The Eternal Little League Debate
I have served on boards of Little League baseball for almost 20 years. Every year, every league, in every country, every city, every borough, and every town has the same debate about this time of year.
How many Major’s teams should we have?
Do not feel alone or abandoned, frustrated or flustered, and above all, don’t give up. The one thing I know for sure is, in the end, it all works out! That said, the debate is always a healthy one and sometimes feelings get hurt. That is the sad part of the equation, nobody joins a Little League Board of Directors w/ the goal of making enemies or hurting feelings. Everyone joins w/ the intent of helping the kids.
In fact, it is my experience that those who battle the most are the ones who have the most in common and some of the best ideas. The spirit of the battle should be about the kids, that’s all, nothing more, nothing less. Coaches, managers, parents, board members, all their opinions are irrelevant. It is the board’s duty to do what is best for all of the kids in the league, period. Anything short of that is unacceptable.
That said, everyone thinks what they are doing IS for the best of the kids. Therein lies the problem and root of all passion on the subject. So how do we resolve this?
Little Leagues provides us with two very clear guidelines to help us determine the number of Major League teams to have in our league:
1. Any child that rates a total of 15 in 5 skills, or an average of 3 for each skill, should play in the major leagues.
2. A league should have 1 major team per each 2 minor teams.
A couple of things to consider here. First, intent, second, reality.
The INTENT of these guidelines is to get EVERY kid who is capable of playing baseball to play in the major leagues. Not the best, not the studs, not only home run hitters, but EVERY child aged 11 and 12 UNLESS they are extremely weak or maybe a first year player w/ little coordination.
Last year Little League made it mandatory that all 12 Year Olds play in the Majors because so many leagues were pushing them down to minors. The bottom line is, any 12 year old kid that is 1/2 coordinated can play in the major’s division. Additionally, Little League has STOPPED calling it the major league division, and now refers to it as the Little League division, this is because too many people were making it too competitive.
Those that have been readers of this blog know I am ALL for competition. I love it and the life lessons it teaches are irreplaceable. So why do we want to deprive average kids from getting these life lessons simply to have a superstar major’s program? Again, Little League wants AVERAGE kids to play Little League baseball. It is sort of their birthright as Americans, who are we to deprive those kids of this opportunity?
Want more proof? Little League does not allow any board of directors to have more than 50% of the members be coaches or managers. Why? Coaches NEVER think there is enough talent. They just got done with all-stars and they are comparing the new crop of raw talent to that they have nurtured for years to the level they have become.
Some parents, of course, think their kid is better than he or she is and want them to move up too fast. This is another issue a board must address. Finally, some parents refuse to allow their kids to play up, unfortunately, nothing a board can do about this. If a kid is drafted into the major leagues, that’s where he plays, if the parent doesn’t want him to play there, he can’t play. How can a board send a kid that is drafted into majors down to minors? What grounds do they have? What if he hurts someone? That is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
So what are we to do as board members? The solution is NEVER a simple one, but the league should ALWAYS err on the side of moving kids up, rather than forcing them down. Each team needs a few bubble kids to develop. It is amazing how much progress they make over the year in majors vs. how little they would make in minors.
One year I held my oldest boy down. He was the star of the team, he didn’t push himself and he didn’t improve nearly as much as if he had moved up. That was a mistake. The next year, he wasn’t the stud any more and he improved 100%.
When in doubt, move kids up, but do not do it to the detriment of the league. There is absolutely no reason to have a kid up that does not have the skills to perform as an “average” player. NOT an “average existing major league player”, but an “average player for his/her age”. Kids should be judged among their peers and the top % should move to the major leagues. It really is that simple, if only deciding how to accomplish that were so simple.
How does your league determine how many major league teams to have?
This post sponsored through the pepperjamNETWORK by:
Is your personal info going to be SAFE & SECURE when you shop online? Be sure with the buySAFE Shopping Advisor!
Nurses Station at NursesDirect.com – Distinctive Gifts for the Nursing Profession
Related articles by Zemanta
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d8093ef6-197e-4568-8407-4ac89a7af2ba)
Rays and Phillies Delayed Game Taught Me Something
OK, who out there knew that if a game was tied going into the bottom half of the inning that the game would be suspended and then resumed from where it left off? That’s what I thought. Since we were kids we knew that a game that is official, but does not complete an entire inning reverts back to the prior inning’s score! Using what I have always thought the rule was, the Phillies win the series!
It would suck that they won the series that way, but apparently up until last year, that’s the way it was. Tom Boswell of the Washington post lets us in on another secret of the game last night. No matter what the inning or the score, all parties had agreed and commissioner Bud Selig had blessed that they would play every inning of the game, regardless. Now there is a rule! A good one I might add! That should be the rule across the board. Why would we shorten a game because of rain when the teams are likely to play the next day, or at least again later in the season.
What if that one game cost a team the pennant? What if it cost them a shot at a wild card? We could all go home earlier as well as they wouldn’t normally wait in the middle of August until 1AM to continue the game. I doubt we will get the rule for the regular season, but in the playoffs, and the World Series at a minimum, it needs to be there.
This, of course, got me thinking. Did Little League change their rules as well? I know that is a game completes the first inning but is not official it is picked up where it left off. If the first inning is not completed, the game starts over. But what if it is completed in the 5th inning or tied in the top of the fifth? What is the Little League ruling then?
A quick check of my handy dandy 2008 rulebook confirms my suspicions. The Little League Phillies would have won the game. The game reverts back to the prior inning in an incomplete inning if the visitors tied or went ahead in their half of the inning. I think Little League may want to revisit this and go w/ the Major League Baseball rule. Or play every game all the way out other than time limits or 10-run rules. This includes during tournament play.
Do we really thing the tournament committee in Williamsport would allow the international World Series Champion to be crowned with a shortened game? I don’t think so. Why not make the rule universal?
I assume the reason for the rule in the first place was because travel was so cumbersome 100 years ago when the rules of the game were written. This is no longer the case, why would we shorten any game? That gives and advantage to the team against their next opponent as they didn’t have to use their bullpen, it also leaves less opportunity for success for record breakers.
I vote we never have a shortened baseball game again at any level other than time limits where allowed and 10-run rules where allowed.
Should a winner be determined in a shortened baseball game? What is your feeling?
Related articles by Zemanta
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a5fd1429-99e8-4ae5-8993-cab8c1e7e350)
Another Fine Saturday at the Park
Every Saturday my day begins at 10AM w/ my minor baseball team, proceeds to 2PM with my major softball team, and ends with a senior softball game at 5PM. All three of the teams are young and all needed major work. Finally, we are starting to see the improvement in all of them and it is substantial.
It was uplifting when I asked our minor baseball team after they hit very well, pitched very well, and fielded very well what they learned. It was like hearing myself recited back to myself. They said they learned focus, creeping, swinging, being aggressive, head in the game, it went on and on and on, it was very impressive. I guess they do listen after all, though at times you wonder.
I ended it by introducing a new word to them. A big one for 8-11 year olds. The word? Execution. I told them they obviously know what to do because they just finished telling me everything they were supposed to do, therefore, the word for the rest of the season is execution. They needed to execute the plan the rest of the season.
My major girls are struggling a bit. But not because they are not talented, because we have struggled to throw strikes. That is pretty typical for this age group in the fall, but it has been a little more frustrating this year for some reason. We play a number of teams that I feel we are better than but we don’t win because we don’t throw strikes. When we do throw strikes, we tend to win.
Amazingly, when I got home tonight my wife was telling me how much fun today was because all the teams performed well. She said it was a different game when we threw strikes. She said, and get this, “It’s all about the pitching”….lol. She must listen too! My mantras are starting to permeate my life, this is pretty cool stuff. I have said this a thousand times before, but as coaches and leaders, we really need to watch what we say, because people listen.
Anyway, today our major softball team threw strikes and hit the ball. And though we lost, it was a fun game.
Finally, our senior softball game. We played against a bunch of big girls all much older than us. That was one of the funnest games I have been involved in in a long time. We bunted, swung, stole and kept pressure on their defense. It was awesome. They did the same to us but we made the plays for a change. It was really a lot of fun playing “softball” the right way. A total blast.
Anyway, it is 11:30 right now and I still have a smile on my face. Not because we won, but because I am so proud of every one of our teams today. The score is irrelevant. Our fall objective was to improve every player’s skills and prepare them for the spring. This plan appears to be on course.
What is the best day you ever had on a ball field? What made it special?
Related articles by Zemanta
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d16bae3e-9e3c-4da3-832c-744ce4eb0158)
Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Rays on TBS is Horrible
As I write this, I am watching out of the corner of my eye, the cartoon depiction of the American League Championship Series that MLB.com provides as a play by play for every game. This would be fine if it were the middle of August, but this is the American League Championship Series and I can’t watch it because it is on TBS and I don’t have that station on the DirecTV family plan.
How crazy is it that I live within driving distance of Tampa and I can’t watch them play on TV? I thought to myself, no problem, they will have a local station broadcasting the game so I can watch it, certainly there is some kind of exemption. I know when the Redskins used to play on ESPN they would pick it up on the local station and rebroadcast it there, but no. Me and millions of others can’t watch the American League Championship Series! That is asinine.
And they wonder why the ratings are down? Here is someone that would be watching every pitch, but I can’t. Certainly there are millions of people just like me, I am not that unique, who would be watching the game if they could, but they can’t! This is just stupid.
Do you feel the championship series should be on cable? We are depriving the country of their pass time, the poorest among us can’t find pleasure watching the game they love taking them away from daily crisis and financial crisis providing an escape, because it’s on cable. Horrible decision MLB. Maybe a few more dollars today, but a loss of many more in the future.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7f9681a8-2144-464f-84b9-fc5532e1c9f3)
Sports Nut Shop Offers a Wide Variety of MLB Merchandise
From the moment you log on to the Sports Nut Shop it is obvious that they offer a wide range of MLB merchandise. The cool scrolling menu of items features autographed balls, New York Yankee Jackets, Mets’ caps, Indians’ ties and an MLB rubics cube!
They offer MLB apparel, autographed memorabilia and much much more. They have a section for apparel, home accents, autos, collectible, gifts and novelties, travel and outdoors, toys and gamerooms, bar and kitchen, for the office, and a clearance area. Everything you would want for the baseball lover in MLB gifts and browsable by team as well.
A quick click to my favorite team the New York Yankees takes me to a Yankees’ Yahtzee game, license plate, and wind chime. There are little tidbits of history about each club on the page as well and just about every item you could want from salt and pepper shakers to money clips and belt buckles.
Just to make sure they had as much merchandise for a lesser team (and all teams are lesser than the Yankees of course, I clicked on the lowly Philadelphia Phillies. (Oh yeah, they are in the playoffs and the Yankees aren’t!) They had an equal amount of merchandise for them as well.
All told, Sports Nut Shop to be a pretty comprehensive site for MLB merchandise. I know I could spend thousands there if left alone with my credit card.
Related articles by Zemanta
- Phillies look to extend home dominance
- Baseball attendance drops, ends record streak
- Phils have chance to join ’80s championship team on mantel
- Stewie Griffin to Sign with Yankees
- MLB attendance numbers drop 1.1 percent in 2008
- The Yankees forums are a wonderful place …
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=36d215e4-001b-4de7-8bf6-c11a404dd952)
Little League White Paper Hits and Runs, Bumps and Bruises: Health, Safety and Injury Prevention are the Keystone of Little League
I received a white paper from Little League today that provides a historical perspective of their Safety Initiative Program. Nobody can touch Little League for safety initiatives. All others follow their lead. They began tracking injuries in the early ’60’s and continue their efforts today.
Key Safety Initiatives:
- 1961-Batting helmet mandatory
- .0003% of injured Little Leaguer’s required medical attention.
- 8 fatalities in Little League 6 from wood bats, 2 from aluminum bats
- Since 1990 not 1 death in over 18 million games and 40 million practices!
- Bat performance factors of 1.15 approved
- 25-35 injuries of pitchers hit by batted balls/year amazing!
- Pitch counts instituted (The best rule ever!)
- 80 free background checks offered to each league, more than enough for most, additional checks for only $1 each!
This is really good stuff and makes me proud to be part of this organization.
Here is a copy of the letter they sent:
For more than a half-century, Little League International has maintained extensive records on injuries in Little League games and practices. These records have been used over the years to monitor trends and, when necessary, to effect positive changes in the Rules and Regulations.
In many cases, these changes have eventually been adopted in other youth baseball and softball programs, as well as professional baseball. It is just one of the many aspects of Little League that sets us apart from all other youth baseball and softball programs.
For the first time, Little League International has produced a comprehensive report on the history of Little League’s efforts and accomplishments regarding the wellbeing of its participants and volunteers. This white paper entitled “Hits and Runs, Bumps and Bruises: Health, Safety and Injury Prevention are the Keystone of Little League” provides an extensive review of advancements in these areas.
We invite you to review this important document, produced by the Little League International Communications Division. The white paper can be found at the Little League International web site by clicking on the link to the PDF below, or by pasting it into your web browser:
http://www.littleleague.org/Assets/forms_pubs/Hits_Runs_Bumps_Bruises08.pdf
Related articles by Zemanta
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7cfa986b-4507-4357-b36f-efbc0f0b931f)
Red, Yellow, Green
OK, what do you mean you say? What is this red, yellow green thing? This is one of the great benefits of going to the batting cages. The machine turns red before it throws the ball, yellow as the ball is about to be delivered, and green when it throws it.
Applying this to the batter is very valuable. If you have your batters stand in the box with the bat on their shoulder in the red position until the pitcher starts their motion, it eliminates any potential for white knuckles. White knuckles occur when the batter squeezes the bat so hard their knuckles turn white. Nobody can hit tense like that.
Once you get the parents over yelling at their kid to get ready, and they will, you move to yellow. Yellow is “ready” position. The batter should go to yellow when the pitcher makes his/her first movement. This means that the batter will only be in the ready position a few seconds. Again, this reduces the potential for tension and keeps the batter relaxed the way you want them.
Finally, the green. In green the batter swings. This is extremely effective because a kid can understand very easily that green means go. In ball though, green means attack. Next pitch, repeat.
Do you have a good trick you use to make batters relax and then attack?
Related articles by Zemanta
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d89c343b-bd0d-401d-9d61-2991cc1effea)
Congratulations to Simpsonville Little League
Congratulations to Simpsonville Little League 11/12 Major’s Softball Champions! Let by 6′1" Carley Hoover on the mound they pull of a victory in the top of the 6th in a seesaw battle over the team from New Jersey! Back and forth it went!
Anyone want to guess what won the game? Pitching of course. Not so much this game, but getting there in softball is a throwback to the old Little League baseball. You really only need two super pitchers to get you there. Oh yeah, and a ton of luck!
All in all, these teams were the most impressive I have ever seen in this tournament. Usually the teams are good, but both of these teams were fantastic.
Congrats to both teams for making it so far! Now it’s time to start fall ball so hurry home!
Related articles by Zemanta
- Coaching Girls Vs. Boys
- Southeast Regional Shows How New Pitching Rules Affect the Game
- Guest Bloggers Wanted!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ce0ebf3a-c9b0-44f4-a3a2-9653bff7d853)
Little League to Use Replay!???
Image by M@nnie via FlickrI Hate Replay!
First, let me got on the record as a HUGE hater of instant replay! I hate it in football because it slows the pace of the game, it often kills momentum, and it makes referees change the way they make their calls.
The Great Debate
Of course there is a huge debate about whether to use replay in baseball or not. I was watching a Yankees game a while back and I forgot who it was, but they pulled a hook down the third base line. The ball appeared to be foul. The UMP called it a home run! Every camera angle had the ball hooking around in front of the foul poll, it was obviously not a home run! Or so we thought!
There was one guy who was sitting next to the foul poll. He ended up w/ the ball. He was swearing up and down through his body language that it was a home run. They sent their roving reporter out there w/ a camera and on the very far left (foul side) of the poll was an obvious ball mark. The ump got it right! Replay got it wrong!
Absorb It
I don’t really care if the call is right or wrong. Whatever the ump says it is, it is. Move on. Mike Soccia, manager of the Angels, said it best when the ball obviously hit the dirt when they were playing the White Sox in the championship game a few years back, "We didn’t play good enough to absorb it." One bad call does not a game lose, why would you want your momentum killed right after you hit a home run?
The pitcher is shaken, the next batter has a huge advantage, why do you want to stop the game to painstakingly review whether it was a home run or not? The ump called it what he saw it to be. That’s what it is, move on and play through it!
From the Pres.
From the Little League Website I copied this quote from the Little League International President:
“We are able to do this because all 32 games are televised on the ESPN family of networks,” Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball and Softball, said. “As we have seen even in the professional ranks, these calls are among the most difficult for umpires to make, for a variety of reasons. Using video replay, in very limited situations and on an experimental basis for one year, simply gives us a better chance to get these calls right. In 2009, we will evaluate the program and decide if it will be used again.”
Do you smell a fish? I do! If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, probably a duck!
I have been watching the Little League World Series since I was a kid. For those of you counting, that makes about 40 years now. I cannot remember one single controversy over a home run in the Little League World Series.
The fence is so short, there are not strange angles or areas as there are in the major leagues, and the 5th and 6th umpires are right on top of the plays. Why do we need this?
The Cynic in Me
hmmmmm….The cynic in me remembers that last year ESPN gave Little League Millions of Dollars to cover their World Series. In exchange, Little League demanded they cover every division. A great deal for both parties!
But, who covers more Major League games than any other network? ESPN, of course, might it be in their best interest to have instant replay in the major leagues? What does that mean for them? An additional commercial spot! The "Chevy instant replay challenge" maybe? Do you think Little League decided on replay or do you think that ESPN sold the idea to them? My money is on the latter.
All for Making Money
Most of you know I make my money in the advertising business. I understand why both parties would do this. Again, win-win for everyone. I just hate replay, it isn’t natural, it doesn’t belong in any games, ESPECIALLY LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL GAMES!
I already have my concerns about 11/12 year olds playing in front of 50,000 people. Talk about pressure! Now you are going to subject them to the excruciating painstaking wait of whether a ball was a home run or not? What about the kid on the mound? What if this is to decide the game? An instant call is devistating, but kids get over it quickly, but are you telling me that if there is a foul ball in the bottom of the 6th of the championship game in a 1-1 tie you are going to stop the game for 5 minutes and review the shot?
He’s Just a Little Boy
Then what if you determine it is a home run? The image of that kid breaking down will be capture for a lifetime! After standing out there in the middle of 50,000 people on national television waiting for what must seem an eternity you are going tell this kid "no that wasn’t a foul ball, that was a home run and you lost the game". He will be devistated! Tarnished for life! And what if the call is so close that it could have gone either way? This is just wrong! Have we forgotten that these are little boys out there? They are not grown men.
I am all about teaching life lesson and building character. But instant replay is not the way to do it. Let the kids play, the umps ump, the coaches coach, and the parents have heart failure. Last year instant replay showed that umpires were consistantly calling strikes 6" off the plate on the outside corner. That’s what we need to fix! BUT NOT WITH REPLAY!
Do you think replay belongs in sports?
Related articles by Zemanta
- Little League World Series to Try Replay
- 2008 Little League Tournament Schedule
- Attitude So Bad They Bring Your Whole Team Down?
- New Pitching Rules have Changed the World Series Dynamic
- Championships Or Leadership?
Attitude So Bad They Bring Your Whole Team Down?
Image via Wikipedia Can One Player Destroy a Team?
The trading of Manny Ramirez today makes me ask the question, is a single player’s attitude enough to bring an entire team down? An analyst on ESPN today wondered why in an "individual sport" the Red Sox would trade their best player. How, he asked, could one player bring down an entire team?
Absolutely
This may or may not be true at the major league level, but in youth sports I say ABSOLUTELY a bad attitude can destroy an entire team. A bad attitude on a weak player will probably not effect a team, but a star player w/ a bad attitude will destoy the entire team’s moral.
Just Say No
I know coaches, and I am one of them, who will pass on a player w/ an attitude even if he or she has more talent than the next selection in the draft. I will take 12 average players with good attitudes to 12 superstars that can’t get along or don’t listen. I will usually win also. It is amazing how you can bring a team together with eager kids and a lot of hard work. It is equally as interesting how much faster a team can be torn apart by a kid with an attitude.
What About the Parents?
Another thing that will tear a team apart is a disrespectful parent. How will a kid ever respect the authority of a coach if their parents don’t show the coach respect? I once had an all-star team of fairly talented players. We were playing a team we should have beaten. I had the tying run on 3rd and one of my best bunters at the plate. I gave the squeeze sign. The ball came in at a perfect bunt level, the runner took off for home, and the kid swang and missed! Easy out. We never recovered.
What angered me the most was the look the kid gave me after fanning at the pitch. It was as to say, "I am not going to listen to you because my dad said I don’t have too". I know his dad had told him this because his dad did not respect me. I really don’t care what his dad thought of me, but as parents, we have to instruct our kids to respect the authority figure.
Of course this guy was a regular season coach as well and could have put in for the all-star team. He chose instead to sit in the stands and critisize me constantly. Again, I don’t care, but the effect it had on the entire team was disasterous.
Get Rid of the Cancer
Apparently the Red Sox thought that Manny was such a cancer on their team that they were better off without him! How bad of an attitude do you have to have to get traded from the team that you have delivered over 100 RBI’s and hit over 300 for 8 years for? I can relate, I will NEVER draft another kid with a bad attitude or a bad parent. Life is too short not to have to put up with an ungrateful parent or kid.
What is the worst experience you have had with a kid?
Related articles by Zemanta
What our Readers are Saying