quote:LL isn't very demanding. As long as they have everybody plays and geographical boundaries rules, it will always be just for fun and giggles. Not to mention the rules that attempt to dumb down the game and make everyone equal.
I think this is too broad of a statement. My son plays both now. He is a league age 11 now but will be 12 next year in LL. From what I have seen with the travel ball around here (which the difference is 50/70 diamond vs a 46/60 diamond), the talent is no better than LL. The game is just different with leading and such. In fact I will say that the District All-Star teams in our area have better talent than the travel teams. Mainly because kids in our area play both. I think for kids it's a matter of learning the "real" game. We took our new travel team down to Myrtle beach, having practiced only 3 times together prior. These kids were all on a LL District all-star team, and had a week to learn to play on the 50/70. We played in the 12U bracket as league age 11's. We went 4-2. Not bad for a bunch of LL players that had a week to learn to play "travel" ball.
My point is baseball is baseball, no matter what. Playing travel doesn't make you a better player, nor does it "expose" you to better talent. At least not in CT. It does expose you to other parts of the game that are not in LL. Playing travel baseball does not mean your kid is a better player....not even close. Even more, playing travel baseball will not make your child throw better or harder, hit better or further. It simply gives kids a chance to learn the game past LL. That's all.