June 26, 2008

New Tune on Campuses: Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and Bring My Lawyer

In Evanston, Ill., the great American pastime of baseball is being displaced by the threat of another popular American sport — litigation.

Since 2000, Northwestern University has allowed children’s baseball teams from nearby communities to use its Rocky Miller Park for games.

But the university recently told the American Legion-sponsored baseball clubs in Evanston and Wilmette, Ill., that they were no longer welcome because the parents of a young pitcher were threatening a lawsuit, reports the Pioneer Local, a local newspaper.

The parents were concerned about the safety of the park because the sun shines into the eyes of the pitcher.

In a message to the ballclubs, Northwestern’s assistant athletics director of facilities, Scott Arey, wrote, “Unfortunately, Northwestern University is not able to do anything to mitigate the sun’s effect on the vision of the pitcher, so we have made the unfortunate decision that we can no longer safely host these games.” —Eric Kelderman

Comments

1. Someone should slap the parents for being idiots.

   — Mark    Jun 26, 03:53 PM    #

2. How sad that the (choose one or all): paranoia, myopia, selfishness, or ignorance of the parents has led Northwestern to deprive the greater community of a nice perk. Having played on some terrible baseball fields in my time, what a shame that the American Legion players are now denied the chance to play on an undoubtedly quasi-professional baseball field. Just another case of parents ruining the fun and games of kids.

   — Baseball Fan & Former Babe Ruth League Player    Jun 26, 03:56 PM    #

3. “The parents were concerned about the safety of the park because the sun shines into the eyes of the pitcher.”

   I have no words to describe the level of imbecility this indicates. My daughters have played competitive softball for the past 8 years, and the sun is ALWAYS in someone’s eyes.

   But this decision reflects no credit on Northwestern. It should acknowledge this is frivolous and do what makes sense – which is to let the public use the facility.

   — Al    Jun 26, 03:57 PM    #

4. Sorry to disagree, but frivolous still costs money to be dismissed in court. Wish it weren’t so. Northwestern cannot and should not condone this kind of threat. Perhaps adults making those noises will learn to use more common sense, but until they do, it will be spoiled for everyone.

   — RJG    Jun 26, 04:09 PM    #

5. Now we know why college students are less and less mature every year. and we have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollar to help the freshman class move in and cope with the “stress’ of entering college.

   — Lee    Jun 26, 04:09 PM    #

6. How about sunglasses?

   — jb    Jun 26, 04:11 PM    #

7. apropos comment 3 – “It gets late early here”

   — Yogi    Jun 26, 04:15 PM    #

8. I hope these parents feel sufficiently shamed for how the “sue” bug hurts everyone. Am I wrong that these parents were looking for money? In the process they affected many little league players summer fun. Good parenting at its best.

   — MK    Jun 26, 04:16 PM    #

9. I am 70 years old and grew up in the Chicago area and played baseball almost all day during the summers. In retrospect, the best aspect of this wonderful experience is that we had zero parents around to “supervise” us; we simply made up the rules, settled our own arguments, and even dealt with the sun! I’m sure we were not as skilled as today’s kids are; some of us didn’t have gloves, so we shared them; there was rarely more than one bat, which we all used; and our “ballpark” was an open field that we cleared and mowed. We never had a single spectator and it never occurred to us that we should. I loved it all.

   — Carl    Jun 26, 04:23 PM    #

10. I can’t believe that Northwestern has not installed a giant telescopic sunblocker or at the very least turn the stadium 90 degrees to the east.

    — jd    Jun 26, 04:26 PM    #

11. It has long been known, since baseball was first organized, that homeplate is always anchored in the south or north, and if absolutely necessary, the east It is never anchored in the west for precisely the reasons these people are bringing suit: it is a mortal hazard to both the pitcher and the batter. NU planners and architects should be ashamed of themselves. All they had to do was look at any Little League manual for setting up a baseball field.

    — John X.    Jun 26, 04:34 PM    #

12. #9 Carl, that was beautiful.

    — wm    Jun 26, 04:38 PM    #

13. If I’m not mistaken, the standard baseball uniform includes a baseball cap, which should come equipped with a brim, designed to provide some eye protection when worn properly. Following the logic of the alleged “parents”, should they file suit on behalf of the entire team? Apparently, the caps are defective and a hazard to all the players. Or, did they not come with an owner’s manual?

    — Stu    Jun 26, 04:58 PM    #

14. I’m 53 and share some of Carl’s experiences. We all traded gloves at the end of each 1/2 inning and were lucky if there were enough to go around. We usually had two bats: one for the big kids and one for the little kids. We played in the street and third base was a telephone pole. Foul balls on the first base side were an “automatic out” because there was a house located there. We felt fortunate just to have a place to play and got mad only when the city decided to put curbs on the sides of the road. Wish I had a dollar for every skinned knee and elbow after that. It didn’t stop us from playing there though.

    Thanks for the memories Carl.

    BTW – as an academic Dean in a College responsible for managing a variety of “activity spaces” I understand Northwestern’s response. RJG (#4) is correct. The parents in this case have cut off their nose to spite their face.

    — Jay    Jun 26, 05:03 PM    #

15. It’s anchored Northwest. Does that still count?
    Nice aerial image on mapquest: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Evanston&state= IL#a/maps/l:::Evanston:IL::US:42.0411:-87.690002:city:Cook+ County/m:hyb:13:42.065029:-87.692806:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

    — mj    Jun 26, 05:47 PM    #

16. Dear Stu,

    There is a reason why hockey blades have limits on sharpness, and why you can’t grab a facemask to tackle in football. There is a reason why authorized baseball fields never have the pitcher facing into the sun: (a) he cannot see homeplate—-not exactly a good thing when you’re trowing a 100mph fastball near someone’s head; (2) the pitcher cannot see a line drive comeback, often traveling at 150 mph or more. You all should stop being knee-jerk sops and think about it from a baseball player’s point of view. It is a dangerous field, just as if they used ground glass to make the infield sparkle.

    — John X.    Jun 26, 06:15 PM    #

17. John X is right — except for one thing. Why sue?? Has their kid been injured? If not, they can protect the little dear by having him play in a different league. Or a different sport. How about swimming? Hmmm … no good, a kid could drown!

    — mark    Jun 26, 06:32 PM    #

18. This is silly. The sun is always in someone’s eyes.

    — Savage Detective    Jun 26, 07:09 PM    #

19. I’m very thankful to these parents. They provided me with an excellent scheme to avoid my recent expusion from Northwestern. The three “F’s” I received during the spring semester, were caused, not by my personal malaise as previously thought, but rather because Northwestern U. allowed the sun to shine in my face throughout all class sessions. Not only couldn’t I see the blackboard, nor read anything out of my textbook: but for God’s sake I couldn’t even see the professor. I’m headed to the telephone right now to call my dad’s lawyer. This is not right. Northwestern cannot get away with this atrocity. The pain and suffering I have endured since my expulsion, for reasons not of my own making, must be compensated. Northwestern will pay. The nerve of this institution, allowing me to enroll in classes where I couldn’t even see what the hell was going on.

    — Bill    Jun 26, 08:03 PM    #

20. Why not install lights? They did it at Wrigley Field. That way there’d be light shining in everyone’s eyes, including the parents.

    — Cubs fan    Jun 26, 09:27 PM    #

21. I pity the colleges/universities to whom the young pitcher will be applying in the future – Mom and Dad sound like they will be part of the package!

    If I were a parent of one of the players now deprived of a field to play on, could I sue the pitcher’s parents for disruption of my kids’ fun?

    — Allison    Jun 27, 07:25 AM    #

22. I say ban the kid of the parents that argued…problem solved. The sun is no longer in that kid’s eyes, and the rest of the kids can continue to use the field.

    — Matthew    Jun 27, 08:24 AM    #

23. Maybe they should play games “where the sun don’t shine.”

    — Dr. Jimmy    Jun 27, 09:22 AM    #

24. I’m another one who can wax nostalgic over sand lot baseball. Going fist-over-fist with a bat (or whatever passed for a bat) to choose up sides; then again to decide which team batted first.
    We loved to play late into the evening until we could barely see the ball before we were forced to quit.

    — Green Eyeshade    Jun 27, 09:32 AM    #

25. Did anybody in in the league management ever think of maybe changing the TIME of the games?

    — bioprof    Jun 27, 10:09 AM    #

26. I have played a lot of softball over the years and agree safety is paramount. It is very dangerous if you cannot see the ball. However, I wonder if these parents might be making a mountain out of a mole hill. If the college teams – and those they host – as well as other little leaguers have managed, then I would have to assume it is a personal problem. It’s just hard for me to imagine a college investing big bucks in such a beautiful stadium and not have considered safety…but then again in am a little nievee!

    — DG    Jun 27, 10:42 AM    #

27. Please say this is an April Fool’s joke, but only in June! Sorry, mom and day, I can’t believe for one minute that it’s about the sun in your kid’s eyes, it’s about $. Shame on them for using their kid to try and obtain cash. I feel so sad for this kid. Sunglasses only cost a few bucks although common sense is priceless! What next, pools getting hit with lawsuits because the water is too cold for their kid. I’m sorry, but parents like this REALLY do need to get a life. Why do some parents try to suck the fun and positive learning out of a kids life instead of enhancing it? Got me!

    — Mary    Jun 27, 11:45 AM    #

28. The kid’s a LOUSY pitcher – that’s what this is all about – parents protecting their kid from the obvious self-esteem damage the kid will suffer because of his inability to put the ball over the plate, sun or clouds not withstanding. And the parents probably insisted the kid be a pitcher rather than play a position more suitable to the kid’s talents.

    — Ralph Q    Jun 27, 11:55 AM    #

29. The school could simply state that the pitcher and his family are no longer welcome on Northwestern property and have a trespass warning issued by campus police if they violate. Then, if they violate again, they could be arrested.

    John X — could you site to some regulation or documentation about the orientation of the pitcher’s mound. Because I swear the fields at my alma mater are the same way. I may have to pre-sue them before the alumni softball game.

    — EAC    Jun 27, 11:56 AM    #

30. I think the first respondent said it best. Someone needs to whap the parents up alongside their heads and ask “What are you THINKING?!” Obviously only of dollar signs because they obviously don’t have a lick of common sense.

    Here’s a thought. Don’t like the thought of the sun in your kid’s eyes? There’s a remarkable invention called “sunglasses”. If that isn’t sufficient, find a midnight league. Unfortunately, they’d probably then sue because the lights were too bright.

    Where is Louis Black when you need him?

    — Nikki    Jun 27, 02:44 PM    #

31. This is what we get when liberals run things – litigation run amuck and everyone having their right to play without the sun in their eyes.

    Get ready, it only gets worse after November.

    — Marty    Jun 27, 03:10 PM    #

32. Absolutely insane. And we wonder why we have a problem in this country with internet addicted, obese teenagers. Lets find reasons not to allow them to relax, and then act surprised when we find out some of the issues we have helped to create.

    — DON    Jun 27, 03:41 PM    #

33. Marty, that was really a ridiculous remark. Anyway, there are numerous softball complexes with fields facing all directions. The kid could get injured anywhere at anytime on the field, and NOT because of the sun. You can only provide so much safety in a sporting event. If you believe it’s unsafe, don’t play. There is no need to sue – greedy and ridiculous.

    — Kim    Jun 27, 04:07 PM    #

34. I guess the Yankees will be next, and the Mets and the Twins . . .

    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/stadium/ballpark_NSEW_AL.shtml

    — anna    Jun 27, 04:19 PM    #

35. Marty (#31),

    Now lets see. Bush has been in power 7 1/2 years. Until January 2007, he enjoyed an absolutely compliant, submissive rubber stamp Congress. And Republican presidents appointed seven of the nine current Supreme Court justices. Given the corruption and total incompetence in federal government during the 2000s so far, I can well understand why you want to blame liberals. But just give it another year and you will know what it is like when the “liberals run things.”

    — Dave    Jun 27, 04:37 PM    #

36. Someone should explain to the parents that the term “southpaw” for left-handed people comes from the historical layout of a baseball field on which the batter faces east and the pitcher faces west. When pitching, the pitcher’s left arm is on his/her “south” side. If the field were reversed, the batter would be facing the sun. I believe the historical wisdom was that it was more important (for hitting as well as avoiding being hit) for the sun to be to the batter’s back. Any other layout will inevitably place the sun in some player’s eyes for either fielding a hit or catching a throw. I agree with Stu…this is why they make baseball caps with bills.

    — David    Jun 27, 05:02 PM    #

37. The fact of the matter is that the sun “sets” in a slightly different place each day of the year, and where it sets also depends on the latitude of the field. Thus, the “sun field” changes constantly, however slightly, from day to day. No matter how precisely you arrange things to keep the sun perpendicular to the line between the pitcher and batter, that will happen only twice a year.

    But let’s think of all the other dangers kids playing on that field face that the university probably does nothing about: A snake or spider could bite someone, lightening might strike, or there could be a tornado, or hail, etc. I’m really shocked the university would expose its students and guests to such dangers!

    — Galileo    Jun 27, 07:35 PM    #

38. The parents are threatening to sue the wrong defendant. Clearly it is the sun that is causing the harm. They need to sue the sun.

    — Apollo    Jun 30, 06:22 AM    #

39. The reason a left handed pitcher is refered to as a “southpaw”. From answerbag.com :

    Early ball fields were built so that home plate faced to the east. That way, the late afternoon sun wouldn’t be in the batter’s eyes, a dangerous situation when a baseball is thrown in your direction. The pitcher faced west, and if he was left handed, the ball would be thrown with his south side hand, his “south paw”.

    Gee – where is the sun in the afternoon?

    — FB    Jun 30, 10:16 AM    #

40. Mark (#1) had it right – idiocy has gotten to a whole new level. Maybe I should go back and sue my high school for making me play softball with the sun in my eyes. Or better yet, I can sue them for making me drive on westbound streets during driver’s ed class where the sun was in my eyes. Just think how much danger I was in – who knows what would have happened had it not been for my SUNGLASSES.

    — DL    Jun 30, 12:20 PM    #

41. You guys are missing the whole point! We could solve 2 major issues here at once:
    1. solve the parents’ dilemma by allowing them to sue (and ultimately lose, hopefully!) showing our justice system DOES work, and
    2. Society can finally come to a decision on the existence of God, a Creator, Superior Being or whatever belief system one may have. God made the sun. Sue God – if no one shows up…
    Oh, wait that can’t work because the pitcher can’t see God – the sun is in his eyes!

    — Tim    Jun 30, 01:50 PM    #

42. Tim, I like your thinking. And getting the Almighty served should be easy because it appears he does business in all fifty states and abroad.

    — babylawyer    Jun 30, 02:26 PM    #

43. Can the young player not use eye black on the cheekbones as do many football players? I imagine he or she is somewhat chagrined over this “tempest in a teapot”.

    — Grandpa Pasquale    Jun 30, 04:51 PM    #

44. Pitching is the most dangerous fielding position. But the danger is from line drives. The pitcher is the fielder nearest the batter and their follow-through after throwng the ball leaves many of them in poor fielding position. Pitchers almost never have problems with the sun because other infielders will almost always call them off pop-ups.

    — Ralph    Jun 30, 05:36 PM    #

45. Someone remind me.

    What was that Shakespearian remark about attorneys?

    — barbarus    Jul 1, 12:01 AM    #

46. Have the parents ever thought that baseball can be dangerous? Just kidding… I suppose the parents will never allow their children to play in our universities in the Arabian Gulf, since its sunny all the time.hehehe!

    — Doris Martin    Jul 1, 05:47 AM    #

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