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Should players be allowed to vote for teams?
By STEVE LEE, Times Staff Writer DADE CITY -- Managers and coaches traditionally have chosen all-star teams. In West Pasco, Hudson and Zephyrhills, it remains that way. But in the county's four other Little Leagues, players have a say. The selection processes for squads in Holiday, Shady Hills, Dade City and Land O'Lakes vary in the amount of player input. "It takes all the political mess out of it, so coaches can't say, "Hey, vote for my kid,"' said Dale Maggard, manager of Dade City's Junior Baseball team. Loren Smith, a 10-year-old pitcher on Land O'Lakes' Minor Baseball team, is proud to have been chosen by her peers. "It's a good thing, because the kids get to see all the other players," she said. Shady Hills president Mary Happel said her league began allowing players to vote in 1999. Players vote for the first six all-stars, coaches and managers add four players, and the all-star coach rounds out the 12-player roster with two more choices. "The general consensus is we wanted the kids involved," Happel said. "After all, it's a kids program." Matt Edwards, in his eighth season as Dade City president, began including the players in 1998. "We had a little bit of rumbling that there was some collusion among the coaches, so we wanted to take that element out of it," Edwards said. "This year, no one called me asking why their kid didn't make it. It's the first time that's ever happened." Maggard is sold on the system now, but he recalled that was not the case when Edwards initially suggested player input. "I honestly thought, "Oh man, we're making a mistake here.' But in all the years I've done it, we've never had a discrepancy." Land O'Lakes, in its 28th season, has always included the players. "That's the only way we've ever done it," said president Donnie Brassart, who has coached and umpired in the league for 12 years. "We figure it's nice and equal that way." Added Holiday president Jeff Graham, whose league allows players to select the top 10 for each 12-player roster, "As far as I'm concerned, the kids know who the ballplayers are. If you separate the kids' votes from the coaches' votes, it's pretty close." "It's dead-on," Maggard said. "They're usually right on the money," Happel said. Those opinions, however, will not sway West Pasco vice president Ted Johns. "We've discussed (player input) for the last several years," Johns said, "but the consensus among the board members is that it would wind up as a popularity contest." While cases can be made for both formats, Little League board members agree that the ultimate goal should be to reward the most deserving players.
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From today's Pasco Times Letters |
