6-Year-Old Baseball Coach's Ejection Tirade a Bad Example for Younger Kids

The Kalamazoo Growlers apparently have a 6-year-old coach named Drake who is afforded the opportunity to ham it up during games. He made a mound visit last week, which I am highly dubious contained any actual strategy and people loved it. Many labeled it “cute” without stopping and considering how it impacted the pace of play.

A few days ago, ol’ Drake really outdid himself, going full Philip Wellman after an ejection.

One again, viral fame was achieved.

This is just crazy to me. Won’t someone think of the kids? The younger kids who look up to this 6-year-old as a role model? The 3-year-old in the stands watching and dreaming of a time in the future when he or she too can manage a Northwoods League baseball team. The 4-year-old who is browsing sports blogs for the freshest content. And all the other kids who closely follow the lower levels of minor league ball.

One worries that celebrating this type of behavior will lead to it propagating on T-ball fields across this great country. How many kids with the big, fat plastic bats are going to eschew practice in favor of throwing a tantrum like Drake?

Chilling to think about.

An email to the Growlers asking about these concerns was not returned. I am heartened, though, to see the team told MLive that, “Drake is awaiting punishment from the league and is likely to face a multi-game ban as well as a fine garnished from his allowance.”

Perhaps they are taking it seriously. It’s never too late to learn to play the game The Right Way.

I’ll say this, though. Perhaps there’s a method to the 6-year-old’s madness. You put the fear of God into umpires once and it stays there for a long time. What are they going to do, eject him again and be shamed by the internet for 48 straight hours?

Hardly seems worth it.