What are peoples thoughts. I guess it is ok and has no bearing on my life. I just wonder if it is blown out of proportion a bit much. You also have to wonder are these kids hitting their biggest moment being on espn at 12? I know it is a bit of a dead zone in sports this time of year; but there are plenty of other sports espn could give a little love to. Would love to see some international rugby.
Little League World Series
- Thread starter RangerNole
- Start date
It amazes me how bad some of the teams in the Regional tournaments are. Getting out of the state of FL is ridiculously tough. However, the FL team got waxed in 2 games and are out of it.
Michael Conforto doesn't think this is the highlight of his baseball career. I like the new age restrictions and that these kids get to be on TV. For about 99% of them, this is the only time they'll ever be on TV.
I don't like the fact that these kids are throwing curveballs at 12. Though James Andrews is likely seeing dollar signs if he watches any of this, he's likely also wincing at the fact that elbow ligaments are not yet matured and stable for the torque required for the breaking balls.
And some of the pitching mechanics make my shoulder hurt just watching. Bend at the waist kid!!!
I don't like the fact that these kids are throwing curveballs at 12. Though James Andrews is likely seeing dollar signs if he watches any of this, he's likely also wincing at the fact that elbow ligaments are not yet matured and stable for the torque required for the breaking balls.
And some of the pitching mechanics make my shoulder hurt just watching. Bend at the waist kid!!!
Well they are kids so nerves play a part. I also heard that who goes depends on how much money your team can get, what league your in etc.
The only way you can go to the regional and ultimately Williamsport is by winning. Plain and simple. You have to win your district tournament, then sectional, then state. There is no way to buy your way in. You really can't even cheat anymore given the way they've set up their requirements. At least the US teams can't cheat.
I was more talking about having the money to make the trip etc. So you are in LL and as long as you win your in?
There is a lot of fundraising involved if you get this far, but usually the leagues that are stronger financially will chip in to help the leagues that need the help.
As long as your team keeps winning you keep advancing. It is the only way to move on. The Cal Ripken World Series is more of an invitational.
The LL in our town (Pearland) has gone to the LLWS 3 times. They groom those kids from an early age and it's a ton for the family and kids. We have good friends that have a boy in the system. They go to a lot of baseball games. Seems like there is a bunch of politics. One of the fundraisers is buying a parking place at the Dad's Field where the kids play....i think it costs $1,000 to park in the parking lot. It's a pretty big deal in our town. But, then again, sports in general are very important to the townies around me. The high school has gone to the state championship twice
I enjoy watching it, and I've enjoyed coaching my boys through the years; and while I've always been very competitive (and disappointed when my boys' teams have been eliminated), I also look at those whose seasons are STILL going on (after having started in February) and thought, "those poor SOBs are still going to the field every night."
Yea my son only played a few seasons of baseball and I was never into the sport. It was my favorite sport to coach though since the game is so slow you can interact with the kids more and talk to the other adult coaches. Well the one's that realize it is LL and not the world series.
There are leagues in FL (Plant City, North Springs) that routinely have teams in the state tournament at every age group every year. They have strong travel ball programs associated with their leagues and strong coaches throughout the leagues. I don't think any have been to the LLWS more than once, if at all.
I am sure things have changed a lot in the 30 or so years since I played Little League, but it was about who was better. Yes money was involved for travel, but we had fundraisers for that.
Essentially, our local league created an All-Star team at the end of the season, which was made up only of 11 & 12 year old kids. That team played in a District Double-Elimination tournament to decide a champion. From there the winner moved to Sectionals, with the winner moving to State. Each level was a new Double-Elimination tournament. From State Champions you move to US Regional which is typically where ESPN now picks things up.
Our team was typically pretty good, but always ran into that one stacked team every year. Both years I played we made it to the District Championship and lost to a team that made it to the State Championship. Since we didn't make it out of the first round (Districts), our travel expenses weren't too high. Obviously the farther you advance, the more expensive it gets.
Essentially, our local league created an All-Star team at the end of the season, which was made up only of 11 & 12 year old kids. That team played in a District Double-Elimination tournament to decide a champion. From there the winner moved to Sectionals, with the winner moving to State. Each level was a new Double-Elimination tournament. From State Champions you move to US Regional which is typically where ESPN now picks things up.
Our team was typically pretty good, but always ran into that one stacked team every year. Both years I played we made it to the District Championship and lost to a team that made it to the State Championship. Since we didn't make it out of the first round (Districts), our travel expenses weren't too high. Obviously the farther you advance, the more expensive it gets.
Not much has changed at all. Each level you make it to has the option of how they want to run the tournament. Some do pool play then elimination, some just double elimination. I liked the pool games at the regional level because every team plays at least 4 games. Given the cost to get there, I think they deserve it. This year they did double elimination and some teams played 2 games and were done
I honestly couldn’t imagine dedicating that much time to a single sport when I was 11 or 12. I sometimes wonder how much these kids miss out on when almost all of their free time is spent on this. My niece is 16, has played AAU basketball for 5 years now. She’s decent (recruited by div 2 and 3 schools) and last year went out for soccer to help with her footwork. She LOVES playing soccer now, but I think a lot of the reason she enjoys it is because she doesn’t have the constant pressure that she has had for the last 5+ years and can be a kid.
Agree I've long thought most players, of all races, are just small adults. This is an Illuminati level conspiracy but don't tell them I told you so.
I have a friend who pitched for a lot of years in the majors (iirc 13, as a reliever). We were talking about youth ball one day & he told me a funny story from his days. His hometown (a small town in Kentucky) didn't play little league, but one of the other organizations; his team when he was 12 was very, very good - had two other guys who played a little in the majors and several others who played college ball. They made it to the championship game of their organization's world series, where they got pounded by a team from New York that "had a bunch of gigantic guys who just mashed the ball." He remembered some of the names, one in particular who'd hit a couple of homers off of him in the title game. Fast forward 9 years, to his rookie year in the majors; one of his teammates - that same guy, who's in his 2nd year in the bigs. He's looking at a program, notices something odd, and asks the other guy "how come when we played each other in the Series, we were both 12 - but now I'm 21 & you're 24?" Masher laughed & said "I grew up fast."
I have a friend who pitched for a lot of years in the majors (iirc 13, as a reliever). We were talking about youth ball one day & he told me a funny story from his days. His hometown (a small town in Kentucky) didn't play little league, but one of the other organizations; his team when he was 12 was very, very good - had two other guys who played a little in the majors and several others who played college ball. They made it to the championship game of their organization's world series, where they got pounded by a team from New York that "had a bunch of gigantic guys who just mashed the ball." He remembered some of the names, one in particular who'd hit a couple of homers off of him in the title game. Fast forward 9 years, to his rookie year in the majors; one of his teammates - that same guy, who's in his 2nd year in the bigs. He's looking at a program, notices something odd, and asks the other guy "how come when we played each other in the Series, we were both 12 - but now I'm 21 & you're 24?" Masher laughed & said "I grew up fast."
I’ve heard that story before. Happens all the time in travel ball tournaments. LL won’t let it happen again after the whole Almonte episode. The non-US teams seem to play by different rules when determining what can be used to verify age
My bookie says he RAKES during LLWS. People have no idea what they’re betting on but they can’t stay away.
My son's team played in that a couple times. They made it to the quarter finals 1 year and got crushed by a team from Florida who went on to win it all. I have a picture of my son on 1st base standing beside the 1st baseman. He literally came up just short of the kids chest. It was a good experience, nice fields and lots of fun. They had a hr derby and some fielding competitions that the kids enjoyed.
I played in NY on a very good LL team. We were killing teams until we ran into an all spanish team from the bronx. Few of the kids literally had mustaches. They obviously beat us, but ended up being disqualified after eliminating another team in the next round. The crap part is the teams they beat don't get back in.
When almonte was in the tournament, I was at fault. My three roommates we're loving the NY team, but I told them there was no way that kid was legal. Sure enough, we know what happened. I'm still not over it! Lol
I never watch it. I grew up playing Pony baseball so Little League doesn’t seem advanced enough at that age to me.
Speaking of Williamsport. I was there last week and man what a weird little depressed town. Was only there 2 days, but you could tell that they were getting ready for their big annual moneymaker. The area is beautiful though, gorgeous part of the country. Like something out of a postcard.
LOL. That's the first time I've ever seen a grown man use the word "pony" in a humblebrag.
Depends on the quality of the league for the most part. I've seen some absolutely terrible leagues and the games are painful. Our league has always been good about retaining the more advanced travel ball kids, making the games more exciting.
I was gonna say, Williamsport is a really weird middle nowhere town, however you should go see the tourney there some time its a great atmosphere. The other 50 weeks stay somewhere else
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