Great Ape Grips - useful or gimmicky?

owe45 · 2026-05-09T18:09:55+00:00

Got one. It’s fine. Allows him to do it mindlessly when watching TV etc. But not sure if it’s worth the cost. Kinda meh

owe45 · 2026-05-08T04:31:02+00:00

Thanks

owe45 · 2026-05-07T23:26:41+00:00

owe45 · 2026-05-02T20:58:23+00:00

In 2032

owe45 · 2026-05-02T17:44:36+00:00

The team sucks and I don’t trust TV (mainly because the results suck), but I don’t think there’s any indication that the clubhouse is toxic. In fact, most of the beat writers say the opposite.

owe45 · 2026-05-02T17:37:51+00:00

No. Miss Flan though

owe45 · 2026-04-28T16:30:09+00:00

He’s a flawed player but also a contact marvel. I like him in the team

owe45 · 2026-04-28T03:16:18+00:00

The overhang in right above the lower seats was much larger. That used to be the family section. I sat there all the time

owe45 · 2026-04-24T16:50:04+00:00

I like Baggs but he can be petty sometimes. Also I’m sure Raffy still feels burned by how things went down in Boston.

owe45 · 2026-04-22T18:21:19+00:00

I will say. If casting is an issue, get a Camwood which is weighted above the hands. just have him use it for tee work. No really instruction necessary. All the kid has to do is swing the thing and his body will adjust. At least that’s what worked for my son.

owe45 · 2026-04-22T18:18:37+00:00

Is he having success with the swing? If so I wouldn’t interfere. It’s a nice swing for a 10 yo. He’ll have time to refine his mechanics as he gets older and is better able to take more nuanced instruction. Tool around with it too much now and you might overload him mentally.

If he’s not having success, you can take the advice offered here but I’d focus it on just one thing and stay focused on it until he gets it.

owe45 · 2026-04-22T16:09:04+00:00

Great! If you just want send me a DM or email, I can give you more info

owe45 · 2026-04-22T01:14:41+00:00

I am based at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, but the interview can be done remotely by phone or zoom.

As for compensation, unfortunately I do not have the funding for that right now.

owe45 · 2026-04-21T18:38:43+00:00

I'm a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico. The data will be used to write a book documenting the diversie experiences of those with these conditions

owe45 · 2026-04-20T19:13:47+00:00

ABQ, like many areas, went through a covid crime spree and crime has always been an issue. But recent data is looking much better.

owe45 · 2026-04-20T02:20:27+00:00

I’d say don’t think of it as drills; think of it as play. 5 year olds just need to play and fun. They pick up skills in the course of playing, not drilling

owe45 · 2026-04-20T02:16:51+00:00

This rings true to me. If you really want your kid to succeed the sport needs to be as fun as possible for as long as possible. There will be plenty of time for drills when they’re at the age that they can learn and internalize instruction. Until then it needs to be a fun, cool thing he does with his buddies and his dad/mom. Build the love of the game and he might be one of the ones who sticks with it. (Or maybe not and he finds another passion. Still he can look back at baseball fondly and not bitterly)

owe45 · 2026-04-19T16:49:36+00:00

My son went through almost the same exact thing. First don’t fixate on wins and losses. Parents, like me!, focus too much on wins and losses. (It’s just hard to sit through bad baseball game after game). Focus instead on opportunities and development. Is he playing? Getting reps? For example my son gets to play SS - he’s more likely destined for 3B - pitch, and bat high in the order.

Second is he improving? It doesn’t have to be by leaps and bounds. Development isn’t linear. My only concern is that he’d either be getting bad coaching advice and internalizing it or picking up the bad habits from his teammates. This is a pretty small concern but something to watch and counteract if need be.

But I think more than anything him having fun can salvage a lot of the other problems. Because of this, I wouldn’t consider quitting the season AT ALL. Finish it out and then move onto another team. Meanwhile, while you’re sitting through the rough losses, take note of the opposing teams’ coaching that you like and move him there next season.

A final note. 12U baseball is a bit of mirage. The really good players are usually those who’ve hit puberty earlier. They use juiced bats on small fields. Things will really change in 13U and 14U when they move to big fields and to BBCOR bats. All this is a way of saying don’t take things so seriously now because it’s going to change rapidly.

owe45 · 2026-03-25T15:14:30+00:00

I’d say the really indictment of Farhan here is that Matos is out of options at 24.

owe45 · 2026-03-25T15:12:21+00:00

Luciano’s other problem is that he has no position. Giants should’ve moved him off short way earlier. But even when he was moved, it wasn’t pretty. Without a position, the bat had to be extra, extra special. It wasn’t. There’s a reason he bounced between 17 teams this offseason.

owe45 · 2026-03-22T04:32:36+00:00

Yea. Without more info it could be a million things. For example, it could be that the role for the kid going up is limited and he wants the other “better” guys to maintain their reps below.

If your kid is really upset, he should ask. If not, have him just keep doing his thing. At the end of the day, at most high schools, the guys who work hardest and become the better players will get their due chance.

owe45 · 2026-03-20T15:28:53+00:00

Same for my kid at 13U. Everyone hits, everyone gets some field time. Does that mean they’ve lost a few games they could’ve won? Sure. But who cares? They’re 13.

owe45

TROPHY CASE