Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
Originally posted by Niners99:
Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
Prospects who struggle initially in the big leagues turn out fine if they are good. I refuse to believe that early struggles "ruin" a player. Matt Williams struggled early, got sent down, came back up and he became a star. Mike Trout started his professional career 8 for 65.
If you are good, you will be good.
Confidence is big though. If a player is called up before they are ready and they have a miserable first stint it can affect whether they believe they can actually perform at that level. Not all situations are equal.
And my argument is that if a player is going to lose confidence in himself after a bad first stint, and questions whether or not he can perform on this level, he wasnt going to be good in the first place.
And before you disagree with me, I will say this. I dont mind if you disagree. In this argument, neither your side nor my side is provable.
Every player is different. Some can handle setbacks and take the struggles in stride. Others feel defeated when they get demoted after struggling at the big league level. We've seen examples of both types. It's hard to know when a player is really ready for ther big leagues. How he's performing in AAA or AA isn't always a good indicator.
Obviuosly I never played at any of those levels but it appears that the biggest difference is the pitching. MLB pitchers don't throw harder. They're just able to locate their pitches better. Especially the breaking stuff. Since pitchers like that are usually promoted to the big club the players in the minors just don't get to see those pitches on a consistent basis until the get to the majors. Sometimes I think teams need to be prepared to let hitters struggle at the major league level since they aren't going to see that pitching in the minors. It may be the only way they'll learn.
