Parents whose children are playing amateur baseball—particularly travel ball—could learn a lot from David Clyde’s wisdom.
While he was a kid growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, nothing was going to stop Clyde from loving baseball. Watching the hometown Athletics challenge the mighty New York Yankees in the 1960s only reinforced his desire to be a Big League pitcher. The future MLB phenom never lost sight of that goal, even after his hero Mickey Mantle hurled a few expletives his way after a request for an autograph.
As a teenager, Clyde lived in Houston where his rise to prominence as a scholastic athlete came fast and hard. In his senior year of high school, the lefty sensation had an astonishing 18–0 win-loss record, yielding only three earned runs in 148 inning pitches. Along the way, he managed to throw five no-hitters.
The local hurler, even at the still physically developing age of 18, was selected by the attendance-starved Texas Rangers, who held the top 1973 overall pick in the MLB amateur draft. Media and scouting circles labeled him the next Sandy Koufax. Comparing a winning high schooler to Koufax, who many consider the greatest left-handed pitcher in the game’s history, was not only unfair but very premature.
Twenty days after participating in his final outing for Westchester High School, Clyde was on the pitching mound at Arlington Stadium. Wearing a Rangers uniform and with 35,698 fans in the stands to see him work his promised magic, the young Clyde went up against the Minnesota Twins.
Talk about pressure. Although Clyde was awarded the win—a 4–3 victory where he chalked up 8 strikeouts—the euphoria around his being touted as a can’t-miss Hall of Famer faded quickly.
Concerned about bringing fans into the stadium, perhaps even at the expense of the young pitcher’s development, Rangers owner Bob Short insisted that Clyde remain with the club through the season. Indeed, Clyde’s 18 starts in Arlington in 1973 accounted for nearly one-third of the team’s total attendance.
However, shoulder issues slowed Clyde’s progress in 1974. Banished to the minor leagues for the next two seasons, he quickly became “yesterday’s news.” Traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1978, by August of the following season, Clyde had pitched in his last inning of MLB competition.
Today, Clyde, 69, is giving back to students, offering private pitching lessons near his home on Houston’s North Side. With years of being in and around all levels of amateur baseball, he speaks from his experiences in high school and at the professional level. He shares wisdom and guidance to benefit young athletes, parents, and coaches who couldn’t find a more honest voice on player development.
“I tell parents that I’m going to be bluntly honest with them. Perhaps, maybe I may be honest to a point that they won’t want to hear,” Clyde told The Epoch Times on April 13.
“If I give them an opinion that their son isn’t going to possibly play for an MLB team, or even for a high school baseball team, this isn’t me judging their son’s character. It’s just what I see in their abilities at this time.”
Travel ball is an amateur level that Clyde has some definite feelings about. Originally, travel ball was set up as an outlet for high schoolers to get exposure to college coaches and pro scouts. Typically, a team will field a roster of 13 players. The expense for parents signing their sons to a team is a major concern for Clyde, given that a season will typically cost from $1,000 to $5,000 a season, per player.
“Travel ball allows the best players to play against the best players,” says Clyde, who maintains 37 days of service time in the MLB to qualify for a pension. “I started seeing tournament directors start accepting everyone’s money, regardless of the level of talent. It’s become all about the money rather than the betterment of the child.”
Clyde said that his opinion can change over time when evaluating students. Some of his students have gone on to be drafted by MLB teams. With 60-plus years of experience with every level of baseball, Clyde believes kids should be allowed to enjoy the game while keeping pressure from coaches to a minimum.
“It’s the kids that drive this game. Playing for teams with honest expectations and keeping them interested is what will keep them coming back to be some part of the game. They need a great experience at the MLB stadiums as well as at their local playing fields. We owe this to our kids.”
