Are you a true West Sider??

Two baseball fields we used a lot were the old Boldface Park (Pete Rose Field where there 2 fields and Mt. Echo Park where is one field. Does anyone know if they are used for practices and games now?
My dad coached a Knothole team from Boldface. They won the Class A city championship in 1961. One of his best players was Chuck Brinkman who played for the White Sox. He was Eddie Brinkman’s (Detroit Tigers SS) brother.
 
Youth baseball in the tristate is on life support. Very hard to find true rec leagues anymore. And even the rec leagues are filled with select teams beating the crap out of everyone, it demoralizes the kids who aren't the best players but just want to play a little baseball for fun against teams wanting to do the same.
I felt the Delhi Athletic did the same a couple generations ago with the Eagles. Be that as it may be, it is worse now with all of the select teams.
 
Youth baseball in the tristate is on life support. Very hard to find true rec leagues anymore. And even the rec leagues are filled with select teams beating the crap out of everyone, it demoralizes the kids who aren't the best players but just want to play a little baseball for fun against teams wanting to do the same.
Rec Volunteer Coaches for any Sport are also hard to come by these days. What Baseball Rec League around SW Ohio do you see alleged Select Teams in? I have seen many Rec Teams in Select but not vice versa.
 
Rec Volunteer Coaches for any Sport are also hard to come by these days. What Baseball Rec League around SW Ohio do you see alleged Select Teams in? I have seen many Rec Teams in Select but not vice versa.
Crosstown Baseball is really bad with this. Knothole in NKY fell apart years ago for this same reason. My kids will be in Northern Kentucky Baseball this year, we were told actually a rec level. If not, I'm sure my son's won't play after this year.

And I'm not one of those parents who is delusional about my kids athletic abilities, thinking they are better than they are. I just want baseball league where average players just want to play against other teams like that. My boys aren't great at baseball but definitely not terrible.

But I guess we will see this year.
 
Youth baseball in the tristate is on life support. Very hard to find true rec leagues anymore. And even the rec leagues are filled with select teams beating the crap out of everyone, it demoralizes the kids who aren't the best players but just want to play a little baseball for fun against teams wanting to do the same.

Youth baseball on the westside is fine. A sport on life support doesn't have a rec league with 200+ teams and plenty of club options as well. Also, I've coached in the cwbc for years and never come across a club team.
 
Last edited:
Youth baseball on the westside is fine. A sport on life support doesn't have a rec league with 200+ teams and plenty of club options as well. Also, I've coached in the cwbc for years and never come across a club team.
That is great news......Back when I was still in Delhi, my son played 2 years for DAA (coach pitch) and it was SLIM Pickins as far as teams. That was 8 or 9 years ago though. Thanks for clarifying!
 
That is great news......Back when I was still in Delhi, my son played 2 years for DAA (coach pitch) and it was SLIM Pickins as far as teams. That was 8 or 9 years ago though. Thanks for clarifying!

That's surprising. Coach pitch seems to currently be the most popular level right now.
 
Based on Google Earth photos dated 9/2021 it looks like the field at Mt Echo and both fields Boldface are now grass covered.

In other news, the new county park on the land formerly occupied by the Gamble mansion in Westwood opens April 1. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/ne...eloping-former-gamble-estate-park/7112695001/
City of Cincinnati can’t repair potholes they have no chance at maintaining Parks,Fields, Pools etc... The old Gamble property will probably be pretty nice as long as it’s maintained by the Community and County. Once the City gets involved in anything it usually just goes down hill and fast.
 
City of Cincinnati can’t repair potholes they have no chance at maintaining Parks,Fields, Pools etc... The old Gamble property will probably be pretty nice as long as it’s maintained by the Community and County. Once the City gets involved in anything it usually just goes down hill and fast.
There’s a spot in Eden Park that has a medium sized stone with a metal plate attached listing all the Presidents of the US. The last time it was updated a was either the H.W. or Clinton, can’t remember which as it’s been 5 or so years. But yeah, the city struggles to upkeep and maintain its premier park in the city so I have no faith in it to do anything productive with something like the Gamble property.
 
Youth baseball in the tristate is on life support. Very hard to find true rec leagues anymore. And even the rec leagues are filled with select teams beating the crap out of everyone, it demoralizes the kids who aren't the best players but just want to play a little baseball for fun against teams wanting to do the same.

I disagree. Maybe the select leagues are harming rec ball and maybe scheduling umpires is a P-I-T-A because parents are terrible, but the CWBC is in pretty good shape. The league has added a lot of public-school orgs the past few years.
 
I disagree. Maybe the select leagues are harming rec ball and maybe scheduling umpires is a P-I-T-A because parents are terrible, but the CWBC is in pretty good shape. The league has added a lot of public-school orgs the past few years.
Actually I think that shows the weakness of the league. It can’t survive with just catholic Westside schools anymore. The addition of the public schools is the only thing keeping it alive.
 
Actually I think that shows the weakness of the league. It can’t survive with just catholic Westside schools anymore. The addition of the public schools is the only thing keeping it alive.
There is a reason the publics are coming to us and not us to them.
 
I think it is ... 5u is light, but I think that's because a few of the orgs in CWBC have their own internal 5u set up.

The problem I see is 9u. Kids are getting bored in the field while Timmy and Tommy walk seven straight. There has to be something we can do about that.

Not to get on a soapbox but this is a huge issue I have with kid pitch. I get that kids can be erratic as pitchers, but the coaches play a big part in this problem. I tell my boys I'd rather them strike out swinging than walk. On the flip side you have coaches telling their boys to take pitches and try to walk. Kids aren't going to learn how to hit by standing there with the bat on their shoulder. The fact that adults prioritize winning over kids having fun and developing at a sport drives me crazy.
 
Not to get on a soapbox but this is a huge issue I have with kid pitch. I get that kids can be erratic as pitchers, but the coaches play a big part in this problem. I tell my boys I'd rather them strike out swinging than walk. On the flip side you have coaches telling their boys to take pitches and try to walk. Kids aren't going to learn how to hit by standing there with the bat on their shoulder. The fact that adults prioritize winning over kids having fun and developing at a sport drives me crazy.
I agree with this. I also used to umpire Knothole, every age group. The first few years of kid pitch, umpires play a bigger role than coaches. Anything that's hittable should be called a strike. I used to make that crystal clear to the coaches during ground rules..... Tell your kids to swing the bat. Of course exception are made of you are calling a true select game where the pitchers have control.

Too many of these games get called before they actually end due to reaching the maximum time limit that each league has. When you have a huge strike zone, those games actually end way quicker. Parents really appreciate the large strike zone also because then they aren't bored watching and don't have to tell at their kids in the field to pay attention constantly.
 
Not to distract from the baseball talk, but does anyone know what’s going in the old Dillards? Drove by it today for the first time in awhile and looked like some serious work/changed had been done to the building.
 
I finally took a drive down Queen City Avenue after all the construction. What a a great area for the community to enjoy. Now on to the Western Hills Viaduct reconstruction. I still can't believe it will not be completed until 2028.
 
I don't remember if anyone mentioned it or not, but the new Petsmart in the location of the old Bed, Bath and Beyond in Western Hills Plaza is open.

An Orange Theory Fitness studio looks like it'll soon open in the seemingly cursed space in Harrison Greene where Tom & Chee and Keystone Mac Shack previously operated.
 
I don't remember if anyone mentioned it or not, but the new Petsmart in the location of the old Bed, Bath and Beyond in Western Hills Plaza is open.

An Orange Theory Fitness studio looks like it'll soon open in the seemingly cursed space in Harrison Greene where Tom & Chee and Keystone Mac Shack previously operated.
I think OTF could do well there. Offers something new and I know a lot of people who use the one in Newport that could go to this one.
 
Not to get on a soapbox but this is a huge issue I have with kid pitch. I get that kids can be erratic as pitchers, but the coaches play a big part in this problem. I tell my boys I'd rather them strike out swinging than walk. On the flip side you have coaches telling their boys to take pitches and try to walk. Kids aren't going to learn how to hit by standing there with the bat on their shoulder. The fact that adults prioritize winning over kids having fun and developing at a sport drives me crazy.
I'm with you here. Our 9u boys lost a few games last year because we want them swinging. Conversely, as a pitching coach, it's so tough to watch a kid trying to learn one of the most difficult athletic jobs toil on the mound while our league expects them to hit spots like Greg Maddux.
 
Westside Youth Baseball is a sunflower seed shell of what it used to be and knothole pretty much extinct. Many of the Weststars and Raiders Teams have some above average Coaching. A number of SWOL or Select Teams are still playing daddy ball and this doesn’t benefit anyone involved.
 
Top