Since his promotion, Adam has made a point of trying to go to the Padres' games, where he watches from the stands. They're still undefeated, even without him. "To me, the most important part about staying on the Padres was that I had friends there and I played a lot."
Life goes on, right? Little League officials will swear that all would be well if certain parents just left them alone. Parents will swear that some league officials are on an ego trip. It has always been thus in the annals of Little League.
Play umpire on Adam's case. How would you rule?
\o7 Keep your eye on the ball.\f7
That's what I told myself. It made this an easy call for me.
The "ball" is a 10-year-old who found joy in a coach and teammates. Maybe he'll replace that with his new team. Maybe not. If league stability depends on requiring 10-year-olds to change teams in mid-season against their will, Little League is on flimsier footing than I thought.
Adam was basking in a kid's thrill of being a "star" player. Now, he's just a regular player. That seems a rather needless lesson in Reality 101 to impose on a 10-year-old.
Adam saw himself as part of a team. No matter how they dress it up, the league saw him as a "draft choice," a maneuverable part in a bureaucracy.
In the vast majority of cases, Little League probably does right by the kids.
I say they booted this one badly.
