What bothers me about this story is first off, she is thirteen, so is there any possibility we could as another writer put it "let her future wait until it actually arrives." The last phenom of this nature was a kid named Danny Almonte who was later found to be too old to be playing where he was.
I am not proposing Miss Davis is any older than she and her parents say she is, but one thing I will say is little league baseball whether Big L or little L should be about celebrating youth baseball, not a player who wants to become the starting point guard on the UConn basketball team.
Second, is she really that good? Let me take it a step further. Sure, she had a no hitter at the Little League World Series. And? I have a kid with four no hitters including a twelve strikeout, four inning Perfect Game. Is she a better pitcher because there were TV cameras to capture it? I have to go with no...not because mine is better, but because you didn't see them play one another which would give you a better clue as to who is and who isn't.
ESPN does a great deal promoting its product. That doesn't mean though that these kids are better than kids down the street. Honestly, just in the Dallas/Fort Worth area I can think of a half dozen teams who I would put up against any team in the Little League World Series and they would win. Any.
I doubt it will happen because Little League teams do not play USSSA teams or Cal Ripken League teams. They each have slight rules variations to make them different.
The point is give me my 11 year old because Miss Davis' fastball looks fast because she is throwing from a mound forty some feet away. She is thirteen. My eleven year old throws from a mound fifty plus back. If you don't think there is a difference, try it out. All of a sudden pitchers become much more hittable...or they don't because they adjust. However, that is not the man bites dog story journalists want to cover and because of that journalists are invariably objectifying kids whose talent may not be as high as broadcast across the cable airwaves. What happens when their talent falls back to reality?
While there are lots of discussions about how Miss Davis and family can cash in on her current fame, it seems that at least her family is keeping things in perspective. While people clamor for a book deal or sports drink promotion, her step father seems intent on having zero questions about his daughter's eligibility for UConn should that offer materialize in the years to come. Smart guy focusing on the real prize and not a temporary moment of gratification.
If only we could get the media to entertain the same ideas, but they are too busy creating heroes who may not be ready for the capes being placed on their shoulders.
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