little league – Amateur Hour

Its that time of the year again. Middle of the MLB regular season and first preseason games for the NFL just starting up. Lots of slow days in the sports world. So, for some reason, America decides to become infatuated with 12-year-old baseball players playing on a miniature field. Kam summed up this phenomenon best. “The Little World Series represents everything wrong with youth sports.” Here’s 10 reasons why it sucks.

They play on dwarf fields. The rubber is only 46 feet away! And basepaths are 60 feet in length. Lastly, are you ever like wow these kids have a lot of pop? Wrong. The fences are only 225 feet. A 12-year-old who has never touched a bat before in their lives could hit a ball that far. A normal baseball player stopped playing on fields this small when they turned 9.
Calls like this happen. Often.
They can’t lead off. What is this, softball?
Kids high-five the other team after the kid takes them deep. Come on. If anything, throw some dirt on him or spit on the ground as he runs by. Anything but a damn high-five. Have some pride.
ESPN’s love for showing 12-year-olds crying. If it is MJ or Lebron crying after a tough loss, it’s one thing. But let’s keep the crying children to a minimum ESPN. There’s no crying in baseball.
Instant Replay. They’re 12. There is no need for instant replay in these games. Bad calls happen. It’s part of the game. Make them learn to deal with it when they’re young. You already let calls like the one above happen. Be consistent.
The stupid Little League Pledge. I won’t cheat? What does this even mean? How can a 12-year-old cheat in baseball? This message needs to be much more directed at the coaches who virtually every year try to sneak some 14-year-old into the tournament.
They aren’t even the best 12-year-olds. In some areas, sure. They might be fairly legitimate. But in many areas of the country, playing in Little League is the equivalent of being in AA. I cannot speak for the entire country, but no one in Tennessee plays Little League, yet somehow there seems to be a Tennessee team in the LLWS every year. You know what that says to me? The LLWS is a sham.
Random adults being way too invested in the games. When they do not even have a kid in the tournament. If you were a parent at a normal game for your 12-year-old, how weird would it be for unaffiliated adults to be there just to watch some good ole 12-year-old baseball. Creepy right? Why is it suddenly acceptable in this environment?
We treat the biggest kids like gods and freaks of nature who are destined for the MLB. No, sorry. Your kid just hit his growth spurt early. For all we know, he’s done growing and that 75 mph fastball he’s pumping past 100 lb kids is the hardest ball he will ever throw.