If you REALLY want to see the BEST Youth baseball...

[BoltsBaseball]

I always see great things that come from the Little League World Series... National & International coverage and the celebration of youth baseball, camaraderie, the message that the teams and families have sacrificed to get there... There's a ton of awesome stuff going on in Williamsport...

BUT...

The unfortunate part of the whole LLWS spectacle that's lost on 95% of the viewing public is that IMHO it's not close to being the best youth baseball out there...

If you REALLY want to see the BEST Youth baseball, hopefully people got a chance to see the Cal Ripken World Series last weekend where Forrest Hills, FL Beat Team Mexico in a 6-5 barn-burner. Because of their Championship Win, Forrest Hills, FL will join the REAL best-of-the-best winners THIS WEEKEND in Memphis, TN. at the National Youth Baseball Championship (NYBC)! The NYBC hosts the 10u & 12u National Champions from AABC, AAU, Babe Ruth/Cal Ripen, Dixie, NABF, PONY, USSSA, & Super Series and has them playoff to crown a TRUE NATIONAL CHAMPION!

Both events should gain SO MUCH in popularity this season as they will be beamed into 55+ Million homes courtesy of DirecTV and MLB Network...

I think many will enjoy watching baseball on the 50/70 Infield dimensions, leadoffs & stealing, MLB rules, and the 240-260 ft fences of Aberdeen and Memphis...

For more info:

- National Youth Baseball Championships (Aug. 27-30): http://www.mlb.com/youthmajors

- Cal Ripken World Series 2009 (TV started on Aug.21): http://worldseries.ripkenbaseball.com

[glgto]

it was a great game and FL executed two great run downs. I have some pics of the game posted at www.checkswing.net
just search member greg lauer

Ripken did a great job with this event and had plenty of freebies and fun for the kids also.

[cps]

My son played Cal Ripken 12u baseball, and I do believe the rules/dimensions are appropriate for the 11/12 year old age group. LL needs to take a hard look at the rules/dimensions for this age group and make some changes. The LL pitching distance and base paths are too small for 11/12 year olds.

[glgto]

we play tournament and I guess what you would call sr leauge ball at 11/12 and the mound is 50 ft bases are 65 i think and I cant imagine these kids throwing at 46 or less when some are hitting 70 from 50 ft.:eek:

[tom2p]

Agree - Williamsport LL field dimensions are too small.
.

[Speedy42]

bases are only 60'? Is that what I heard onTV? My son plays 11U travel with 48' mounds and 70' bases. Seems to work just fine.

[tigerdan]

It's not travel ball. It's not select ball. These are the best of individual Leagues. Most of these players probably play Travel/Select ball (Like most of our kids on this forum) ...
But for the most part Little League is a rec league. The majority of kids who play Little League play simply to have some fun, they are not these extra sized 13 year olds who can sneeze the ball over the fence. Granted, I'd at least like to see LL move the mound back for safety reasons, but the majority of kids who play Little league have a hard enough time simply hitting a baseball, let alone worrying about holding runners, leading off, etc. We are all fortunate that our kids have above average ability on the diamond. My kid plays both Little League and Select/travel baseball, and though he can find the LL rules and dimensions a little stifling, he still likes to go hang out with his friends at LL who would never really have a chance to play on a decent Travel ball team. It's Little league, and any kid can play.

[kseig]

That was well put tigerdan

[Hookem74]

tigerdan is right, lay off the little league kids!!!
Comparing little league and travel ball is apple to oranges.

We participate in both and while i don't agree with everything going on in little league its a good opportunity for the neighborhood/school kids to play with their friends and have fun.

[cps]

Yes LL is recreational ball, but so is the Cal Ripken league my son plays in that has 70 ft bases and a 50 ft pitching distance. Most kids can handle the field size fairly well, especially the 12 year olds. He also plays advanced ball on the same size field, same rules. The only difference is competition is much better at this level.

The advantage to the larger field is it makes the transition 13U ball fields much easier ( 90 ft base/ 60.5 ft pitching ). He will be playing 13U this fall so we have been working on the larger field. He is doing fairly well, but I imagine the transition from 60/46 field would be much more difficult. If you throw in the additional rules (lead offs, pick offs, etc.) that LL does not have, then the transition is that much more steep.

BTW, my comments are not about LL kids, just the LL rules.

[D_wats]

BTW, my comments are not about LL kids, just the LL rules.

I very much agree with that. Every kid deserves a chance to play, and LL serves that perpous. But in the end it's mom ball, and it really doesn't help, and I think it hurts the better kids.

My son is a fairly talented, bigger, stronger kid. As a Tballer his coach insisted he bounce the ball to the other players, spent his first year of baseball bouncing the ball. Guess what, as a 10 who can clock at 60 mph, he still bounces the ball, out of habit. It's hard for a 10 yr old to turn it off at rec, and turn it on at select.

[Union-LL-AA-dad]

Was it just me, or did anyone else find the MLB Network coverage of the NYBC tournament to be poor? It looked like they took the live feed from someone sitting in the stands. The viewing angle was too narrow (could not see the whole field), so a lot of action (and drama) was lost. The TV coverage for the Williamsport LLWS was 50X better IMHO. I guess that's the difference between ABC/ESPN vs MBLN. They did capture a kid in the stands picking his nose and eating his boogers though (in the background as they were interviewing a parent). In that respect, I'd rather watch LLWS over NYBC hands down.

BTW, the MBLN coverage of Cal Ripkin tournament was better than NYBC coverage.