Indiana Baseball Coach Goes Viral for Twitter Faux Pas

Considering how much time we spend online, the amount of content we consume, and the amount of reaction and interaction we have with others, it really comes down to a matter of WHEN not IF we're going to say or write the wrong thing and put our foot in our mouths (digitally). For one Evansville baseball coach, that WHEN was this week. It was an innocent enough goof-up, but boy was it a doozy, and boy has it gone viral.

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Ryan Wargel is a long-time youth baseball coach in Evansville - for the past several years he has coached a travel baseball team called the Evansville Devils. Ryan was on the Devil's Twitter account recently when he decided to comment on a video of a 'young' man taking some batting practice. Ryan offered some simple, polite, and accurate advice that would have been well received by just about any up-and-coming ballplayer. This, however, was not just ANY ballplayer. The video was of an MLB player - and not just any professional player - it was Mike friggin' Trout! The same Mike Trout who recently landed at #15 on ESPN's list of the Top 100 MLB players of all time. Simply put, he is really, really good, and he knows how to swing a bat.

The Video in Question

How did Ryan react when he learned that he had just critiqued one of the best hitters of all time? Did he instantly delete the Tweet, or blame it on someone else who had access to the account? Did he go on the defensive? Nope, he handled it like a champ. He was quick to laugh at himself and put a positive spin on the situation.

I have known Ryan for a long time. I have coached against him several times and watched him coach a bunch more. He is an outspoken guy to stands by what he says. He also loves coaching, and he loves his players, so I'm surprised at all to see him take this angle. I knew Ryan wouldn't have a problem talking about his newfound 'fame,' so I got him on the phone to get his firsthand account of what life has been like the last couple of days.