17 inches and a valuable lesson for all

Robert · Feb 26, 2017

Today I found out about this in my e mail. I decided to stroke the keys gently to see if I could find an actual article. See it came to me in the amateur form we get often in our e mail. Gently I pressed the google search and sure enough, there it was. I once sponsored men's fastpitch softball. We took 2nd place nationally in 1978. It was costly but sure was fun. My oldest daughter as a young girl was virtually adopted by the team. Wives or girlfriends of the players loved my kid. she was so charming.

Well, at that time i still was a very loyal Democrat. I changed and so can you change,.

I offer this lesson of the home plate.

http://www.sperrybaseballlife.com/stay-at-17-inches/

In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching career that began in 1948. He shuffled to the stage to an impressive standing ovation, wearing dark polyester pants, a light blue shirt, and a string around his neck from which home plate hung a full-sized, stark-white home plate.

Seriously, I wondered, who in the hell is this guy?

After speaking for twenty-five minutes, not once mentioning the prop hanging around his neck, Coach Scolinos appeared to notice the snickering among some of the coaches. Even those who knew Coach Scolinos had to wonder exactly where he was going with this, or if he had simply forgotten about home plate since hed gotten on stage.

Then, finally

Youre probably all wondering why Im wearing home plate around my neck. Or maybe you think I escaped from Camarillo State Hospital, he said, his voice growing irascible. I laughed along with the others, acknowledging the possibility. No, he continued, I may be old, but Im not crazy. The reason I stand before you today is to share with you baseball people what Ive learned in my life, what Ive learned about home plate in my 78 years.

Several hands went up when Scolinos asked how many Little League coaches were in the room. Do you know how wide home plate is in Little League? After a pause, someone offered, Seventeen inches, more question than answer.

Thats right, he said. How about in Babe Ruth? Any Babe Ruth coaches in the house?

Another long pause.

Seventeen inches?came a guess from another reluctant coach.

Thats right, said Scolinos. Now, how many high school coaches do we have in the room? Hundreds of hands shot up, as the pattern began to appear. How wide is home plate in high school baseball?

Seventeen inches, they said, sounding more confident.

Youre right! Scolinos barked. And you college coaches, how wide is home plate in college?

Seventeen inches! we said, in unison.

Any Minor League coaches here? How wide is home plate in pro ball?

Seventeen inches!

RIGHT! And in the Major Leagues, how wide home plate is in the Major Leagues?

Seventeen inches!

SEV-EN-TEEN INCHES! he confirmed, his voice bellowing off the walls. And what do they do with a a Big League pitcher who cant throw the ball over seventeen inches? Pause. They send him to Pocatello! he hollered, drawing raucous laughter.

What they dont do is this: they dont say, Ah, thats okay, Jimmy. You cant hit a seventeen-inch target? Well make it eighteen inches, or nineteen inches. Well make it twenty inches so you have a better chance of hitting it. If you cant hit that, let us know so we can make it wider still, say twenty-five inches.'

Pause.

Coaches

Pause.

what do we do when our best player shows up late to practice? When our team rules forbid facial hair and a guy shows up unshaven? What if he gets caught drinking? Do we hold him accountable? Or do we change the rules to fit him, do we widen home plate?

The chuckles gradually faded as four thousand coaches grew quiet, the fog lifting as the old coachs message began to unfold. He turned the plate toward himself and, using a Sharpie, began to draw something. When he turned it toward the crowd, point up, a house was revealed, complete with a freshly drawn door and two windows. This is the problem in our homes today. With our marriages, with the way we parent our kids. With our discipline. We dont teach accountability to our kids, and there is no consequence for failing to meet standards. We widen the plate!

Pause. Then, to the point at the top of the house he added a small American flag.

This is the problem in our schools today. The quality of our education is going downhill fast and teachers have been stripped of the tools they need to be successful, and to educate and discipline our young people. We are allowing others to widen home plate! Where is that getting us?

Silence. He replaced the flag with a Cross.

And this is the problem in the Church, where powerful people in positions of authority have taken advantage of young children, only to have such an atrocity swept under the rug for years. Our church leaders are widening home plate!

I was amazed. At a baseball convention where I expected to learn something about curveballs and bunting and how to run better practices, I had learned something far more valuable. From an old man with home plate strung around his neck, I had learned something about life, about myself, about my own weaknesses and about my responsibilities as a leader. I had to hold myself and others accountable to that which I knew to be right, lest our families, our faith, and our society continue down an undesirable path.

If I am lucky, Coach Scolinos concluded, you will remember one thing from this old coach today. It is this: if we fail to hold ourselves to a higher standard, a standard of what we know to be right; if we fail to hold our spouses and our children to the same standards, if we are unwilling or unable to provide a consequence when they do not meet the standard; and if our schools and churches and our government fail to hold themselves accountable to those they serve, there is but one thing to look forward to

With that, he held home plate in front of his chest, turned it around, and revealed its dark black backside.

dark days ahead.
Coach Scolinos died in 2009 at the age of 91, but not before touching the lives of hundreds of players and coaches, including mine. Meeting him at my first ABCA convention kept me returning year after year, looking for similar wisdom and inspiration from other coaches. He is the best clinic speaker the ABCA has ever known because he was so much more than a baseball coach.

His message was clear: Coaches, keep your players no matter how good they are your own children, and most of all, keep yourself at seventeen inches.

He was, indeed, worth the airfare.
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17 inches and a valuable lesson for all

Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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17 inches and a valuable lesson for all

Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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