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A 9 year old named Jericho Scott wants to play baseball, and he wants to play the position that he plays best. The right hander has a 40 mph fastball at the age of 9, and is being told by the Youth Baseball League of New Haven Connecticut, that he is too good to pitch. I could understand if the kid were a pitcher that threw fast wild pitches, but even League officials admit that he has control over his pitches. So what’s the New Haven Youth Baseball League’s reason for not wanting the 9 year old pitcher to pitch?

Jericho’s coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly treated because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion team, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league’s administrators. Jericho Scott joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team has 8 wins and 0 losses and was on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

New Haven League officials say they 1st informed Jericho’s coach Wilfred Vidro that Jericho could not pitch after a game on August 13th. Jericho played 2nd base to rest his arm, as most pitchers do, in the next game on August 16th. When he took the pitchers mound Wednesday August 20th, the opposing team packed its gear and left, a forfeit was called.

Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it. League officials say Jericho’s coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned, but Vidro says he didn’t quit and the team refuses to disband. Players and parents of the team held a protest at the league’s field on Saturday urging the league to let Jericho pitch.

The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching. “I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”

League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast. “He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower,” Noble said. “There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport.” Noble acknowledged that Jericho had not beaned any batters in the co-ed league of 8- to 10-year-olds, but say parents expressed safety concerns. “Facing that kind of speed” is frighteneing for beginning players, Noble said.

Local attorney John Williams met with Jericho’s parents Monday August 25th to discuss legal options. “You don’t have to be learned in the law to know in your heart that it’s wrong,” he said. “Now you have to be punished because you excel at something?”

How can these competitive parents and coaches cause this much grief to a 9 year old boy? Are they that jealous of his talent? This would be totally understandable if Jericho Scott had hit batters with pitches, but admittedly that is not the case.