The Little League World Series, Oh the Glory Days!

August 29, 2016

The Little League World Series concludes this weekend which will involve the US champion against the international champions. The Little League World Series is broadcasted to who knows how many countries, and it gets big-time media attention with famous announcers.

The US representative will either be from Pearland, Texas, or Red Land, Pennsylvania, who square off on Saturday, August 29th.  The International contest will pair Mexico against Japan on Saturday, with the winner playing for all the marbles on Sunday.

Every year there seems to be more and more home runs and stellar pitching performances. I have read that some of the home runs have been monster blasts that have traveled more than 250 feet and some over 300 feet. Are kids getting stronger and bigger?  Are they juiced on juice boxes? What gives? When I was twelve years old playing Little League ball, I could barely hit it two hundred feet as I swung as hard as I could.  I remember the most home runs hit that final Little League season was four. The biggest kid in the league did it. I was convinced he was 16 years old with his mustache.  He also pitched, which made it doubly unfair.

In my Little League years, we used wooden Louisville Sluggers, and I didn't swing an aluminum bat until I was in Pony League.  There is no doubt that the bats do make a difference in the ball's velocity being hit. Great, aluminum bats now have become expensive and a "got to have item" on your team. I guess I missed that span of technology and the glory that would have come of hitting more homers. Trust me, you never forget some of those memories in your youth.

I remember unfondly my first game in the major division of Little League, and the game was videotaped on the local cable outlet. The camera was placed on the first base side, and I was the first base coach for the first three innings. My backside was prevalent for the first hour. Then I got in the game for the final three innings and struck out twice against the man child. I am not sure if my eyes were open when I swung.

As for the great pitching performances, my theory is that the evolution of Little League pitching results from better coaching, more available learning techniques, year-round baseball, and camps.  I don't think I had one coach in my years of organized baseball up to high school that knew much about pitching. You usually learned to throw a curve from your buddies or playing whiffle ball.  I recall having a lot of sore arms and elbow pain issues. All of the better coaching is great to see, and finally, a kid can learn to throw an off-speed pitch without improvising something he developed in his driveway.

I will enjoy watching the games this weekend and marvel at how good these kids are playing. I will reminisce about the glory days and block out the embarrassing moments, like when I beaned my best friend in the rib cage and made him cry.  I want to know if the kids still get treats at the snack shack after the game. That should be a tradition to maintain.  Cheers, Little Leaguers s all over the world!