Today's Herald Sports section had an interesting story today, about a FIU baseball player with a very long hitting streak. The student/player's father is a Miami Beach orthopedic surgeon, and the father apparently hounded and pushed the son mercilessly, which now accounts for the young man's "bullet proof" mental status.
I met the doctor years ago. I thought he was a jerk. He's at best a third rate surgeon --not even the best at Mt. Sinai, a hospital NOT famous for their orthopedics. Now, after learning about his parenting skills, I also know he's a prick.
The article said that the doc was never an athlete, and knew very little about baseball. But, he learned, and even built a concrete wall in his back yard, to teach his son not to "bail out" when inside pitches came. As the son grew, the father would go to ball games, and yell and pace during the whole game, so that his wife admitted she made believe she wasn't with him.
The son, in the article, said he had a "love-hate" relationship with his father. Seems to me there shouldn't be any "hate" part in those relationships.
I remember being in Little League, nearly 40 years ago, and observing these types of parents. They all seem convinced their sons would become the next Pete Rose. None of them did, but I'm sure many ended up in psychologists' offices, trying to undue this early damage.
Maybe the young FIU player will make it to the big show. Probably not. He does have a chance at breaking the college hitting streak record. He already won the award to for having the team's worst father.
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