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LLWS Regional last night

EH Emanski's Heroes1,000+ posts
Did anyone on here happen to catch any of the Georgia vs. Alabama southeast regional final last night on ESPN? This was the first game where the winner punches their ticket to Williamsport.

Was it just me, or did it seem like the team for GA had particularly bad attitudes? Complaining about every call, arguing with the coach (and the coach basically looking intimidated by the kid), one kid doing a mini Sammy Sosa hop after a homerun. Just my opinion though, I wonder what others thought
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StyleMismatchStyleMismatch100+ posts
I pretty much lost interest in the LLWS several years ago for many reasons, including the poor sportsmanship and teamwork issues as discussed in the previous posts. And is it just me, or does it seem that the teams which display good sportsmanship and seem to be enjoying the experience are mostly the ones from countries other than the USA?
EH Emanski's Heroes1,000+ posts
One other thing I noticed is a couple of the homers hit didn't even seem to be hit all that well. Maybe it was just me, I don't know. I don't know if the fences are short or what, but a couple of the homers looked and sounded like popups and got out pretty easily.

I may have heard this said somewhere before, so I can't claim that I made it up myself, but watching that game last night I kept thinking that one team was playing like the game owed them something, and one team was playing like they owed the game something. Unfortunately, the team playing like they owed the game something won't get a chance to show the world the right way to play the game because they're heading home.
FutureBack.MomFutureBack.Mom1,000+ posts
quote:
Unfortunately, the team playing like they owed the game something won't get a chance to show the world the right way to play the game because they're heading home.

Sad to say that this appears to be the way it happens more times than not. When our son's team went to the LLWS in 1995, with just 8 teams in those days, they encountered a team from Texas that had the worst sportsmanship we had witnessed in years. We even had one of their grandmas ask me (at a local adult beverage facility) how the he** our boys even made it to the WS because 'they stink'. But one of their players was the darling of the TV announcers and they got a lot of air time, not knowing that these sweet little darlings were, among other things, swearing big time at our kids on the field ...

There is so much people don't see on air ... and it can be infuriating to watch the lack of gamemanship and sportsmanship that surfaces in the game of baseball.
M Michael'sDad100+ posts
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:
One other thing I noticed is a couple of the homers hit didn't even seem to be hit all that well. Maybe it was just me, I don't know. I don't know if the fences are short or what, but a couple of the homers looked and sounded like popups and got out pretty easily.QUOTE]

This is one reason I haven't watched a lot of the LLWS recently. The overall field needs to be bigger and go more toward the rules of baseball with leading off the bases and balks. These kids are certainly old enough and big enough to play a higher lever of baseball than currently being shown. That should make the games more interesting. Now it is kind of like they are playing with one hand tied behind their back.
2Bmom2Bmom1,000+ posts
We were in Cooperstown, NY, for the national 12U invitational tournament a couple of years ago. Our first elimination game was a close one, and the opposing team was banging their bats against the dugout roof, making an enormous racket, and chanting, trying to rattle or pitcher. It was working! The umpires didn't know what to do, and the other team's coaches did nothing. Our coaches actually called our team off the field until one of the tournament directors could come to the field to get the game back under control. Their decision was that as soon as the pitcher came set, the dugout had to shut up. Of course they didn't, but as our pitcher regained his composure, one of the other team's parents said, "I guess it's not going to work this time." So this was how they attempted to win games? Not by being better on the field, but by making noise in the dugout? We won, and after the game, one of the parents actually threatened our pitcher! We had to play our next elimination game right after that, and the first team's coach went to one of the umpires and started badmouthing our team, trying to influence the umpire! Unfortunately for the coach, I was standing right next to him and asked him to please remove himself from my space.

It's not the boys, it's the parents and the coaches. They lead by example.

We lost the next elimination game, another close one, to a very classy team from Fayetteville, GA. As a GA native, I was disappointed in the attitudes of the Warner Robbins team. But I remember the Fayetteville Vipers and the good sportsmanship that they showed us.

I know that making some noise is part of the game, but that shouldn't be your strategy to win.

On the other hand... when my son came up to pinch hit in his first varsity HS game last year, the other team started making fun of him, yelling from the dugout. He was only 13, and was considerably smaller and slighter than everyone else on the field. They were saying things like "you must be this tall to play this game," etc. So my son hit an RBI double over the LF's head. SWEET! They were quiet after that. Smile
G gotwood4sale10,000+ posts
What's a radio TripleDad?

I'm surprised you don't know TripleDad...I always thought they handed out plenty of product literature and promotional advertising flyers at the RCA Dome.

But since you asked TripleDad...

Radio is the wireless transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light.

In other words...grab a Q Tip...do a little gentle and careful cleaning...and don't bother opening your eyes.



Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space.

It may help to picture a crow trying to fly straight after dining on a few too many liquor sodden mice and ends up flying into that giant Val's Vacuum Hut sign along the expressway at W. Nile Blvd.



It does not require a medium of transport.

That's right...if it's really good and expensive someone will find a way to make it walk.



Information is carried by systematically changing (modulating) some property of the radiated waves, such as their amplitude or their frequency.

To better understand this just think of the myriad benefits of Metamucil.



When radio waves pass an electrical conductor, the oscillating fields induce an alternating current in the conductor.

And believe me...he is never pleased when that happens. He's tried to work out a solution with the American Federation of Musicians, but they're tuning him out. They claim he is currently conducting himself poorly and he has orchestrated the whole complaint himself just to draw sympathy. They are trying to insulate themselves from this conductor.



This can be detected and transformed into sound or other signals that carry information.

It tends to create a lot of sound and noise...and the demand for the Fairness Doctrine to be reinstated.



The word 'radio' is used to describe this phenomenon, and radio transmissions are classed as radio frequency emissions.

And if that is unpleasant you can always crack the window a bit.
Last edited by gotwood4sale
EH Emanski's Heroes1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by 2Bmom:
We were in Cooperstown, NY, for the national 12U invitational tournament a couple of years ago. Our first elimination game was a close one, and the opposing team was banging their bats against the dugout roof, making an enormous racket, and chanting, trying to rattle or pitcher. It was working! The umpires didn't know what to do, and the other team's coaches did nothing. Our coaches actually called our team off the field until one of the tournament directors could come to the field to get the game back under control. Their decision was that as soon as the pitcher came set, the dugout had to shut up. Of course they didn't, but as our pitcher regained his composure, one of the other team's parents said, "I guess it's not going to work this time." So this was how they attempted to win games? Not by being better on the field, but by making noise in the dugout? We won, and after the game, one of the parents actually threatened our pitcher! We had to play our next elimination game right after that, and the first team's coach went to one of the umpires and started badmouthing our team, trying to influence the umpire! Unfortunately for the coach, I was standing right next to him and asked him to please remove himself from my space.

It's not the boys, it's the parents and the coaches. They lead by example.

We lost the next elimination game, another close one, to a very classy team from Fayetteville, GA. As a GA native, I was disappointed in the attitudes of the Warner Robbins team. But I remember the Fayetteville Vipers and the good sportsmanship that they showed us.

I know that making some noise is part of the game, but that shouldn't be your strategy to win.

On the other hand... when my son came up to pinch hit in his first varsity HS game last year, the other team started making fun of him, yelling from the dugout. He was only 13, and was considerably smaller and slighter than everyone else on the field. They were saying things like "you must be this tall to play this game," etc. So my son hit an RBI double over the LF's head. SWEET! They were quiet after that. Smile


Honestly, as long as a team is clean and respectful in what they are chanting, I don't have problem with how much noise they are making. Bang bats, chant, hoot, holler, whatever, I don't think that shows bad sportsmanship. With that being said, obviously I wasn't there in this case and so I can't speak to whether I think this particular team crossed the line or not.

However, the part about the other team parent threatining a player and the coach badmouthing the team is unacceptable. I think that when youth sports mean more to the parents than they mean to the kids, there are bound to be problems.
FutureBack.MomFutureBack.Mom1,000+ posts
quote:
Bang bats, chant, hoot, holler, whatever, I don't think that shows bad sportsmanship


Sorry but I respectfully disagree with you on this one, Emanskis Heroes ... I believe this shows a total lack of respect for the game itself. I believe players should emulate the good role models of the major leagues and how their players act in the dugout. It certainly does NOT entail banging their bats agains the dugout ceiling.

I have never been a fan of the chanting etc in the dugouts (too much like softball --- sorry ladies) for that very reason. It serves no purpose at all except to disrupt the game. When our son was in college, his coach (Jack Smitheran who is now a college scouting coordinator for the Mariners) had the utmost respect of the game and emphasized it to his players. I learned a lot from that philosophy which was ... never do anything in the game, on the field or in the dugout, that will bring embarassment to yourself, to your coaching staff, to the other team, or to the game.

JMHO FWIW
A austin910+ posts
Oh and I've always disliked the LLWS because the fields are so small and the rules are for kids way younger than they are. I hate seeing these kids throw 70 mph from 46 feet away from the windup the whole game. I'm not sure but I think I was pitching at 52 ft pitching mounds when I was their age. Our bases were 10 ft further and their fences to center field was the distance that ours was to the corners. These are good players but I just dislike the LL.
T theEH1,000+ posts
LL is what it is, There's no changing it.
All records and play for 12U Major's are played on a 46'/60'/200' Field.
It's a Community All-Star Baseball Team. Not a Select or Summer Travel team.
These Players are representing there District, there State, There Region.
Are they the Best of the Best 12u Teams out there?
Not Hardly. But I hope there having Fun.
EH
Y YHF100+ posts
That's not true in some cases. Some of these teams are select teams....many of the kids on the "all star" team are from the same select/travel team. I know of two little leagues that select their "all stars" before the season even starts. They have dedicated all star coaches that practice this group of kids all during the regular season and they play regular little league games with their LL teams during week nights and play select/travel tournaments most weekends. By the time the real all star tournaments begins in late June, the team has been playing and practicing together all year. They play the minimum required number of LL games to qualify for all stars. And these two LL teams have made the LLWS in recent years.

Jon
Rob KremerRob Kremer1,000+ posts
Watch my boys tonight in the North West Regional final - The Oregon team is our local little league team my son played for four years ago.

They play a Washington team who has outscored opponnents so far - get this - 76 to 7!

Those seven runs were all scored by the Oregon team in the game they played against each other in pool play.

Must be some team.
D Daque100+ posts
What I have found over the years is that the tournament coaching staff are not adept in handling a group of players who believe they excel at the game, know how to use the correct technique, and generally are smarter than most of the other coaches in the league. In general, select coaches are better prepared to handle a tournament team than rec coaches because of this inexperience. Add to that the nepotism, good old boys network, and a number of coaches kids who know everything already and it can be a gruesome experience.
W Will1,000+ posts
quote:
Yes, it is very common.


to pick the all star team before the season?
So a kid plays all year and does really well so well he deserves a place on the 'all star team" iT IS obvious he is better than some of the kids who were picked before the season.oh sorry kid we already picked the team. Now tell him the reason why he can not participate. Of course this never happens?
RollermanRollerman100+ posts

I think that the rule states that anybody who is 12 or younger befor April 30 is elgible to play in the 46-60 format.
That being said I think kids vary greatly at that age in physical maturity. This variation is much less pronounced at age 10. Maybe the little league format should change at 10 or 11 instead of 12.
The "man-child" is too much for the small field.

Rollerman
trojan-skippertrojan-skipper1,000+ posts
CADad:
Yes more of them are 13 now that they have changed from Aug 1 cutoff date to May 1. But they are called 12's I guess because when the season started they were all 12 or under.
The May 1 date works better for the school situation because more kids can then play with their classmates -- although you will always have kids on both sides of the line no matter where you put the date.
I don't like Softball's Jan. 1 cutoff date at all because it splits the school classes right down the middle.
Last edited by trojan-skipper
EH Emanski's Heroes1,000+ posts
I did notice that....they even at one point said they had a flamethrower vs. a curveballer, or something along those lines. Another thing...I haven't been watching all that closely other than the game I referenced at the start of this thread, but I don't think I've seen a single kid throw a changeup (a true changeup, not a spinner masquerading as a changeup). I'm sure, or at least I hope, I missed some kids who are pitching by changing speeds with fastball/changeup. But, that certainly doesn't seem to be the norm.
Last edited by Emanski's Heroes
play baseballplay baseball1,000+ posts
The change in age is very odd, especially since the LL age cut-off date for girls is January 1, which is the cut-off date for travel softball.

With an April 30 cut-off, the kids are still not in the same grade. If they wanted a date which was more in line with being in the same grade, they should have kept the August 1 date--or pushed it back to September 1, the school age cut-off date in most states.
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