Williamsport Dreams

Well I didn't get any takers on this one early in the season. Anyone got any predictions now before LL all-stars gets going?

I'm not sure about Williamsport but my son's league has a great shot at being really good(Minnesota). He plays for Coon Rapids American Little Lague. A team from Coon Rapids (National) has won the state title two years in a row. This year the league my son plays in appears to have the better players.

We'll see though. You never know who will be on this team and how the players will perform under that pressure. A lot of people around the city though do feel like this could be a special year for my son's league.

Jason

We should have a good All Star team. However, I think all of the teams in our area lack the 1-2 really dominating pitchers that I think is needed to push very far out of District or State levels. I think our team does have a chance to win at the District level but beyond that is a real guess.

I think that some of the area travel/select teams have drained the player ranks in our area (I am sure this is true in may other areas as well). Some of the travel teams won't let there kids participate in LL. We have at least 3 kids in our LL area that aren't playing and they would be among the strongest on the team. So you end up with kids in the 9-12 slots on the roster that probably otherwise wouldn't have made the team.

I wonder about what the "bleeding of talent" will be like in 5-10 years within LL. I think LL will seriously suffer from a talent viewpoint over that time...in my opinion.

There's no guarantee Conejo Valley will get out of Southern California which is always tough. I believe there are 39 districts in Southern California so it is usually a bit harder to win that tournament than it is to win any other state. However, if they do it is because they are drawing from a population of 60,000+. Their league was split into two charters and they simply continue to ignore it and send only one team to the all-star tournament. Another league, Thousand Oaks (TO), in our district was split into two charters and has dropped down to a total of 6 major teams. (Conejo has 8 major teams and 19 minor teams in the 9-12 age group.) TO petitioned Williamsport to allow them to have just one team. Their petition was not allowed while Conejo Valley is allowed to continue to flaunt the rules.

Like I said anything can happen. Conejo Valley's first game was against a 6'+, 190 lb, 70 mph lefty, who I watched intimidate a top select team over the Memorial Day Weekend. Conejo Valley won easily. They are that good. The manager of the team from our district who took a team to Williamsport a few years back told us that their toughest tournament before Williamsport was our district. It wouldn't surprise me if it was the same way this year but I don't think Conejo is going to have any problems in the district.

CADad -
Great news! Keep us posted on the Conejo Valley team!

We took a team to Williamsport in 1996 and it was a MOST unbelievable experience.

IF you get there, your life will never be the same !!!

We were there the same year that Jeff Clement's (catcher at USC) Marshalltown, Iowa's team and Craig Stinson's (catcher at Texas A & M)Cranston Rhode Island's team was there. Moorpark from California was there as well !!!!

AWESOME experience.......

Our team from Panama City, Fl., had draft choices:
Mark Sauls (3rd round, '02--pitcher at FSU),
Clete Thomas (5th round, '02 -- OF at Auburn), Trey Shields, (RHP, GCCC and now signed with Alabama) and Heath Anderson, (Catcher in the Twins minor league system)

We were there the year AFTER Wardell Starling and his Spring, Tx. team went and the year BEFORE Lastings Milledge and his team from Florida was there...........WHAT history !!!!

Question for LL All-Star parents.

Have you run into the new 'can't play for any other team/league rule? I see where CADAD references a "select" game he witnessed. They are taking it serious in our District.

It decimated my son's team at the Senior LL level. 8 of the 12 kids played on the school affiliated team and so 4 stayed and 4 left.

That finally broke my ties with LL that go back 12 years through two players....very sad to see LL degenerate (IMHO) over the years.

rhp05,
We aren't Conejo Valley. They are the competition we have to get by. They are in the other half of the draw so we have to do pretty well just to get a chance to play them.

baseball1,
You beat us in the final game of pool play that year. Our one "stud" pitcher only threw in the middle game of pool play.

Yea, I remember that one, what ever happened to Johnson ?

Wasn't he also a CF ?

STUD at that time !!

mrmom,
A player can't play anywhere else once his all-star team plays their first game until they are finished with the LL tournament. Before that it doesn't matter. I watched the kid play in a tournament that our tournament team was playing in. Since it was over Memorial Day weekend it had no impact on the players' eligibility. We coaches had to get waivers to allow us to coach the games otherwise we wouldn't have been eligible to coach the all-star team.

CADad - Oops! That's what I get for taking a vacation from the HSBBW.....forgot who's who. Good luck in your upcoming games!

Good luck to all of the Little League teams and parents who are trying to get to Williamsport. It is a once in a life time opportunity and a great experience for the kids. My son was there in 2001 and tied the home run record with 3 in one game (Transatlantic), as a parent, I wouldn't give that feeling up for nothing in the world, so encourage your kids to try there best, because there is no other place in the world for a little leaguer like Williamsport. Best of luck to all.

Baseball1,
Johnson didn't go to HS in Moorpark. I heard that he ended up at one of the Arizona schools but I'm not sure about that. Blake Sharpe is the shortstop at USC. Beto ended up with an arm injury, he may have already hurt it by that last game.

RHP05,
Thanks! We'll need it.

Conejo did win our district without a loss, winning 9-0 in the championship game this morning.

Only problem I have with LL is the format. 60ft bases and 46ft mound are too small! Not to mention the 200ft fence and no lead offs.

Yes, in reality, it's NOT real baseball, but, that's the way it's been for years.

It's boring to play, but the rules are the same for all !!

Takes the strategy of basestealing out of play as well........

In other sports they have been willing to change the rules (ie, basketball & three pt line) to adjust to the changes in the game. I think it is time to change the set up in LL.

9/10 yr olds should use the current dimensions and 11/12 yr olds should go to the 48/70 size field that is used in most tournements. They should also allow lead offs.

Good Luck with changing ANYTHING with the "powers that be" within Little League Baseball. They are a LOT like those who run Dixie Youth Baseball -- WAY out of touch with reality and current trends, yet to stubborn, arragont and pious to change. Their thougts are almost as if THEY created the dang game and by golly, they're NOT GOING TO CHANGE their thinking. While ALL ALONG, if you notice, their numbers, their participation, the # of leagues across their geographical footprint dwindles each and every year !!

Kind of like American Legion baseball across the US. Once the premier power to attract players, now, just another affiliation about to be extinct!

Change is not always BEST, but, right and proper change attracts the BEST !

Conejo Valley has pretty much wrapped up the SoCal section 1 championships. They've beaten the other two remaining teams 7-0 and 14-1 so far.

An update, Conejo Valley won the SoCal District 1 championship. They remain undefeated. Now comes the tough part, winning the SoCal Division. There are some pretty good teams from Orange County and there are no guarantees from here on out.

Conejo Valley has won their first two games in the divisional championship, both by shutout. It looks like they are going to run into a good team who will have their ace available in the winner's bracket finals on Tuesday. That game may decide who goes to regional.

BEST of luck, WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE !!

Please keep us informed..............AND updated!

CADad -
Wow, what fun! We wish you the VERY best on Tuesday!

Thanks but we aren't with Conejo Valley. They are a league that has been skirting the rules for years now specifically to try to get a team to Williamsport this year. So far they seem to be succeeding. Unfortunatley they are from our district. I first brought the problem up over 2 years ago before the 9-10 tournament and the DA who at the time was from Conejo simply responded with threats against our league. We have a new DA this year and he tried to remedy the situation but his hands were tied by the actions the old DA had taken. I did write Williamsport about Conejo Valley and they sent it back to West Region. West Region said they were aware of it and would fix it next year. That doesn't do much for the teams that Conejo has eliminated so far this year.

Just in case anyone thinks this is sour grapes, we were the third or fourth best team in the district and wouldn't have won the district anyways.

CADad ...

Didn't realize things were going so well for your son's team. That is great. So you start division play on Tuesday? Where is it being held?

Our son's team went to Williamsport in '95. We were the team that lost to Spring TX ... but as was stated earlier in this thread, just getting there is a thrill all by itself and something that will change a player's life for a long long time. Two of our boys were drafted this year in the 9th round ... one by the Dbacks (gee, I wonder who that is?) and one by the Dodgers. Another player signed as a free agent this year as well (he was the same age but a grade ahead of our boys in school and was a senior in college this year). Even watching the ESPY awards this year brought back memories as one of our players stole a homerun away in Williamsport and his play was up for an ESPY that year.

Keep us posted ... and enjoy the ride

BabyBackMomma,
My son doesn't play for Conejo Valley. Our team lost in the district semifinals. Divisional play started on Saturday in Long Beach. Conejo Valley won their first two games so far and will play in the winner's bracket final on Tuesday. Actually the reason I've been following Conejo Valley, other than the fact that they are from our district is that they were split into two charters a few years back because they exceeded the population limits by a large margin and managed to ignore the two charters and continued to send just one team to the tournament each year. It is unfortunate that a league that has skirted the rules this way is getting rewarded, especially since they were good enough to still send competitive teams to the district tournament even if they had split the league by the rules.

Our league went to Williamsport in 1996. 1990 through 1998 was a pretty good stretch for Southern California. The kids did well but didn't make it out of pool play. One kid from that team played SS for USC this year and a few others are playing college ball at various levels.

By the way, my son will be starting the Jaeger camp this afternoon. He pitched in a tournament yesterday (poorest control he's ever had, but he still managed to give up just one unearned run over 3 innings) so he won't be doing any long toss today but the first day they mostly work on stretching techniques and don't throw much anyways.

Who knows, if we get a chance to make it out to the pro camp this winter maybe we'll get to see AJ working out with Zito and the rest if the Diamondbacks let him do that. My son will want to get AJ's autograph of course if he's there.

Conejo Valley won the winner's bracket final, 8-1. One of the remaining teams would have to beat them twice in a row to prevent them from reaching the regional tournament. Once they make it to the regional tournament anything could happen given the made for TV format. There are 4 games of pool play with a 6 team pool, followed by 4 team single elimination. This reduces the chances of having the best team go to Williamsport but it does allow TV to schedule the championship game.

CADad ...

I liked the old format better, also.

CADad

Congrats and best of luck next week!! But isn't it a lot of strain for your son's arm to train and play at the same time??

R.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist...

Callaway,
We aren't from Conejo Valley. They're the bad guys (the league, not the kids) in this story. My son is playing in a tournament now and he threw on Sunday. He really struggled walking 6 and hitting 1 in 3 innings. Somehow, he only gave up one unearned run. The semi's are tomorrow and he isn't eligible to pitch so he'll work out at the Jaeger camp tonight. He also insists on working out at the Jaeger camp on Friday and says if we win tomorrow he'll limit the throwing so he's OK to pitch on Saturday.

CADad

I know that!! I couldn't resist. I just wanted you to say it ONE MORE TIME!!!!

Hahahahaha. Sorry.

Callaway,
Sorry, I didn't quite get what it was you couldn't resist so I went ahead just ONE MORE TIME!!! S'allright. After the first million or so times I lose track.

And then there's all the mentions on other boards!

Callaway that was too funny!!!!

et tu Flipp?

Well Conejo Valley "faltered" in the Southern California championship game. They gave up the most runs in a single game that they have so far in the tournament - 3 runs. Of course when you are undefeated and headed for regionals via a mercy rule win, scoring 10 runs in the first two innings it can be hard to keep your concentration on defense. I'd say the only thing that can keep Conejo from going to Williamsport is the ludicrous format of the regional tournament.

Another reason they gave up "so many" runs is that they threw a kid who got his first tournament win in this game. I believe he's their #3 or #4 pitcher.

They are 11-0 so far and have outscored their opponents 86-8.

Wow!!!!

Congratulations to you and your team CADad!!! Good Luck in the Regionals.

Jason

P.S. I'm kidding!!!! I just wanted to be the first one to say it.

CADad ...

I just sent you a pm with a message for Alan Jaeger (if you would be so kind) ...