Little League Baseball
If there is Major League Baseball for grownups and NCAA for college students, then there’s also the Little League Baseball for small and big kids.
Little League Baseball is home of the most promising baseball players not only in the United States but also the world. Little League is a no-profit organization established in the United States organized by a man named Carl Stotz. The objective of the organization was to promote discipline, teamwork and sportsmanship of Little League players as evident on its three core values – character, courage and loyalty.
Little League Stands For Character, Courage And Loyalty
The Little League Baseball was formed in the year 1939 by baseball enthusiast Carl Stotz. The league was then consisted of only 3 teams. The first games were played in Williamspost, Pennsylvania. The Little League has indefinitely grown in terms of fan base. In fact, the Little League Museum has the historical records and the materials that are related to the growing popularity of the league. Today, various cities and colleges from around the world join the most celebrated Little League World Series.
Yes, the Little League also has its own World Series. The frequent host of the said international tournament is the South Williamsport. Popular arenas that people flock in for the said World Series are the Little League Volunteer Stadium and the Howard J. Lamade Stadium.
Little League Groups And The Challenger Division
Little League Baseball has 6 groups under its wings. These groups are divided according to age brackets. Among the groups are the Big, Senior, Junior, Little, Minor and Tee Ball. Age grouping may vary on different leagues. Little League players aged between 11 and 12 belong to what is called the Major group. In some cases though, players aged 9 or 10 are allowed to join the Major group. For 13 and 14 year old Little League players, their group is called Junior. Senior group is composed of players aged 15 and 16. But with an exceptional skill, a 14 year old may join the Seniors. 17 year olds and 18 year olds are called the Big players. The youngest groups are the Tee Ball and the Minor group which may comprise of players aged between 5 and 10.
Little League also has a place for physically-challenged baseball players. With the creation of the Challenger Divisions, young students with disabilities have chances to display their athletic skills in baseball.
Little League Baseball Tournaments And The World Series
The World Series, the king of Little League baseball tournaments, takes place every August. The culmination is held in South Williamsport but tournaments are being held simultaneously in various locations across the continental United States and territories including Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands. Other sites of the Little League World Series tournaments are Venezuela, Aruba, Curacao, Panama, Mexico, Germany, Poland, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, The Philippines and Japan.
Little League Baseballs History
When Carl Stotz started the Little League in 1939, he contacted business owners in the community to sponsor three teams. Neighbors and family helped Stotz build the organization and before the year ends, the first Little League game was played by the teams Lundy Lumber, Lycoming Dairy and the Jumbo Pretzel.
The Little League pulled off and in 1946, the family grew from 3 teams to 12 teams all coming from Pennsylvania. Following that year, a league was formed outside of Pennsylvania and this came from Hammonton, New Jersey. Maynard League of Williamsport outscored a team in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and finished off as the world’s first ever title holder for the Little World Series.
From the three teams, to 12 and now the Little League baseball has grown to over 200,000 teams in the US. The World Series is participated in by 80 countries. And it became the pool of future Major League superstars. What really made this league huge is not the number of teams but the big potentials of Little League’s small wonders.