I'm not sure why I'm so taken by this Craigslist posting, sent in by a pair of readers, seeking a very specific sort of ballplayer for a Wake County (N.C.) 9U travel team. Maybe it's because all the nine-year-olds we remember from little league swung as hard as they could on every pitch, and because everything hit to the outfield got past the fielders for a triple anyway, and because only the fat kids were put at catcher.

But travel baseball can be serious business, so it's hard to blame a coach for turning to the internet to bring in a ringer. Even if my first instinct when seeing a Craigslist post seeking a nine-year-old is to call the police.

[Craigslist]