Professional Sports and Taxes

About two days after talking with my son about the “big money” that professional athletes make, I had a conversation with a co-worker (John) about the taxes that we pay in this country.  Keep in mind, I am dirt broke and it is very appealing in rhetoric that the wealthy pay a different percentage of taxes than me.  Sure, I would love to pay only 2% taxes of my entire income and have the wealthy foot the bill for my eating, schooling of my children, and a dozen other things, but last I check America was supposed to be a country based on hard work and rewards for such work. 

It is easy to say that wealthy should pay more because they have more, but why does having more mean that someone should be punished for what he has?  I explained to my son that a person earning a 4 million dollar contract for his hard work as an athlete from the time he was 5 years old pays a tax rate of about 35%  that comes out to 1.4 million dollars in taxes.  Now let’s take a look at what is at least the average amount of work a kid does before he gets the scholarship to college, drafted by a professional MLB team, or even makes his high school baseball team.  In one week, I hit my son 300 ground balls and 200 fly balls.  He spent 10 hours in the gym, 3 hours playing catch, 1.5 hours in the batting cages (out of pocket cost $30), 1 batting lesson (cost $40 for a half hour),  and played in six baseball games.  This was the normal week for my son during the summer of 2010.  Adding 6 hours of reading and studying just to keep his brain sharp, he spent 56 hours in one week working on his life’s dream. 

Sadly enough, I know some people who worked harder than this.  My oldest son grew up with Kevin Ross and his father, Gerald was the baseball coach.  Gerald Ross use to say “We don’t practice, we train.”  He use to work out with his park district team 3 to 3.5 hours at a time in the middle of the July heat just so that his team would be first out of the six team division.  He use to spend his own money renting gyms in the winter time to train his team.  As a result, his son, Kevin was drafted out of high school by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  I tip my hat to Kevin as his older brother who had arguably more talent became side tracked in high school and fell off.  I say this only to show that the level of commitment for a successful high school athlete runs far deeper than the time put in on the field and in the gym.  The level of commitment extends to the choices the athlete makes when he has down time. 

Now a kid like my son and those like Kevin Ross work harder at their dream than an adult earning $25,000 a year; and these kids do this for free from the time they are 7 or 8 years old. If an athlete worked 56 hours a week for ten months of the year and if his efforts were worth $8 per hour he would have a work value of $24,624 per year if we calculate time and a half for overtime and unpaid two weeks of vacation.   Let’s multiply that by the ten years of amateur work where he is not paid we get to $246,240.  This comes out to the allocated signing bonus value of the 168^th pick in the major league baseball draft.  In other words the efforts of my son in pursuit of his dream is valued at about $247,300 after 10 years of work if he is one of the lucky kids drafted out of high school.  Another way of understanding this is to say a person works 56 hours per week for 10 years receiving no pay for his work until 10 years later when he gets it all in one lump sum.  Now my question is why should he have to pay a 20 – 25% tax rate just because he was offered a lump sum of the compilation of many hours of work valued at $8 per hour over a ten year period?

The Worst of District 209

The school board members of Proviso School District 209 should be embarrassed after the publication of a recent article publication by the West Suburban Journal about the debacle of baseball and softball seasons suffered by Proviso East and Proviso West.  The article mentioned that the baseball teams won eight total games between the two of them.  Proviso West winning six games in their season faced Mount Carmel in the first game of the state playoffs and lasted just four innings before the slaughter rule was put into effect.  Proviso East baseball team found itself on the other side of the slaughter-rule as they defeated Chicago Bogan 11-1 in five innings.  This, coupled with just one other win, gave both Proviso teams a total of 8 wins in 44 games. 

Coach Lidd from Proviso East had a very positive and optimistic Chicago Cub fan like view on the matter – NEXT YEAR.  But as the Cub fans have said “next year,” for the last 102 years, Proviso East has not played in their state regional championship game in eight years when they defeated Saint Ignatius in 2004.  From the outside looking in, it may seem that Coach Lidd has every good reason to be optimistic.  He lost two seniors – one of which did not start and was limited in playing time.  He will wait for the return of his number one pitcher Nathaniel Reese (Jr) and his brother John Reese (Fr.) These two homeschooled children bring strong arms to the mound.  He should also feel good about his catcher Gabe (Jr.) who has the potential of being an West Suburban Conference All Conference player. There is the dependable bat of Tyler (So.), a student at Proviso Math and Science Academy that has no athletic teams and divide the students between both East and West.  Also at that school is Malik Mohammad (fr.) who was the lead off batter and starting second baseman.  Wesley (fr.) who will more than likely turn out to be a very affective power hitter for the team.  Then there is Jabari Morris (fr.).  Morris played centerfield better than any centerfielder that Lidd has seen in his twenty years of coaching varsity baseball. 

With such a potentially solid core of young players, things look like they may be on the upswing.  But looks are deceiving according to Chip, the assistant coach.  Chip has seen all of this before and time after time he has watched the wheels fall off the Lexus and leave the school with yet another jalopy.  What is more interesting is that the school District 209 employees Chip as a basketball coach for the highly competitive girls basketball team that plays late in the season during the state playoffs.  This means that Chip does not have the chance to practice with the team until mid-March when the High School season start March 1.  Even Coach Lidd is spread thin as he coaches the school’s wrestling team that is also extremely competitive in state competition and leaves Lidd scrambling to get players by the March 1^st start date. 

What is interesting is that the IHSA allows coaches 21 contact days with the players before the start of the season and assistant coaches are allowed to do non-related activities with the team.  The winning schools use this time to schedule morning weight lifting sessions and conditioning with their teams while the Proviso team players are left to themselves to condition or develop a conditioning plan.  What is even more ironic is that during the summer of 2011, the district asked all coaches to re-apply for their jobs and then hired coaches to coach multiple sports with overlapping seasons.  In this, the spring sports were hurt as baseball players waited for their coaches to become free. 

Coach Lidd reported that if his team was in the Chicago Public League, they would compete for the City Championship regularly as they eliminated a Chicago Public School team in the last eight years from the State Tournament.  Well, the Proviso schools are not in the Chicago Public School system – one of the most poorly run systems in all major cities.  Generally, people send their children to Suburban schools because there is an illusion of “Better.”  This does not seem to be the reality and Coach Lidd may be a little misled on the facts as Whitney Young, Simeon, Lane Tech, Harlan, and Clemente would have a lot to say about Proviso East’s competitiveness.    

The best thing that could possibly happen in this situation is that parents who have obviously very talented children will invest in fighting for the rights of their children and take these concerns to the district board and beyond if necessary.  Furthermore, these parents would better serve their children by combining forces and sharing resources on batting instructors, pitching instructors and camps like those sponsored by Armature Baseball Report.    

 

Ethics, Loyalty and Vivar

“Losing Justin took our life away.  We’re one and a half pitchers short,” said one of the coaches from the Outlaws.

                Justin Vivar, the big lefty for the Outlaws seemed to have jumped ship.  Perhaps the writing was already on the wall when he joined the Outlaws in the middle of the 2011 season leaving the Frozen Ropes Spartans; now in the middle of the 2012 season, Vivar leaves the Outlaws and joins the Future Elite.  In all fairness, we must not throw Vivar under the bus – he is only a 14 year old kid.  Ultimately, it is the parents who make the decisions and choices for their kids.  That being said, there are some serious questions regarding the ethics of the Vivar family pedagogy if the rumors are true. 

                The apparent problem is that Justin had concerns of being pigeon holed into one position of the team that being the pitching position.  Keep in mind that Justin has a very live and active fast ball between 72 – 75 miles per hour and a nice change up to complement it.  He threw a no hitter at Cooperstown Dreams Park when he was 12 years old.  He shut down most of the top teams in Illinois 14u travel ball.  He is highly sought after by Saint Rita, and he was without question the Outlaws stopper.  Although he can put a charge in the ball from time to time, he is not thought of or known for his batting.  No one comes to watch him play first base.  He is blessed by God to throw the ball.  That being said, he is only 14 years old and it is understandable that he would prefer to do more than sit on the bench until it is time to pitch.

                During the Downers Grove Longshots tournament, Justin was allowed to pitch twenty one innings by tournament rule.  He pitched twenty of them.  He batted in the championship game when the Outlaws threatened to rally – bases juiced and one out.  Justin hit into a double play to end the game.  His complaint allegedly is that he did not get enough time in at first base and so he did not want to play for the Outlaws and coach Gould anymore.  According to the coaches, Justin had complained about a sore ankle and so it was a collective decision by the coaches to use him only for his strengths.  The Outlaws have two other first basemen in Connor Fredland and Michael Sebby, so the coaches did not see the point in risking additional injury to their number one pitcher. 

                The initial rumor was that during the tournament Justin was enticed to leave the Outlaws to play for the Illinois Sparks, a team coached by coaches from Saint Rita where Justin considered attending high school in the fall of 2012.  Sense then it was confirmed that he joined the Future Elite and rumors surfaced that some underlined promise to a spot on a USA baseball region team. This news coming after his Outlaw teammates voted him off the team for ditching them at a tournament because he did not get enough time at first base.

Former Outlaw Ranko Stevenovic hits a two strike two base hit against Justin Vivar as the Illinois Indians beat the Outlaws for the first time.  Now Vivar is also a former Outlaw.

                Without hearing the Vivar side of the story, the team is left with a hurt sense of betrayal. This says a few things about the insensitivity and decadence that has crept into the baseball world. There was a time when children played this sport for the love and the fun of the game. There was a time when kids learned to hit up the middle by playing in the alley with the fear of losing the ball if they hit it in the mean old lady’s yard or the yard with the big dog. There was a time when kids played Running Bases and Strike’em Out with a rubber ball and a square box on a brick wall. There was a time of innocence.

                There was also a time of moral virtue, tenacity, and fiber that was displayed in attributes like loyalty, sportsmanship, and team spirit.  In those days when a kid did not start on his team, dad would hit him a hundred ground balls a day in the hot July sun. Parents did not beg the coach for playing time and certainly did not blackmail them.  It used to be that baseball taught children that hard work pays off and although winning happens on the field, it starts long before the winners cross the lines.  Somewhere in all of the smelly mess of USA baseball, National tournaments, Perfect Game showcases, and Little League World Series, parents should be reminded of the old days and what really matters – the lessons we teach our children. 

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Matthew Pizur

The captain of the Oak Brook Outlaws is Matthew Pizur, a 14 year old 8^th grader who will attend either Elmhurst York or Villa Park Willow Brook High School.  Whichever school he attends will give him an excellent experience as both teams are in the West Suburban Conference which has proven to be the toughest conference in baseball for the 2012 season.  In 2011 the W.S.C. featured Leyden, Oak Park River Forest, Lyons Township, Addison Trail, and Hinsdale Central all who won their region.  This year, seven teams from the W.S.C. played in the regional championship game.  The list includes Lyons, Morton, Leyden, Willow Brook, Addison Trail, Downers Grove South and Hinsdale South.  In head to head battles with the Powerful Catholic league, St. Laurence and Mount Carmel won against Proviso East and West while Lyons eliminated St. Laurence, Mount Carmel, and Marist.  All fans of the W.S.C looked on as Lyons Township High School played against Oak Park River Forest in an all-West Suburban Conference State championship game. This should answer any questions related to the power of the W.S.C. against the beloved Catholic League.  It is safe to say that ESPN Rise had the rating wrong as they rated three Catholic League teams above all W.S.C. schools and completely failed to rate Oak Park River Forest.   

As far as Pizur is concerned, the level of competition and the demand of playing on a school team that expects to contend for a state title will be challenging for him.  Fortunately for Pizur, he has the family support and the mental toughness to handle the challenge – by the way, did I mention skill?  Well Pizur is a sure handed third baseman with an above average arm.  He moves great to his glove side and does a great job at using his soft hands at third base to handle the hot shots.  He shows absolutely no fear at the hot corner.  He has a tall lean physique that is close to 6 feet tall. 

Matthew Pizur gets a two out pop up to left field and Jake Rosely makes a difficult catch

                For the Outlaws, he has become the number 3 pitcher allowing only one earned run in three months.  He features a lively fast ball and a curve ball that he can throw for a strike on fairly consistent bases.  As a batter, he has the makings of a homerun swing.  It will take time before anyone can know for sure as his strength needs to improve before he can put the ball over a fence that is 400 feet away.  His hands starts high above the strike zone and he lifts his back elbow high.  He lifts his leg rather high on his stride but he often starts his swing before he fully plants his foot.  This often leads to his front shoulder pulling – especially when he does not stride straight to the pitcher.  He rotates his hips upward like a homerun hitter getting lift on the ball, but he will need to concentrate on finishing his swing high and getting full extension with his arms before he will be able to put the ball out of the park.

                There is no doubt that Pizur has the skill set to play as a division one baseball player.  In the meantime, he will need to hit the weights and develop strong fore-arms, legs and back.  When this happens, he will be more accurate in hitting for power and his lazy fly balls to left and center will start to fall over the fence.  He will need to work a little harder on his pitching mechanics.  Don’t get it wrong, he has good stuff, but he will need to tweak the little things like coming down on his follow through instead of crossing his body.  He is very coachable, make adjustments well, and he makes a good dugout presents.  Once when Coach Goul punished some teammates by having them run after a game, Pizur did the run with them although he was not a guilty party.  If there is anything better than a teammate willing to accept a punishment for something that he did not do in an effort to show unity, I’d be very willing to know what that is.

                Whatever school Pizur attends, will be lucky to have a kid like him. As of now, he is a three tool athlete for arm strength, fielding his position, and hitting for average. 

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Baseball History & The CBA

   

Now that the first forty rounds of the MLB draft are over, this seems to be a good time to take a look at how far baseball has come. The newest players of the professional baseball select few should take a look at what conditions and terms were put on players and how those players fought to make baseball what it is for players and fans. In order to appreciate our future, we need to know what was in our past.

            Some may say that the flaw in capitalism is that the workers have to work for wages far less than what the bosses make for their work.  In other words, one worker may produce $100.00 worth of goods in one hour for his boss while receiving a mere $7.50 for his hourly wage.  As grim as this may sound, it is an improvement for the workers as many movements, strikes, and acts of congress made labor conditions better for the American worker.  These labor conditions were not only harsh in some cases for the steal, automotive, restaurant industry, but for professional sports as well.  Some people do not tend to think of the professional sports industry in much the same way, but there was a process lasting for nearly 100 years before the professional athlete could have equitable labor conditions. 

.           The professional sport that pioneered this change was Major League Baseball which has a history that is not very different from the other professional sports in that many players had a reserve clause that in a sense made them slaves to their respective teams (Dworkin, 1981).  The reserve clause was worded in players’ contracts as such:

On or before December 20 (or if a Sunday, then the next preceding business day) in the year of the last playing season covered by the contract, the Club may tender to the Player a contract for the term of that year by mailing the same to the Player at his address following his signature hereto, or if none be given, then at his last address of record with the Club. If prior to the March 1 next succeeding said December 20, the Player and the Club have not agreed upon the terms of such contract, then on or before 10 days after said March 1, the Club shall have the right by written notice to the Player as said address to renew this contract for the period of one year on the same terms, except that the amount payable to the Player shall be such as the Club shall fix in said notice; provided, however, that said amount, if fixed by a Major League Club, shall be an amount payable at a rate not less than 80 percent of the rate stipulated for the next preceding year and at a rate not less than 70 percent of the rate stipulated for the year immediately prior to the next preceding game  (Dworkin, 1981, p.63).

The reserve clause was “an iron cable that bound a player to his team” (Thornley, 2011, p.2). It bound players to their teams indefinitely, giving them no choice and an inability to acquire market value for their talent. 

In 1885, John Montgomery Ward formed the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players along with eight other players (MLBPA, 2012, p. 1).  His intentions were to form a unified front that would express interest in obtaining player rights.  Although their attempts were not successful, they started discussion that lead to more discussions and other attempts.  These attempts included the founding of the Players’ Protective Association that started at the turn of the century, the Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America in 1912, and the American Baseball Guild in 1946 (MLBPA, 2012, p.1). 

It had by this point been more than a half of century and professional baseball players had not brought an end to the reserve clause.  In 1968, Marvin Miller became involved and started the grueling task of forging a “bona fide labor union” (MLBPA, 2012, p.1).  After a lot of hard work, mainly educating players of the advantages of organizing and solidarity, he helped players negotiate the first collective bargaining agreement in professional sports (MLBPA, 2012, p.2). In this, they negotiated the right to arbitration to resolve grievances, but the reserve clause remained in place despite Curt Flood’s attempt to challenge the reserve clause in a suit that was eventually heard by the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled against him (MLBPA, 2012, p.2).

Three years later, Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally challenged the reserve clause through the actions of an independent arbitrator who heard the case.  This proved to be successful as the players finally won the right to free agency (MLBPA, 2012, p.2).  It was 90 years in the making when arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that the reserve clause granted a team only one additional year of service from a player (MLBPA, 2012, p.2).

In modern times, athletes are more aware of their rights.  The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) comes into play for the protection of workers (Sharp, Moorman, Claussen, 2007) The impact it has on sports are unique and in some cases very different from other work forces.  In some cases there seems a contradiction.  An individual once claimed that he was denied market value pay due to the CBA between his union and employer; his claim was rejected by the circuit court without much of a fight (Griffith, 1995, p.2). However, in the sports industry the CBA allows for individual salary bargaining so that each individual can get his market value pay (Griffith, 1995. P.2). In the sports market, players have earned the right to form unions that support individual salary bargaining – this right seems to be the center-piece to their successes. 

The major reason for the difference is that the sports market has to keep a level of competition between themselves in order to create a product (Griffith, 1995, p.3).  For an example, the Kellogg Company can make cereal without the help of any other cereal company, but the Chicago Bears cannot make a football game without another team. In this example, the product is a game or a season of games.  Not only must there be a game, but consumers will not consume the product if it is not of a certain quality.  With this in mind, sport industries must have some flexibility to operate. 

Thus the battle for player rights was won to equal the rights of the business world.  Although it is easy for the baseball players to carry the persona as “The boys of summer,” it is also advantageous for the  world to also see them as workers earning a living for their wives and children.

Dworkin, J., Owners versus Players: Baseball and Collective Bargaining, Boston: Auburn

 House Publishing Company, 1981, p. 63

Griffith, C., (1995). AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION FORUM ON THE

ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS INDUSTRIES. THE IMPACT OF LABOR LAW ON PROFESSIONAL SPORTS. http://www.ccgpa.com/fimpactlaborSports.html

MLBPA Info. (2012). http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/info/history.jsp

Sharp, L., Moorman, A., & Claussen, C. (2007). Sport law: A managerial approach. Scottsdale,

            AZ: Holcomb Hathaway Publishers.

Thornley, S., (May, 2003). Milke Espress. The Demise of the Reserve Clause The Players’

            Path to Freedom  http://milkeespress.com/reserveclause.html

Sports Ethics

          An interesting debate came to the front on Ethics and the subject about the Mount Carmel Wrestling issue with the IHSA was mentioned in the conversation.  I thought it would be interesting to veer away from baseball for a moment to give an analysis on this topic. I believe ethics are on a decline in baseball.  I think the academies are under pressure to justify their astronomical prices with wins.  If a kid gets lessons from an academy team, the parents expect more for that team to win because the academy should provide some kind of advantage.  If an academy team loses, then the academy will possibly lose future customers.  So the baseball travel teams for the academies become advertisements.  The same holds true for Catholic schools and the pressure of having a quality athletic program exists as the schools need support from the alumni and boosters.  Mount Carmel’s ethics were challenged and as it turned out, it seems that the IHSA exercised more unethical behavior. 

Apparent Problem

In the case involving Mount Carmel ‘s alleged violation of Bylaw 5.162, a rival school reported that Mount Carmel’s wrestling team did not conform to the competition limits.  A typical high school has three or four teams and only the varsity team competes in the state tournament.  With this fact in mind, the bylaw referring to competition limits was unclear as to the limits placed on the non-varsity teams, leaving it assumable that the limits were placed only on the varsity teams.  After accusations of other schools exhibiting the same competition behavior as Mount Carmel and rulings by three different courts that Mount Carmel should be allowed to participate, the IHSA (the governing body) was faced with an ethical decision of protecting the integrity of the tournament, respecting the intent of the bylaws, and accepting the authority of the courts. 

Analysis

One troubling issue in this case is the IHSA had allowed schools to interpret this policy in two or more different ways.  Whereas other rules specify the limits of varsity team competition as opposed to non-varsity (Mallory, Ross, Zakus, 2003), Bylaw 5.162 does not.  Schools with large programs allow their non-varsity wrestlers to compete in more matches for the sake of development; this is also done in other sports and was done by other schools at the same time that Mount Carmel allegedly violated the rule.  Another issue is that the IHSA did or did not know that schools allowed their non-varsity teams to compete in more than the limited amount of meets.  This brings up the question as to the original purpose of the rule.  Was this rule designed to protect the health of the athletes or to ensure competitive balance?  A third issue is the involvement of the court system.  Why was IHSA so intent on enforcing their decision of excluding Mount Carmel after the circuit court made a ruling?  Why did IHSA push the issue through the Appellate Court and then the state Supreme Court? Does the use of appeal suggest a contradiction to the adherence of laws that the IHSA demands from its member schools?

What works in the system is the policing of schools by other schools.  The IHSA is unable to police all of the schools in Illinois; therefore, it relies on the integrity of it members and the system of reporting from other schools.

The total breakdown in an ordinarily well-organized governing body is the Bylaw 5.162 that is unclear and the IHSA’s apparent inability to recognize the flaw in the verbiage or lack thereof.  It appears that there are questions left unanswered in this rule.  1) If a school has large participation in wrestling, can it divide the team in order to maximize student participation and if so, does this count as one match or two?  2) Is a freshman only match considered a match for the school?  We should also take into consideration that athletic directors are over the entire athletic program of the school.  They are familiar with rules in more than one sport.  If baseball allows for sophomores to compete in games where varsity members do not without penalty, then it is reasonable for the athletic director to assume, unless otherwise told, that junior varsity wrestlers can do the same. It would appear that the purpose of this rule is to protect the athletes from over-use.  If this is the reasoning behind the rule it is also assumable that the coaches will see to it that an athlete does not compete in more than the allowed matches. 

By looking at the persistence of the IHSA in the court system, we are afforded insight on the ethical pedagogy of the IHSA or the lack of ethical pedagogy.  The fact that the governing body did not get the relief it sought and appealed to the highest court, suggests that the IHSA wanted to administer some punishment at all cost in opposed to considering the best interest of the sum of student wrestlers. The IHSA went so far as to postpone the Regional meet in order to have time for the appeal (Fegalman, 1995).  The disregard for the decision of the circuit court and the appellate court makes the governing body’s action suspect of tyrannical control and unfairness.  The cancelation of the season in the absence of a favorable ruling sustains such accusations.

The Real Problem

The real problem is inconsistent ethical standards of the IHSA.    If one is to endorse a deontological approach to ethics, he or she should consider the different possible interpretations and ambiguities of a rule.  If there are varying interpretations connected to the ambiguities, the court system is designed to make final interpretations.  The appeal system is designed for those situations where it is believed that a judge made the wrong decision.  Refusing to accept the judge’s decision in the circuit court as well as the appellate court suggests that the IHSA does not subscribe to a deontological ethical approach in its governing but insists that member schools do so while accepting the authority of the IHSA.  This is the source of its inconsistent ethical endorsements. In the words of Mike Ficaro, Mount Carmel’s attorney, “I guess the IHSA is above the law.” (Hanley, 1995).  The IHSA is not above the law and for such doubt to be casted on the integrity of the governing body in relationship to the legal system, suggests that the IHSA is also inconsistent in it prescription to consequentialism as it canceled the season despite the apparent successful abiding of the rules by other members.  If one follows the principles of utility, it is clear that the harm of canceling the season for almost a thousand wrestlers was greater than allowing a small group of wrestlers to compete after the IHSA was “proved arbitrary, unreasonable and capricious by the supreme court, the appellate court and the circuit court,” (Hanley, 1995).

There are two types of utility according to Jeremy Bentham and J.S. Mill: act utility and rule utility. (Mallory, Ross, Zakus, 2003) Whereas act utility suggests that we adhere to ethics that cause the greatest good for the masses, rule utility suggests that we follow and create the rules that would better serve the masses.  In this situation, the rule did not serve the masses in that it caused confusion in the interpretations and if it was clearly designed to protect athletes from the harm of over-indulging in a violent sport, it should have been written clearly as to not allow for various interpretations.  If the IHSA followed the path of act utility then it could have investigated the claims as to the legitimacy of the wrestlers who participated in the fifth meet and verify if they were or were not the same varsity members who competed for the state championship. 

Alternatives

The IHSA could have used the following alternatives.  1) Juxtapose this Bylaw with others to compare and determine if there is an inconsistency.  If there is inconsistency, the governing body should consider the athletic director’s reasons.  2) The IHSA could have solved the problem by isolating the wrestlers who were involved in the fifth meet and made those specific athletes ineligible.  3) Allow Mount Carmel’s varsity member to compete and defend their three time state champion status. In light of the accusations, rulings should assume that athletic directors and school principals are concerned of the best interest of the students and that any misunderstanding due to possible ambiguities are incidental. A) Athletes involved in wrestling are allowed a maximum of four competitive tournaments regardless of class. This will allow schools with large student bodies to maximize student participation and schedule more competitions for the team, but not for the participants.  B) Bylaw 5.162 will be reviewable and modified at the soonest possible opportunity to reflect the intentions of the law.  The intent of this law should be for the primary concern of the athlete’s health and not to punish or reprimand athletes to give rival schools advantages on technicalities.  

Recommendation

There is no reason why the season should have been cancelled and hundreds of student athletes harmed and prevented from the pursuit of their goals.  The third alternative listed above appears to be the best solution for this matter.  In this, a very utilitarian approach to the resolution is used allowing the maximization of happiness for the greatest amount of people and an official interpretation of the rule with the promise to clarify it for future seasons. This interpretation should have been emailed to athletic directors and posted on the official IHSA web site explaining the intent of the rule. Such a determination would have saved thousands of tax dollars that would have also caused for longer term happiness for those who were not involved directly in the wrestling dilemma.

Fegelman, Andrew. (February 17, 1995). Judge Favors Mt. Carmel. IHSA Will Appeal. Chicago

Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-02-17/sports/9502170367_1_appeal-illinois-supreme-court-carmel

Hanley, Reid. (February 28, 1995) IHSA Cancels Class Aa Wrestling Tournament

IHSA Ruling Body Decides To Pull Plug Rather Than Include Mt. Carmel. Chicago Tribune

Mallory, Ross, Zakus, (2003). Sport Ethics p. 150. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-02-

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Downers Grove Long Shots Memorial Day Weekend

      During the Memorial Day weekend, the Oak Brook Outlaws played in the Downers Grove Longshots’ tournament that hosted some very talented teams including the Whitesox ACES, Wheaton-Briarcliff, The River Cats and Hitters from Wisconsin. After defeating the Longshots, the Outlaws were shutout by the Indians, one of the better 14U teams from Wisconsin. This set up a do or die match against the River Cats who were favored to win as they are a team compiled of the best players in Wisconsin. The River Cats are based in Madison, but draw from every corner of the state. 

      The story lines surround Isaia Paul-Emile and Scott Cappis. Getting off to a slow start and falling into an emotional slough of despond, Scott Cappis came into the tournament with a dismal 0 for 29 debacle of an offensive production. The batting slump had all but destroyed his confidence at the plate and in the field and Cappis searched for answers in every nook and cranny of the planet. But when the tournament started, Cappis caught fire and piled up 7 hits in 5 games including the walk off single in the bottom of the sixth inning against the River Cats as the Outlaws won a dramatic come from behind victory that propelled them into the final four and semifinals against the Naperville Renegades.

Although Scott Cappis had a hitting drought, he made significant contributions like this RBI sac fly to center field.

     According to some of his team-mates, few, if any, actually noticed Scot’s slump as everyone seemed more concerned about their personal dilemmas at the plate. Isaia Paul-Emile batted 489 in 2011 and now leads the team in strike outs. Jabari Morris batted over 540 and is now batting a dismal 295 after returning from his high school season where he played varsity baseball for Proviso East and batted 435. It was obvious that Scott put more on himself than the others, but as his father said “He got to work through this.” And he did – with great fashion.

     Paul-Emile, gets the tough-guy awards for his role as the catcher for nearly every inning of the tournament. Despite the grueling 100 degree heat and 2 days over 90 degree weather, Paul-Emile suffered through a bloody nose, a foul ball off his fore-arm, and a stiff arm from throwing over 300 balls back to pitchers and down to second base. His fatigue became obvious during the championship game against the Whitesox ACES when the pass balls piled up.

     Other more impressive stars at the tournament were Jack Eagan and Raphi Gross. Eagan is a big left handed pitcher for the River Cats who throws between 80 and 83 miles per hour. He was supported by a five run first inning by his teammates against the Outlaws. Previously, Eagan faced one of the best teams in Illinois – the Illinois Flames – and he handled them, allowing only two earned runs. With a five run lead, he was challenged with keeping the Outlaws off the bases and as he tried to avoid walks, the Outlaws were able to nickel and dime him scoring one in the second, two in the third, and one in the fourth. Ahead 4 – 6 in the fifth the River Cats changed pitchers – bringing in two relievers in the last two innings. Paul-Emile brought in the tying run in the sixth when his fly ball landed in left and took a strange hop past the left fielder allowing Paul-Emile to make his way to second base. After Lucas Gould was called in to pinch run, Scot Cappis delivered the final blow with a shot up center-field to score Gould and the Outlaws won. 

     Left handed pitchers were the trend during this tournament as Justin Vivar came in for the Outlaws in front of coaches from St. Rita who spoke to him earlier about the possibilities of him joining their team during the 2012 – 2013 school year. The coaches were given a superb show from Justin who struck out 5 of the 6 men he faced in two innings of pitching. But Justin was not the only powerful lefty in the tournament. Along with Eagan, Raphi Gross was electrifying for the Whitesox ACES. His fastball reached 85 miles per hour and his quick twitching at the mound kept runners off balance at first base. Despite his great moves, he was unable to stop the Outlaws number one base snatcher – Morris - from stealing second base twice. He did redeem himself by picking off Morris at second base to end an inning where the Outlaws appeared to mount a serious threat. Gross proved to be an excellent talent with great arm strength, creative play on the mound and power at the plate as he belted a 375 foot blast over the center field fence against Nathanial Segura.

     Although Gross was excellent against the Outlaws and deserves the tournament MVP award, the Outlaws had their chances with no outs and the bases loaded in the first inning they only Morris scored and with bases juiced in the fourth inning, Vivar hit into a double play and the Outlaws were slaughter-ruled 12 – 2 in the championship game. According to Coach Gould, “We just ran out of Pitching.” He tried to get whatever he could from anyone and all hopes seemed to go away when Jake Rosely was hit in the lower leg by a shot. When Jake went down, the air was taken from the park and winning became suddenly less important to everyone.

    All in all, the Outlaws played with great confidence and appear to be a resurrected team. They took home the second place trophies – not what they were accustomed to doing –but realizing that second place is better than third. 

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Jabari Morris Outlaws #5

Proviso East freshman Jabari Morris, looks over the St. Lawrence defense as he steps in the box in a state playoff baseball game in River Forest, Illinois.

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Jabari is one of those players who has the ability to make something exciting happen at any minute.  He is one of the most athletic players on the Outlaws and can carry a team on his back when he is hot. An average day for him is a great day for most players. In most cases, the way to beat the Outlaws is to shut down Jabari by keeping him off the bases.  When he is on the bases, everything changes because he is a threat to steal any base as well as home.  He takes an intimidating lead off and has a way of getting into the pitcher’s mind.

Jabari stands 5’8” and 130 pounds. He runs a 7.1 60 yards.  He has a lanky frame with surprising wiry strength.  Like most travel ball players, he was a full time shortstop, but his best defensive position will be in center field.  He has average arm strength that would be better if he was fundamentally sound in his throwing motion as he often fails to use his whole body and get proper elbow lift when he throws.  In center field, he gets nice jumps on the ball and is stronger moving to his right when the balls are hit in the gaps. He runs well while looking upwards in much the same way as a wide-receiver would do. He has good balance and changes directions well when he makes adjustments to balls that play tricks in the wind.  If he will be a great college baseball center fielder, he will have to become consistent on getting behind the ball and communicating with his right and left fielder. 

Jabari starts his batting with his hands at the top of the strike zone and close to his body.  His load is somewhat inconsistent as sometimes he will twist and he over-loads.  He has quick twitch muscles that fire his hands forward and causes him to get out early on even the faster pitchers.  This makes him a dead pull hitter.  He is very good at moving the knob of the bat to the ball which makes him a very difficult person to strike out.  He does not finish high as he often seems to have more concentration on getting out of the box quickly than driving the ball with his entire body.  This takes away a lot of his explosive power and ball exit speed.  When he is set on hitting it hard, and finishing his swing high, he can put a charge into the ball and one hop a 340 foot fence which can surprise a defense.  When this happens, he is a dangerous treat for a three-base hit or even an in the park homerun.  What he will need to do in order to become a serious threat at the plate is develop more driving power or use his power more.  He can do this on a more consistent base if he starts with his hips under so that he will have a stronger use of his legs and core strength. Then if he allows the ball to get deeper in the zone he will be able to make contact while his bat accelerates instead of the deceleration point of his swing.

Another noteworthy aspect to Jabari’s game is that he understands the important of the little things.  When he’s on deck, he retrieves the foul balls behind the plate, he moves the bat out of the way after his teammate hits, he communicates with the base runner coming home with hand signals.  These small things may seem normal and no big deal to the seasoned baseball player, but when there is only one kid on a team or in a tournament who incorporates this in his game, it stands out as very few 14 year old players do these little things. 

Jabari has a huge upside.  If he can get proper training and development of his fundamentals, he will have a better than average chance to play on the higher college levels and become a five tool player with a little more arm strength and power.  As of now, he is a four tool player he hits for average, has speed, fields his position, and has average arm strength.   

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Brad Huth #1

Brad Huth is the guy you might easily look over until he makes a big play.  He is the blue collar player – no flash, no big talk, just business.  Somehow whenever there is a big game, Brad seems to be the difference maker.  He is one of the most athletic players on the team and because of this, he is very versatile. He has the speed to play the outfield and the arm strength to keep runners honest on the tags.  He is an above average defensive catcher, plays a respectable third and second base.  He bats 8^th in the order but could easily be a leadoff or two hole batter as he does not strike out much and he frequently  hits the ball to the right side.

On occasion Brad will put a charge in the ball and drive it between 300 and 315 feet.  He starts with his hands above the strike zone and loads well keeping his shoulders on a level plane.  He does a good job keeping his hands close to his body as he rotates through and he levels the bat in the zone keeping it flat.  Like many flat bat batters, he keeps the bat in the zone for a long time and does well at hitting the inside of the ball causing him to get a large percentage of his hits to the opposite field.  He rotates well with his hips but due to his above average knee lift on his stride, he places his plant slightly to the third base side and leaves him open for the outside pitch.  Often, he takes this pitch as his plant moves him away causing him to assume that the outside corner is too far away.  As a high school player, Brad will need to get more outside plate coverage in order to protect when he has two strikes as many pitchers like to go outside and away with off speed pitches.   His shoulder follows his hip well but he loses posture at the point of contact as he tilts in the mid-section which may indicate a need for lower back strength or a need to adjust his stride away from third base. 

On the bases, Brad is a serious threat.  Sometimes he cheats himself on the leadoff by getting a late leadoff.  As he becomes more accepting and aware of his speed he will become more aggressive and less doubtful of his ability.  Brad’s major weaknesses are no different from any other 14 year old player.  He has to develop a stronger mental game and avoid the mental mistakes that can turn a game around.  All in all, Brad is a three tool player for speed, arm strength and power.

Only the Outlaws can beat the Outlaws

Michael Sebby broke a 0 - 0 tie in the 5th inning with a 335 foot blast to the wall to score Isiah Paul-Emile on the Cinco de Mayo double header featuring the Oakbrook Outlaws and Top Tier. The Outlaws traveled to the beautiful field at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois. The wonderful sound system, the great weather, and the excited parents added to the already exciting moment. The Outlaws had their whole team for the first time this season as Jabari Morris returned to them at the end of his high school season. Lucas Gould was back from his trip to Israel, and Nathanial Segura returned from a dislocated finger to play against his former team.

In game one, the pitching of Justin Vivar was superb.  He pitched five scoreless innings and left the game with a one run lead.  Unfortunately for Vivar, the Outlaws did not support him with runs.  Isiah Paul-Emile could have scored the first run early but failed to tag at third base on Matthew Pizur’s fly ball to center. Last year the offensive success of the Outlaws was virtually determined by Jabari Morris’ ability to get on base at the top of the order.  In the first at bat of his return, Morris went down on three pitches.  Sub sequentially, the next three at bats were with runners on base and although Morris reached successfully each time after the strike out, he was unable to run the bases as someone was in front of him.  In all, the Outlaws left eight men on base – five in scoring position and they failed to get a timely hit with the bases juiced and one out. 

When disaster hit in the seventh inning, the Outlaws lead 2 – 1; the sun came from behind the cloud cover and Morris could not see the fly ball in center field.  Brad Huth was there to help on the second fly ball as he made the catch on an angle coming from right field. A two out single to right field off Sebby tied the game and a ground ball to Scott Cappis at short gave the appearance that the game would go to the eighth, but Cappis, after a clean catch, a shuffle once then twice, throws the ball in the dirt that the first baseman was unable to field and the winning run scores for Top Tier. 

Game two was much different.  Nathaniel Segura pitched five scoreless innings against his former team and Matthew Pizur finished them off with another two scoreless innings, including sixth inning masterful display when he struck out the side after Top Tier placed runners at third and second with no outs.  In game two, the Outlaws scored in nearly every inning and left very few men on base. When this happens, it is very tough to beat them as their pitching staff is better than it was last year.  In game two, the Outlaws won 6 – 0 giving up one earned run in 14 innings of play against a team that will do very well in tournament play this summer. 

The Outlaws will have their first major challege during the Mother Day tournament where they join the Illinois Sparks, Illinois Flames, and other powerhouse teams. 

The Top Tier Challenge

During the May 5^th weekend, the Oakbrook Outlaws will face Top Tier in an interesting match.  The Outlaws, a team with very lofty goals, finds themselves limping into this game with poor hitting and major defensive holes.  When it comes to travel teams there is often a common element that makes setting up defense difficult.  This common element becomes evident during the try-outs when the kids selected were in large part primary short stops on other teams.  Once selected, a coach needs to teach new positions to these players.  What we then find is the flaw of lower level coaching that places major emphasis on infield play leaving the young players with an inability to play the outfield.  When the players reach an older age and the outfield play becomes extremely important, the skill level does not match the skill need.    For this reason, Larry Gould and the Outlaws will be excited for the return of their primary center-fielder, Jabari Morris. 

Top Tier is one of the most reputable travel teams in the state of Illinois.  It figures that there will be many balls hit to the outfield.  With Brad Huth and Morris in the outfield, the Outlaws will have the speed to cut off the balls in the gaps. This will give the pitching staff more confidence in using the upper part of the strike zone.  Lucas Gould is back from Israel and will solidify a good defense in the middle as Scot Cappis moves to second base.  It remains questionable if Nathanial Segura will return from his dislocated thumb but if he does, the story line for this game becomes increasingly interesting. 

In the International World Series, held at Crystal Lake, Illinois, Nathanial Segura pitched a masterful game for Top Tier against the Outlaws.  In the 3 – 1 victory, Top Tier took the bragging rights.  During the off season, Nathanial Segura’s family was unhappy with the development plan that Top Tier apparently used and though to move to the Outlaws.  Coincidentally, Justin Blake, a friend of Morris tried out for the Outlaws and despite the invite shunned Coach Gould and joined Top Tier.  Blake, a 14 year old 8^th grader in Broadview, Illinois left the Outlaws in the dark when he did not join them over the fall league games without notice. Instead, he took on quarterback responsibilities for a Pop Warner team in Melrose Park, Illinois.  Coach Gould had no idea that Blake was shopping around for teams and not even Morris was aware that Blake had selected Top Tier due to the alleged rumor that Top Tier had the better web site.

It is yet to be seen if Blake will play against the Outlaws as Top Tier has two teams (an A and B teams not labeled as such but we all know what the colors mean).  If Blake plays against the Outlaws and if Segura plays against Top Tier, the emotion level of this early season game will be high. 

What Happened to the Oak Brook Outlaws

What has happened to the Oak Brook Outlaws?  In 2011, Larry Gould took over the reins of the Oak Brook Outlaws 13U travel team.  He brought with him his very talented son, Lucas Gould, who had no experience playing with children in the same age group as he.  In the past, Lucas played with the older kids and despite his size, he more often proved to be one of the better talents on the field.  Joining an organization that had been the ridicule of the West Suburban Baseball League (WSBL), Larry set out to create an elite travel team that would contend for national titles.  His first step was to dismiss all of the former players with the exception of four; adding Lucas he had a suitable core. 

Larry’s next step was to partner with coaches, Brad Rosely and Stan Damaskis, who had experience in the WSBL.  Brad brought his son Jake, a left handed pitcher who was just slightly younger than the others but despite the worries of his maturity, his arm had promise.  Next came Eddy – a rough, hard core, “My best against your best – smash mouth” typed guy who had a lot of connections with the inner city kids on Chicago’s North side.  Eddy was an umpire and coached the little league 12 year old team at Horner Park – one of the two largest baseball programs on the North side. Larry, taking it upon himself, to grant scholarships to four players won Eddy’s connection privileges and signed three of who were arguably the best five 12 year olds from Horner Park.  These were Isaih Paul-Emile – the son of a deceased Haitian father and an old school Puerto Rican mother of three talented sons; Scott Capis – a kid with an IQ that is through the roof and a dad who missed his calling as a professional baseball talent scout; and Jabari Morris – a kid who had been victimized with divorce and nasty custody battles and had to travel four hours both ways on public transportation from Maywood, Illinois to get to and from Horner Park each day. 

Next came the tryouts which yielded Andrew Rosol – a tall lanky kid with a dynamite arm; Matthew Pizur – a kid with fast hands at third base and a strong arm across the diamond; and Armando Lara – the son of a Michigan middle linebacker who looked every bit like the next Brian Urlacher.  With the team assembled, Larry Gould transitioned a 6 – 30 team from 2010 to a 56 – 17 wonder that won four tournaments and placed second in the Omaha College World Series Travel team Tournament .  They added an additional player who was also from Horner Park.  Justin Vivar found himself in limbo when the Frozen Ropes Spartans broke up in mid-season.  Justin is a big left handed pitcher with a dominating fast ball.  It appeared that he was just what the Outlaws needed to get over the hump and become a truly elite team.

At the season’s end, Jake Damaskis, Reed, and Andrew parted ways as they moved into High School.  Jabari, although not available until the high school baseball season ends remained with the team.  Armando searched for greener pastures leaving Larry with the task of replacing four talented players.  The first to join was Nathaniel Segura who left Top Tier to unite with some old Horner Park friends.  Now, Larry’s team was nearly half filled with inner city talent.  Nathaniel – a catcher with a remarkable pop time, strong arm and great hitting power also provided the Outlaws with an upgrade in their number two pitcher.  With Nathaniel, the future looked promising, but the bottom seemed to fall from under Larry’s feet when he was unable to sign three of his top four prospects and settled for two one star players.

With Jabari in high school, Larry is missing his lead-off batter, number one threat on the bases, and gold glove centerfielder.  To make matters worse, Nathaniel was injured with a dislocated thumb that puts him out for six weeks and Lucas leaves for a ten day trip to Israel with his eight-grade class.  He knows that there are better days ahead, but the pain of waiting out the storm has a team that was made to win troubled about the improved competition in the WSBL, the cold bats, the inability to move runners, and the defensive holes.