You pretty much just critiqued the ball field, you gave no insight on what the photographer could improve on....... As he stated, he was shooting from a small hole in the dugout and from that position, i doubt he had any control over the background behind home plate, where the catcher was looking, or if you could actually see the plate clearly in the picture. Please don't take offense to this, i just think that critique should help a photog improve on something. I agree that the background is distracting but i think the first picture came out pretty good considering he didn't have control over the background, catcher, or umpire (to clean off the plate).
So...... the 1st is a keeper for me, nice and sharp and full of action!
My critiques, if accepted as honest critiques, are capable of helping a photographer VASTLY more than the "great shot" comments that run rampant around here. A lot of people on here think Im just a mean guy that likes to cut on people but Im simply one of the few that provide a serious honest critique (Ill agree that Im probably pretty straight forward with it though 
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In my eyes, neither of these are great shots. The timing is good, but the angle and composition is bad. That is a VERY important lesson. This is the same way I have learned. Being aware of, and controlling your backgrounds is one major key in elevating you above the average guy with a camera out there.
Ive been down this same road myself when I first started shooting. I used to only look at my subject and thought the pictures were great. Then I got some good advice from some real professional photographers and I realized all the places that I was lacking. If you asked me a year ago, I would have thought that picture was great. If I took it, I probably would have put it up on here too. At this point though, if that was all I captured, I personally would have just said, "well thats a shame I wasnt in a better spot" and I would have deleted it.
Im not saying its a bad picture or that it wouldnt sell to parents/fans. Im simply saying that, photographically speaking, it is not a very strong capture.
