Youth Baseball: Home Run Broken Window

In all movies that feature kids playing baseball there is always a scene where a long home run is hit through the window of a crabby neighbor and everybody runs. Well, it happened this weekend for real.

As the 12 year old ball players started to warm up on a baseball field in Mills Park in Northern Kentucky, the home owner of the white house pictured below looked out her window. Her house happens to sit curiously close to the baseball field. The field has 200 foot fences and the base of the house is about 250 feet from home plate in left center field. I can only assume that the township tried to annex the property when the park was developed but lost in a court battle. It is the only house around.

When the home owner saw the freakishly big 12 year old kids on the field, she ran out of her house to confront the coach of one of the teams. She claimed that the park has a rule that that field is restricted to 10 year old or younger players.  The house is most definitely reachable for some 12 year old kids, especially 5' 9" and 190 pounds 12 year old kids who use supercharged composite / alloy bats. The coach, however, allayed the home owner fears. He told her that tournament that was about to start is a wood bat tournament.  The kids would be using wood bats only and therefore the ball would have little chance to travel that far.

The first game of the tournament on that field featured the two of the best teams from the region. (My son's team was playing on an adjacent field.) The two teams on the house field recruit the biggest and best players from the region. Players who are 12, but look more like 15. In the 4th inning of that game, there were 7 home runs hit. One of those home runs not only hit the house, but went through the 2nd story window. (See arrow). WOW.

The home owner ran out of the house and demanded a name and an address. The next day the tournament director covered the home owners sliding glass doors with padded tarps and the tournament continued.

The Main Point

12 year old kids can hit a baseball very far even with wood bats.