keywords:
youth baseball gloves, youth baseball equipment, baseball gloves, youth baseball, youth baseball glove, baseball glove

Article Body:
A good ball glove can have a big effect on youth’s enjoyment of playing baseball and even about whether baseball is a worthwhile sport for them to participate in. Kids could be playing many other sports, and in fact, participation in basketball and soccer is growing fast in the US. There’s no better summer sport or pastime than baseball though. It has a rich American tradition that other sports don’t possess and that’s an important part of your own child’s sports experience.

Baseball is a game that is dependent on equipment though, and if the equipment is poor quality or in doesn’t suit the kids using them, it can dampen their enthusiasm for little league baseball. It’s important to buy youth baseball gloves for your child, not small adult baseball gloves which will discourage your youngster.

They had poor equipment back in the old days, including rotted out or horribly stiff leather gloves. Some would actually throw the glove down and try to catch with their bare hands. It may not be that bad today, but in visiting your local sporting goods store, you’ve probably wondered about the quality of the gloves on the store shelves. Some are weird shapes and feel uncomfortable and the selection is many times limited.

The Good Old Days

Have you ever wondered whether baseball glove manufacturers are producing better ball gloves now than in decades past? Well, if you happen to have an old baseball glove still around and compare it to modern youth baseball gloves, you’ll notice a big difference. Those old gloves didn’t make catching and fielding easy for infielders, outfielders and especially catchers. You actually had to have some outstanding athletic skills and knowledge of catching to make a catch. In those days, you used both hands to catch a ball because you had to.

That’s not to say these new gloves are suited to the ball player that’s using them. These kids range in physical size greatly, and play different positions. The child that has a new, well-fitted glove is going to catch the ball better and play with a lot more confidence.

Young ball players with their metal bats are hitting the ball hard, so infielders and outfielders need good gloves just to catch them, let alone throw the runner out at first. We shouldn’t just assume that any glove would do for our child. Each youngster has their own level of coordination and confidence, along with their own style and preferences, and fortunately, there are so many types and styles of gloves available now, that you should be able to find one they like. You don’t see kids get hurt often but it does happen and it will happen more often with the child that feels uncomfortable with the baseball equipment they’re using.

Bad Bounces

Last week, while watching a youth baseball game (11 year olds) a batter hit a ball hard up the middle, fortunately missing the pitcher. The ball hit the side of the mound and bounced up to hit the base umpire in the shoulder. She was hurt and lay on the ground several minutes before getting up. That highlighted well, the speed the balls are reaching and that the young infielder playing with awkward baseball glove is going to playing with fear. Yes, some fear is good, as it keeps them sharp and makes the game exciting, but too much fear and they’re going to get discouraged.

Many of the kids on these teams have gloves that are too small, and overwhelmingly, you see their reluctance to catch well-hit grounders. They generally wave at it going by them and sigh in relief that it wasn’t hit right at them. One youngster in the outfield ran to make a diving catch only to have the ball pop out of his glove. They used to see that if your glove touched a ball, you should have caught it and it is an error for you. When a ball is in your glove, it should stay in there. In this kid’s case, the ball was clearly in his glove and yet it popped out. The reason for that is that the glove didn’t fit his hand and the web wouldn’t close tightly.

He walked dejectedly back to centerfield, his position, and cursed at himself for dropping it. It was like a scene out of a Charlie Brown episode. If he’d hung onto that ball, he would have been walking on clouds and be the pride of the team. I don’t have to tell you how important peer pressure is with kids these days and when kids never catch the ball, it can deflate the team and even the crowd of parents watching the game. Sometimes, it’s downright torture to watch a ball game if the kids can’t catch or throw properly.

Young pitchers too, can have trouble throwing strikes, and after walking batter after batter, you can sense disappointment. The glove on the pitcher’s hand acts as a counterbalance when throwing and if it doesn’t feel comfortable for him, you may be in for a long inning.

A fair number of kids come from homes that can’t afford a new glove every year and they may not be able to afford baseball shoes. If there’s one piece of equipment you need to focus on for youth baseball players, it has to be the glove. Your child is out there standing for half of the game, with this glove on their hand. If it’s uncomfortable, and doesn’t fit, that has to take some of the enjoyment out of it.

There’s a mind-boggling array of youth baseball brands out there to choose from Rawling, Mizuno, Wilson, Spalding, Rawlings, Nokona, Akadema, Kelly, Nike, Louisville, SSK and more. The problem with many of these big brand names is not only the inflated prices associated with these brands, it’s the weight and stiffness of the gloves. The materials and the stitching are sewn well enough. They aren’t designed with kids in mind who after all, don’t have time to break the glove in. Within one year, they will have likely outgrown the glove, so what’s the point of buying a glove like that? The glove ends up unused in a closet or on the garage floor becoming a nuisance object.

Bob’s venting: I tried to tell you in February!

Word Count:
726

Summary:
Back in late February I was getting nauseous listening to the garbage resonating from the San Francisco Giants training camp in regards to drug user Barry Bonds.

Keywords:
Online Sports Betting, Online Sports Gambling, Sports Betting, Online Gambling, baseball, baseball betting

Article Body:
Back in late February I was getting nauseous listening to the garbage resonating from the San Francisco Giants training camp in regards to drug user Barry Bonds. He was as usual complaining about his aching knees, when what it really was the withdrawal symptoms from all the “ROIDS” that were being flushed out of his system. I suggested at this time that Barry would not hit over 25 homeruns in 2006, and urged you to place a bet if it was available.

Today it is May 15th and it certainly could not happen to a nicer guy then Bonds as he is struggling big time with a 2.17 batting average , 5 HOMERUNS and a paltry12 RBI’s in 32 games and 88 at bats. There is a great lesson to be learned from the faltering decline of Barry Bonds the former baseball superstar. When he decided a few years ago to prolong his career with the “Clear and the Cream” courtesy of Balco, his goal was to replace Henry Aaron as the most prolific homerun hitter in MLB history.

What he is going to get is a whole lot of grief and be chased from the game, as a less then average major league hitter. The chances of Bond turning this dismal season around, is about the same percentage that the Kansas City Royals have of not losing 100 games this season.

We are all guilty of at least once in our lives of fantasying about some dream scenario, that we have little chance of obtaining. But we all like to do it. As we have seen in Bond’s case, “Be careful what you ask for”!

February article reprint:

BARRY BONDS WILL NOT HIT 25 HOME RUNS!

It would be safe to say that very few people turn me off as much as Barry Bonds does and as I said a few years ago, I wish he would just go away and climb under the rock he came out from about twenty years ago. On the other hand, this is Major League Baseball and as long as someone is lining up with $18 million a year to pay him to play, why would he go away?

What really blows me away is his whining about his bad knee and how there are days when he cannot tolerate the pain. This is Barry Bonds not Jerome Bettis who is a athlete who has been getting pounded by vicious tackles the past fifteen years and plays a game where he actually does hit the grass.

Bonds has been standing in left field the past several years, playing a sport that requires you to stand in the sun for maybe twenty minutes at a time and every once in a while move a few feet to catch a ball or toss it back to the infield. I’m sorry I neglected to mention the 40 or so times he has to trot around the bases after a homerun, or the 100 or so times he must trot to first base after an intentional walk.

In the past three years he has had a total of 13 stolen bases, so I feel sorry for that man that he had to dive on the soft clay surface that at some parks is like a beach when he stole second base. The man made decision years ago to pump himself up with steroids, that resulted in his head swelling to the size of a basketball and gave him that instant gratification that several athletes yearn for.

Now he sits at training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona sounding like a man that just spent ten years on the battlefield in Iraq. I mean give me a break, get your sorry ass to the gym and get in shape like most normal athletes do and that is with sweat and tears.

As I mention in the title at the top of the page, I seriously hope that any sportsbook offers a proposition wager on whether Barry will hit over or under 25 homeruns. Most people would think that if he suits up for 100 games, hitting that number is a foregone conclusion, I beg to differ. This guy is going to get booed right off the field and hopefully he leaves the game for good, as professional baseball in America, has enough problems as it is!

Bob Acton

Online Sports Betting

In the last article “Strategic Wagering for Major League Baseball,” the basics of straight and side bet wagering were explained. By understanding those basics you can garner an understanding of strategic and tactical wagering. As a MLB sports enthusiast, you enjoy the game and follow teams and players. If you’re really into it, you’re probably able to rattle off the stats of a majority of the teams, knowing all the important facts and figures. You feel you have a firm understanding of a team’s potential to win or lose. If that’s the case, then you’re ready to test your MLB knowledge and analytical abilities against those of the professional handicapper. Assuming you have basic understanding of straight bets, run lines, money lines and over/under wagering, you need to consider the more esoteric forms of wagering, such as specified pitcher, parlays, if bets and reverses.

Major League Baseball is one of the most unpredictable and fickle bettors’ games in all of sports. Many enthusiasts can recall incredible strings of statistics, history and facts about their favorite team. To the casual observer, some of this data may seem trivial, such as a pitcher’s ERA in day games verses night games or perhaps the win/loss record when a particular umpire is behind the plate. All things considered, they are not trivial to the baseball aficionado. They are “clues” that must be considered when wagering on an outcome. Sorting through the endless amount of information is a challenge, sometimes making analysis a daunting task. Baseball, a game bound by the laws of physics, often conforms to probable outcomes. However, like any game, there are often improbable outcomes, making handicapping difficult.

In the game, there exists that important and unpredictable element of human interaction. One thing any bettor has to realize is that in making intelligent bets based on stats, former player performance and a team’s present line-up, they can never be right 100% of the time. In fact, professionals who are genuinely skilled at handicapping are right approximately 60 to 65% of the time. If you’re going to wager in a variety of ways, going beyond the straight bet, run line and money line, then you must use every resource you possibly can. This means that a good Internet sportsbook can be invaluable to helping you achieve success.

Many have called MLB the most cerebral of sports. Odds makers use various strategies in determining the favorite, always analyzing a range of the most recent team and individual player statistics. Home field advantage, field surface, and time of game are also considered. The experts do not base their decisions on hunches, and you shouldn’t either.

With the Internet, there are numerous wagering opportunities that didn’t exist a decade ago. Here are some bets, beyond the basic ones, in which you can engage.

One specified pitcher: A bet is placed against a specified pitcher, regardless of the other starting pitcher.

Both specified pitchers: A bet is placed that specifies both starting pitchers as posted, any change in pitchers constitutes no action.

If Bets: A combination of conditional straight bets (2-6 picks) in one single play. Wager a fixed amount on one team, and if that team wins, bet another fixed amount on a different team.

Single action if bet: Play continues if previous play wins only.

Double action: Play continues if previous play wins, pushes or cancels.

Reverses: A combination of 2-8 picks combined in all possible two team If bets and then reversed. Reverses are always double action.

Parlays: Consist of picking teams or totals and combining them together into a single play, or wager, creating only one risk. Parlays then, are basically a collection of straight bets. The trick to parlays is that all your straight bets must win for you to win your bet, however the payout is much better than you would realize on single straight bets.

For example: Let’s say you bet $100 on the Mets. You risk $110 to win $100 (the juice on a straight bet is 10%). Then you place a separate $100 bet on the Giants. Again, you risk $110 to win $100. That’s $220 to win $200. If you had bet the same $200 in a 2-team parlay you would have the chance to win $520 (This total includes your original wager of $200; thus if you do win, you’re up $320, which is $120 more than you’d realize from your two straight bets.) The parlay payouts are as follows:

2 teams pays 13/5
3 teams pays 6/1
4 teams pays 11/1
5 teams pays 20/1
6 teams pays 40/1
7 teams pays 70/1
8 teams pays 100/1

How do you get started? Start looking for MLB wagering with an Internet search engine. Wow, there are so many sites! The Internet site you select should have a full section dedicated to MLB, providing live lines and odds, the latest information on baseball and expert commentaries. It should also take bets. You’ll find that some sites have daily live radio shows on the web about sports and sports betting. Additionally, the better sites create additional interest by sponsoring MLB wagering contests. Does the site you’re considering offer other sports betting and wagering opportunities on all of your other favorite sports, including the NFL, NCAA football, the NBA, NCAA basketball, the NHL, soccer, horse racing, boxing and casino and card games?

With a 445-foot landing over the center field wall of the Giants’ waterfront AT&T Park, two run shot Barry Bonds beat his magical 715th home run, overtaking baseball legend Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time home-run list. In the fourth-inning Bonds swung a ball that Colorado Rockies’ starting pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim threw and it came a week after he matched Ruth’s 714 career home runs during an inter-league game against the Oakland Athletics to end a nearly two-week fall. Read the rest of this entry »