Naming the bad guys

A few years back I was covering a state baseball championship game which was a one-run game in the sixth inning. A batter from the trailing team hit a routine grounder to third, with two outs and the tying run on second. Instead of fielding the grounder cleanly and throwing the runner out at first to end the inning, the fielder booted the ball. However, instead of pouting, he hustled behind him to pick up the ball as it skidded toward the outfield and then hustled to tag out the runner who tried to advance to third.
There were two mistakes on the play. First, the booted grounder. Second, the runner making the third out at third when he should have remained at second. Anyway, when I wrote about the sequence of events on the play I named the fielder and the runner in my story. This upset the parents of both players, especially the mother of the fielder. She didn’t care that I had pointed out how her son’s hustle had made up for the error on the grounder, I shouldn’t have named him – according to her, because it embarrassed him.
I’ve had many other similar incidents. Many just don’t think it’s appropriate to name prep athletes in stories when they make mistakes that are costly to their teams. Us writers should only point out the good they do and never mention the bad. In other words, if a kid hits a game-tying home run in the sixth we should mention that but not that the same kid made a game-costing error an inning later. He can be a hero, but never a goat.
As a journalist, I disagree. I think our job is to tell the story of what happened as accurate as we can, and when we leave out names we’re not doing that. If we write “the third baseman made an error” I think it leaves many to wonder who the third baseman was. Other reporters don’t share my opinion and feel we’re doing a public service to the athletes, schools and parents, and should never include a name if it makes an athlete or team look bad. They say teens just can’t handle the public disgrace of having their name in print if it points out a mistake they made.
So, you may notice that there’s a lot of inconsistency in how prep writers handle writing about errors in baseball, fumbles and interceptions in football, and missed free throws or turnovers in basketball. Some name the kids who made the mistakes, others don’t.
Two years ago I polled coaches in one region about this writing dilemma and they were split. Some said writers should only point out the good, never the bad. But one coach said, “I don’t want a kid on my team who can’t take the good with the bad.” Parents of players seem to favor not naming players who make mistakes, while readers without kids playing want the most informative story.
I would really like to know what you readers think. Do we name the players in prep games when they make an error or mistake that affects the outcome of a game? Or do we continue to protect Little Johnny from being embarrassed by his mistakes? Do we, as journalists have an obligation to tell the most accurate story we can, which includes who made the good plays and who made the bad plays?
Myself, I’d at least like to see us writers be consistent on this issue, and your input would surely help.