OK I'm in - LLWS Thread

Can this thread be done without LL bashing?

LOL. We'll see.

I live in Chicagoland.  My oldest kid left LL from the ages 12-16. At 16 he decided he wanted to play baseball more in the rec-league mode rather then the travel mode so he went back to playing LL ball. As there are very few bigs teams in this area we have the opportunity to play teams from many other leagues. One of the leagues we play is the JR league. We are one of the few teams willing to travel into their part of town. Kinda of an eye opening experience for a bunch of middle and upper middle class suburban boys. I can tell you from personal experience that the folks running this league do a phenomenal job. The kids are nothing but respectful and the coaches are some of the nicest guys we played against. I hope they go the distance. 

As a former pony league coach, with a "rival"  little league organization in roughly the same geographical area I'll try to hold my tongue.  (But if ESPN is going to broadcast rec league world series,  they really should broadcast the Bronco  World Series instead -- Same age group, real baseball rules, more age appropriate distances.)

 

I'll make a bold prediction.....no.  It's not possible.  It is like shooting fish in a barrel.

Bet the kid is having the time of his life.

Unfortunately adults take it too seriously and he may be getting false hope. If he is good once he gets to big field hopefully he ll  get on a good travel team and dev to his full potential. Many however will be out of baseball in a few yrs. most of the better players in my state never played LL.they were on 50/70 by this age. Wish LL would do that.

guess they ll have good memories. 

 

I agree.  Go jrw.  

They do now.  Had the 50/70 World Series a few weeks ago.  Saw it on tv.  

Must have missed that. What age?

LL is the old established youth program. It's the generic for youth baseball and other youth sports. I've often heard people whose kids don't play LL refer to youth ball as LL. I've heard youth football called LL football. LL is the Kleenex and Xerox of youth baseball. LL is played in every state. Others aren't played in every state or they have a very small foot print. Everyone, including the casual channel surfer is familiar with the LL name.

 

Where a kid plays his preteen ball and on what size field is irrelevant to his future success in the game. What matters more is the kind of coaching he receives. Any baseball not played on a 60/90 field isn't real baseball. Any youth program has it's faults. What really matters the most is the quality and integrity of the people running the program in your area more than the brand name.

I think it's 12/13 (by baseball age, not chronological age).

If your son plays baseball....LL, travel or otherwise and you're not to far from Williamsport, consider making the trip.  We have been there twice...once when my son was 10....and again when he was 14.  Anyone who likes baseball...even if you don't like the LL rules will love it.  My son is now 17 and committed to a D1 next year and asked today if we can somehow get over to Williamsport for a couple days this week before he goes back to HS.  Our first trip was with myself, my son, a friend of mine and his 2 boys.  We camped 5 miles from the field.  Our second trip was with 40+ people from our hometown.  Both trips were unbelievable.  The kids have a ball...and you can't be it for the entertainment value (FREE).  Yes, maybe it's not "real baseball"....but it's baseball at it's best.  We sat in the middle of the Curacao parents section on our first trip....they had 12-14 people...so they needed some loud kids to help out.  We have never had so much fun at a baseball game....they took us in like we had been friends for 20 years.  My son won't leave the TV for the next 9 days when there is a LL game on....except to hit soccer practice....and unfortunately for him....start his senior year in HS next Wednesday....lol

I heard that the league my son played in switched to the 50/70 for 11/12's. I have not been up to see the field but they supposedly play 46/60 for 10/11's and then transition to the mid sized field.  

People can say what the want about field dementions or light bats or 13 year olds or blah blah blah. But good fielding footwork and instincts doesn't care what size dimond your on. With that said. The short stop from South Dakota is a stud. I was very impressed with that young mans defense.

LL 50/70 Q&A http://www.littleleague.org/In...ermediate50-70QA.htm

... you forgot to mention the politics. Pretty much the same, no matter the brand.  In fairness, you did  mention "the quality and integrity of the people running" things  -- which implies the less politics, the better for the kids.  A sentiment with which I whole heartedly agree.   But, you know, it's those darned adults.  They just  seem to have this amazing knack for maximizing rather than minimizing  the politics.   

See here.  http://intermediateworldseries.org

Looked like same age 11-13

i would rather my son play on bigger field, be able to lead off.

I didn't see today's game except for the highlights and interviews.  I did see that team play a few regional games on TV.  They were the most exciting team to watch and while they played with a bit of flash, they seemed to be high-character well-coached and/or well-parented kids.  And I was very impressed with the way P Jones handled himself with the interviews today.  They actually have another kid that was tearing it up in the regionals more so than him.  And, in the Sportcenter group interview, the coaches let the kid do all the talking.  So far, can't help but root for them.

The LL World Series is something my family looks forward to viewing each summer.  My 15 year old son DVR's every game and seems to know each kid personally (how I don't know - must be some secret website).  He has loved what he used to call "little kid baseball" when he was a toddler.  The LLWS has helped my son feed his baseball addiction after his season is over.  (He spent one Saturday this summer with tears in eyes all day after his tournament was rained out)

 

My wife would like to figure out how there can be 16 winners - many tears from her as teams get eliminated. 

 

I am a past LL president (3 years) and have been a board member for 10 years.  I do not agree with every LL rule or policy but I understand the goals.  My goal as president was make every player want to come back and play next year.  I think I did pretty well.

HRCJR, I am with you... long time volunteer, coach, league officer. I also disagree with some LL policies, and was a strong advocate of transitioning the LLWS and the Majors division to 50/70.  Unfortunately, the LL brass decided not to go that way, for now.

 

Anyway, detractors will always talk about what the LLWS is not, which is a pointless exercise.  

 

What it is, is more interesting. One of those things is the great stories that are created as players excel and capture the attention of the media and the imagination and support of a whole of of people.

 

Pierce Jones did it yesterday, and today was Mo'ne Davis's turn as she pitched her second straight shutout.  Another incredible and inspiring performance.   

The reason I am watching this year!

 

"If your son plays baseball....LL, travel or otherwise and you're not to far from Williamsport, consider making the trip."  

 

We made the Williamsport trip the year both my boys stopped playing LL.  For one son, that summer was the last he would wear his size 15 baseball cleats.  The other will start his D1 career next week.

 

It was a spur of the moment trip, and it was mom who set it all up.  We had spent several August vacations coming back to the hotel/condo to watch the LLWS, and now watching it on TV is just "what you do" this time of year.  So for us, that Williamsport trip was 2 nights, 3 days, 7-8 games, worth of memories that we get to relive every year.

We lived 2 1/2 hours from Williamsport. The first time we went my son was ten. In the first five minutes of sitting in our seats he had afoul ball hit right at him. He chased down Harold Reynolds and Erin Andrews to get it signed.

 

The next trip he got on TV with a sign ...

Fenway Park $60

Hall of Fame $10

LLWS Free

Summer of 2003 Priceless

 

Another time a friend and he decided if the camera came on in our section they were going to dance like crazy people and get the camera focused on them. Mission accomplished.

 

My son, not being shy introduced himself to the Curacao district administrator in the concession line. When we got home he received a package with Curacao flags, megaphone and press guide. They had a press guide like a D1 sports team. My son had handed the guy one of my business cards.

 

Just started watching. I'm surprised the Pearland pitcher is allowed to wear white long sleeves. I know the glove shouldn't have white on it and I thought there was a rule about white on arm. Maybe not.

I've never had the chance to go.  I thought my younger kid's AS team had a legitimate shot, but it didn't work out that way.  My eldest is applying to Bucknell, which is  nearby, so I think I'll help him take his gear to the east coast if he ends up enrolling there next year.  Hopefully he won't realize that I'm tagging along so I can get to the LLWS.

 

 

The reason I am watching this year!

 

Ditto  she is awesome.

I recalled a similar sign from fall 2004.

 

Curacao was there the first time we went.  They had by far the smallest group of parents/fans there...and we happened to be sitting just a few rows behind them.  They asked us to move down and join their group.  My son and his two friends had a blast....some of the nicest people I've ever met.  My son and his friends still talk about it.

It's going to be fun to see what happens on Weds when the Philly team takes on the Vegas team.  While Philly needed a little luck to scratch out their win over TX today, Vegas absolutely beat down Chicago.  They are clearly the team to beat, with a bunch of hitters who can go yard, and a kid who throws harder than many if not most JV HS pitchers I've seen. Assuming Philly goes with Mo'ne it should be a heck of an interesting match up. Unless she can dominate again, from what I've seen Philly does not have the firepower to keep up with Vegas.

This is where I think the media did the poor girl a misjustice. She had a great game over a relatively weak team. They built her up as a superhero. She can only succeed now by shutting down Vegas and that isn't going to happen. I would bet you anyhting she gets lit up and it's not fair the pressure she has been put under. I'm beginning to get a bad taste in my mouth for a lot of this. Anyone else see the Texas kid crying on the mound over a two out walk in a low pressure situation? Maybe having kids playing on national TV and in front of 30,000 live fans is a lot of pressure at that age?

Roothog, you are right about the play she has gotten, and you're probably right that she gets lit up. That NV team can mash.  And yeah, LL does suck that way.  My kid's LLL All Star team had a good run, and we saw a whole lot of teams do the handshake line in tears before it was our kids' turn to do the same. It's hard to watch, but probably harder on us than it is on them. Most of those kids get over a loss in about 10 minutes.  Sometimes it takes the parents and coaches years.

 

Count me as another that sees her getting lit up.  She may do fine at first, but I'm willing to bet they get to her at about mid-game or so.  Even Nomar commented about her hitting last night.  She doesn't load and is a hands hitter.  She has no appreciable power.  She's a good fielder though.  I'll give her that.

 

If it were a 12-13 year old boy who threw a 2 hit shut out, I doubt the media would have been all over him as they have her.

 

What really cracks me up is the thought of her "going pro".  Really?  There have been a few girls that played "baseball" instead of softball at the lower levels (12 and under) in our area.  But not one has stayed with baseball when they transitioned to the "big" field.  And yet I've heard comments about her wanting to go pro.  I just hope they realize just how hard that is for anyone - male or female.

 

I'm just happy my son is in his third year as a collegiate athlete at a D2 university.

If it were a 12-13 year old boy who threw a 2 hit shut out, I doubt the media would have been all over him as they have her.

 

She's getting more attention than a kid who threw an 18 K no hitter several years ago. 

 

 I've heard comments about her wanting to go pro.

 

Baseball isn't her first sport. Her goal is to play basketball for UConn. In the Philadelphia papers today (philly.com) she's being compared to Dawn Staley. A 12yo who has pitched her team (with a 1.5m population LL boundry/normal is 20k) to the LLWS is being compared to a former high school female basketball national player of the year, two time NCAA player of the year and three time gold medal winner with Team USA. It's a bit over the top.

 

On our local news last night the News Barbie exclaimed maybe she will be the first female to play MLB. The sportscaster said it's a nice story but she needs to make her high school team first.

 

All it really is, is a girl staying with baseball when most girls are playing softball who has grown to her mature height of 5'4" while we wait for all the boys to wizz past her as they reach puberty. Nice LL story though.

 

Agree on both points.

 

Now if they meant her playing women's basketball professionally, that may be a different story.  I do wish her success in whatever she chooses to do.

I think she has handled herself with poise and respect and always talks about her teammates. She is a darn good athlete. You say that she is just a mature girl for her age? what about these mammoth 13 year old boys that are 6'2 and 200 pounds playing on the small diamond.

  I hope she pitches a good game against a good team on Wednesday.

 

  It is a human interest story, she is setting records never set. They didn't even have a little league two years ago.

 

The announcers in general get on my nerves.

 

There are always a few kids that stand out at the LLWS. She stands out to me.She is a team player and tough. Cant be easy.

While I have enjoyed what I have seen, it's time the increase the field to 50-70.  These kids are too big for this small field.  

The next step is getting rid of the 13yos. The deadline date has been changed to 12/31. So now age is based on what age will you turn during the calendar year. Technically, if a kid turns 12 on 12/31 he's a 12 that previous summer.

 

The only thing LL is doing wrong is grandfathering all the kids who were nine and older this year to the old date. I can understand grandfathering the 11s so they don't skip their 12yo glory year due to the date change. But kids don't need four years of LL all stars from 9-12.

 

LL has a 50/70 division. I imagine eventually that tournament will become the big event.

She's not a physically mature girl for her age. By her age most girls have done their growing. It's why if you look in the back row of 6th and 7th grade class pictures it's where you find the girls. Some of the boys are ahead of the growth curve. But chances are they're not done growing. A few may only grew a couple more inches.