I greatly enjoyed LL baseball with my two sons and, more importantly, they did as well. Also enjoyed, and still do enjoy, travel ball with my youngest. Things I liked about LL. 1. Closed bases for youth pitchers. Let the 9 year old pitcher focus on trying to pitch without worrying about the batter on first stealing. (Not sure what the ideal age is for open bases.) 2. Team and community spirit and friendships. (Not to say that does not happen with travel ball as well.) Meeting the same kids and parents at the same fields during the week and on weekends is something the whole family enjoyed and it was convenient to do so. 3. LL allows for the full range of players, in terms of talent, experience, and level of committment to find a place to play and hopefully learn to love the game.