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NEWSROOM * CIRCULATION * ADVERTISING
Sunday
March 2010
21
Community Blogs
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Some final thoughts on the Franklin Little League
My blogs about a young pitching sensation left off the Franklin Little League All-Star team generated great interest. You could even use the term, “controversy” to describe the story as WTMJ’s Charlie Sykes referred to the issue as, “Franklingate.”
The Little League is an exceptional organization. In some form or fashion, I’ve been involved in youth sports since 1965, so I have a strong affection for the Little League and wish it the very best. One of the beauties of the sport is parental involvement. Unfortunately, that is also one of its drawbacks.
It’s a pretty good bet that those responsible for slighting 12-year old Devin Baehr by keeping him off the Franklin Little League All-Star team never dreamed the story would appear on a community blog and then be discussed by the most popular talk show host on Wisconsin’s most popular radio station.
One of Charlie Sykes’ callers was
Hughes’ assessment is more than good enough for me.
For whatever reasons or rationale they used, the people responsible for snubbing Baehr flat out messed up. There’s something terribly wrong when the kids of various managers make the All-Star team while a deserving youngster like Baehr does not.
So now the story goes public, and because there’s no defense for what happened, the strategy becomes to use diversionary tactics, to change the subject and point fingers elsewhere, like the young boy’s father.
Some negative remarks are made on my blog, several untrue, but that’s the danger of a blog’s comments section.
A sidebar grows out of Devin Baehr's admission to me that he stopped playing Little League ball after learning he didn’t make the All-Star squad. When he and his father talked about it during my interview with them, I winced because I knew the young boy’s decision, backed by his father would lose him support. I never used the “Q” word in my original blog, but young Devin was eventually labeled a “quitter.” Mind you, we’re not talking about a spoiled professional ballplayer, we’re talking about a 12-year old.
I told Devin’s father that I would have preferred Devin hold his head high and continue playing to illustrate the big mistake that had been made. Devin’s departure doesn’t take away from the fact the young boy got a raw deal. His father tells me that even some of Devin's closer friends have shunned him since the story broke, and that's unfortunate.}
There might be some good to come out of all of this.
Carl Baehr and David Bartels
There might be some discussion in the future about how Little League All-Stars are ultimately selected. I recommend greater transparency. The votes should be made public so everyone knows who voted for whom. Consideration should be given to letting the players vote as long as it’s not for players on their own teams.
And finally, hopefully in the future, voters will think long and hard, and then fairly make the best and most deserving choices.
Related reading:
Franklin All-Star snub is perfect example of what's wrong with Little League
UPDATE: Franklin All-Star snub is perfect example of what's wrong with Little League
Charlie Sykes discusses the Franklin Little League controversy
A quick update on the Franklin Little League story
"You might have a much bigger story here"
Every rotten fish stinks from the head. Time for real leadership in FLL Get out Tubbs ! take" outraged" and Klein with you!
Carl,
Time to put up or shut up. The election meeting for the 2009-2010 FLL Board is September 15, 2009.
I hope to see you there as a nominee for president so you can help us become a better organization. Just a heads-up: it's a year-round job (there are meetings, tasks and jobs to take care of every month) and at the end of the day, you won't make everyone happy.
And by the wayt, your salary as the new president is $0.
Thanks,
Dave
Carl,
Looking forward to seeing you at the September election meeting. It's really easy to sit behind a computer and throw comments out there for everyone to see. Now let's see if you can back up all of your comments. Come and be part of the solution not just another issue! The Board of Directors is a 12 month job. The board volunteers countless hours each month outside of the season to keep FLL an outstanding organization that it is and many more during the season to keep it running. We don't hide behind a computer and complain. We do things to keep this organization running as the largest LL in the area.
By the way most of the feed back I recieved this year was very positive about how this organization is run.
Does being on the board require making up slanderous lies? If it does your current leader has some experience. As far as sitting behind my computer, if i show up at the field i was told i'd be arrested.You can always come over here! We'll have some beers.
To all those who posted that Devin did not deserve to be an all star, maybe you all know better than Mr. Hughes (the Franklin High School Baseball coach). He has over 700 wins - what are your credentials?
Mr. Hughes said that in his opinion Devin was definitely one of the best players in the league and he did not understand how Devin would not be on an all star team. He said the dispute comes in when defining what an all star is. Apparently in the Franklin Little League the definition of an all star is being a manager's son.
What is the dispute now? Are you going to attack his dad again? Call the police? Call Devin a quitter? Say the boy has a bad attitude (even though it was stated he was a nice kid)? Blah, blah, blah. Time to make a change to the all star selection process? An outside source needs to do the voting, this is obvious, for most people.
To all those who posted that Devin did not deserve to be an all star, maybe you all know better than Mr. Hughes (the Franklin High School Baseball coach). He has over 700 wins - what are your credentials?
Mr. Hughes said that in his opinion Devin was definitely one of the best players in the league and he did not understand how Devin would not be on an all star team. He said the dispute comes in when defining what an all star is. Apparently in the Franklin Little League the definition of an all star is being a manager's son.
What is the dispute now? Are you going to attack his dad again? Call the police? Call Devin a quitter? Say the boy has a bad attitude (even though it was stated he was a nice kid)? Blah, blah, blah. Time to make a change to the all star selection process? An outside source needs to do the voting, this is obvious, for most people.
To the person hiding behind the name "the point":
There is no dispute. Devin was nominated to the team, his credentials were clearly stated and he did not receive enough votes to make the team. The system used has been in place for over 20 years without any major incidents. Sometimes you make a team and sometimes you don't.
Now, please answer the following:
1. If you, or anyone else, believe that Devin should be on the team, then please tell me which of the 13 kids who did earn their spot on the roster should not be on the team? Which kid are you going to tell that he doesn't deserve to be on the team?
2. I sincerely appreciate the suggestion on to improve the selection process. As I've said in the past, people are quick to complain but never want to offer any help. So I do thank you for that.
However, here's what I need answered:
- What outside source do we hire?
- How much will that cost?
- Will we need to raise player fees to pay for this service?
- Will this outside source be able to see all (13) Major division teams play all of their games in order to get the most objective analysis?
- Can we afford the price to do this for the (16) other baseball and softball all-star teams we send each year?
- Does this source have enough personnel to watch all softball and baseball games played at the FLL?
- Can we rest assured they will be 100% correct in their player selections?
I look foward to your answers.
Thanks,
Dave Bartels
It does not require money to be fair in the all star voting process. It takes honesty, something the leadership FLL is lacking! If you want to make the allstar voting process fair with these leaders you must bring in an outside source. Period.They've proved that!
If that takes some money...Why do people buy toilet paper? So they don't smell. FLL Smells.Time to wipe guys!
And once again, Carl Baehr brings absolutely nothing to the table. When the going gets tough, he throws out these snarky (and asinine) responses and then offers up an idea already suggested by others. Yet, he still side-steps the direct questions that could actually help.
How about it Carl - will you be at the Board election meeting in September to run for president, so the FLL can lose this foul odor we have due to rotting fish and a lack of toilet paper?
Also, please answer my questions to the above regarding the economics and logisitcs of using an outside source.
If you again fail to give direct answers to the legitimate questions, please continue to post your clever little responses. I, and many others, enjoy reading your useless, unproductive and pathetic "answers".
Dave
And once again Carl Baher brings nothing to the table. When the going gets tough, he side-steps the issue and throws out his snarky (and asisine) replies and then offers up an idea that was already suggested by several others.
How about it, Carl - will you run for FLL president in September so you can get rid of the foul odor we have due to rotting fish and a lack of toiler paper?
Also, will you provide direct answers to the questions I raised regarding the economics and logistics of hiring the outside source?
If you once again decide not to answer these questions directly and thoughtfully, please feel free to continue to amuse me and many, many others with your useless, unproductive and pathetic "answers".
Thanks,
Dave
Sorry for the double posting...not sure how/why that happened!
Dave
Dave, If you don't understand that an All star is not always a managers son....Then you are a problem. Telling Carl to run for the board or shut up is absurd. Attacking Kevin Fischer show's you can't handle being exposed. Grow up!
To "From Franklin",
Why is asking Carl to be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem absurd? If you, Carl and others really feel this is a problem, then get off the sidelines and get in the game and lend a hand.
Exposed? Please explain that to me. The current Board is simply following the policies and procedures that have been in place for at least 15 years. The all-star selection process is not some grand scheme I cooked up to make sure certain kids make the team. What a moronic statement on your part.
As for growing up - how about acting like an adult and be accountable for your comments. Have the courage to sign your name when you make these baseless and idiotic statements.
Dave Bartels
PS: Please tell me which manager's son should not be on the team and back that up with facts and stats. How do you know they all don't deserve to be on the team in first place? Again, I want facts and stats only.
Exposing your "fake" All star game is the first step! Changing the process from "all the manager's sons" to something with merit would be ideal!
Dave, when you were president of FLL how many managers had sons on the All star team? Do you remember? I do.
How do you explain the exact same All star line up as last year? When has that ever happened with a REAL All star game? Never! You need to stop living in denial of the facts. Stop blaming everyone else. That's what losers do! I'm sure you think you're better than that.
And once again, you post comments with inaccurate facts. If you're referring to the Major National team, while this year's roster is very close to last year's, it is NOT the exact same lineup as you wrote.
I do not keep track of who made all-stars while I was President. Please enlighten me and tell me the EXACT and ACCURATE numbers, and please list their names so I can back-check your data with the league's computerized database, to make sure you are correct and not misleading anyone who may be reading this.
While we're on the subject, do you know that the Major National team won the District 6 championship last night? They will now be headed to the State tournament! And, they went a very impressive 5-0 in the tournament!!
This team of "manager's sons", who many of you complain should not be on the team, sure look like the cream of the crop to me and deserve to be representing Franklin at the State level!!!
I will again ask, so I can stop living in denial, please tell me which of the manager's sons should not be on the team. When will you answer that?
And here's what real losers do: they type moronic comments and insult others and don't have the guts to stand behind these comments by signing their name.
I look forward to seeing your complete list of "manager's sons who made all-stars" during my fours years as President. I also look forward to your answer to my question above.
Dave Bartels
Congratulations to all of the DESERVING boys on Franklin's 12 year old National All-Star team for winning the District 6 Championship for the 3rd year in a row!! What an accomplishment to be proud of!!! I'm sure they'll represent Franklin well in the upcoming State tournament.
Congratulations to FLL as well for running such a fine organization!! 9 year old softball girls are headed to the state tournament and, for the third consecutive year, Franklin American's 12U team made it to the championship game. FLL is DEFINITELY doing something right, especially in the area of All-Stars!! FLL has got a LOT to be proud of.
Special thanks also to the many men and women who continually volunteer endless hours of their time as coaches, managers, and board members to assure that this wonderful organization continues to operate year after year. I'm proud that my own children are part of FLL.
One final note...my husband is a FLL manager and my child is not and has not ever been on a FLL All-Star team.
Just a quick comment on this whole issue. I have followed the topic as it unfolded, was one of the cars that got a flyer put on it at the time, and my son is one of the kids that made the team for the 2nd year in a row. I like to believe that he made it by hitting over -0.750 last season and over 0.800 this season and is a very versatile, team player. I think he makes a fine All-Star, as most parents would think of their child.
This team, as much as alot of you want to dismiss it, is full of very talented, great kids that have bonded and play as a team. Its a shame that the hard work they have put in is getting minimized. Their talent and skill is what it is and it cannot be attributed to the status of their parent, unless its because as a coach, the kid learned fundamental baseball and became a really great player.
How about this thought....these kids spend tons of time at FLL, shagging fly balls, hitting in the cages and playing ball...thus making them very good players. Isn't that possible?? Give these kids credit, they are very good players.
Oh and by the way, this team has won the Dist 6 title for 3 straight years and is now 2-2 in State with a chance to go to Indy for the Central Region tournament. Guess they may be pretty good without having to have a single player "carry them". Its a TEAM, not a PLAYER, that wins games...and that is what this TEAM is doing.
GO FRANKLIN!!!! GREAT JOB BOYS!!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!
dphin, The only thing that minimized the All Stars was the All Star selection process. Had it been fair, this never would have happened.
Sounds like your defending your son's selection. Why? He's hitting 800.
What this team does or doesn't do has nothing to do with a corrupted All Star selection process.Why do you think it does?
I agree, the kids on this team are good. WIN FRANKLIN!!!
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