Expert: Rick Bundy - 7/8/2010

Question
My question is can a player leave an All Star little league game after it has already started because the parent got mad. The opposing team had a player leave the game two inings after he had started.

Answer
Judy:  I don't know of a rule which would prohibit a parent from removing their player at any point.

Without knowing the circumstances surrounding this decision, I can't say if it was justified or not.

From a coaching perspective, team members and coaches all have a responsibility to each other, whereby they can count on each other, thus not doing anything that would create a negative situation for all involved.

Teamwork, playing together as a team, is one of the great life lessons that can be learned from baseball.  Too often, the team becomes forgotten and an individuals needs and wants become the point of focus, whether they be the players or the parents.

Mark Grace, the longtime Chicago Cub and Arizona Diamondback said when asked what was the best compliment someone could pay him," that I was a good teammate."

That covers a lot of ground and is one of the tougher areas to teach players, just what it means to be a good teammate, or to play together as a team.

Yours in baseball,

Rick