How to win 42-0 in four innings.

[cuzmail]

Our REC league has a 5 run per inning rule till the last inning.

When we played rec, we had the same rule. I personally don't like it.
Yep, I want to run up the score on 8-12 yo kids! Seriously, I have no problem with 5 runs per half inning, but I do think it needs to be that way for ALL innings for these two reasons:

1) An open last inning still allows for a large blowout score which is one of the things a 5 run rule is designed to protect against.
2) You limit the scoring in progress by a team per inning. If they have a bad last inning where the wheels come off they could lose the game when they never would have in a
non modified situation.

 

[smddad]

Unfortunately, in little league majors, run limits are not allowed for interleague play. You have to play by the rulebook. There are things the manager can do to prevent this. Leaving early, bunting, pitching other kids, playing them out of position.

 

[cuzmail]

There are things the manager can do to prevent this. Leaving early, bunting, pitching other kids, playing them out of position.

True. We have been fortunate lately to have 4 run rule games in the past couple weeks. Our HS coach gets to 15 early so it will end in 3 innings. Then she subs in players who don't normally see a lot of playing time. Others hit from the other side of the plate. Some runners walk off. ...etc.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Why were the teams so unevenly matched? I realize you're not in the same community. Is you community that much stronger than theirs?

 

[BobInMadison]

Why were the teams so unevenly matched? I realize you're not in the same community. Is you community that much stronger than theirs?

Sometimes the teams are unevenly matched.

You can get this in LL play, and I've seen both sides of it.

A lot of the difference between different leagues is this:

Some leagues only have rec level players.
Some leagues only have TB level players.
Some leagues have a mix.
Some leagues put their best players on one team, their worse players on another.

One time DD 1's 14u LL team played double headers against 2 teams from an organization that did this.
The first double header they won both games by about 20 runs.
The second double header they had a tie and a loss.

 

[djcarter1966]

LL is really a mixed bag depending on the area, watch the LLWS and they even admit that these are basically travel team that play LL as their sanctioning body and then just play a few other tournaments here and there.

 

[Lobster Birch]

Why were the teams so unevenly matched? I realize you're not in the same community. Is you community that much stronger than theirs?

That's a good question. Traditionally, they've always been stronger and have had more teams, but our league has gown while theirs has contracted. Part of this is probably just random fluctuations in demographics, but I think they've also had some overly competitive jerk coaches that have driven people away. They seemed rather inexperienced even though last year they had at least one good minors team. Their best player doesn't play little league this year (she's in out travel org).

Our league has two majors teams, which I think is a first. Each one has three travel ball players, all of whom play in my DD's org. My DD's team has four more girls who could play travel. Before last season I organized some hitting clinics for our girls and we had really good participation. I'd like to think these had at least a small impact (my wife forbade me from doing these clinics this year saying I do "too much softball stuff already" as if that's possible).

 

[CoogansBluff]

The rec program that DD came up through was kinda like this, now that I think about it. It was a league of 4 or 5 parks, and some parks were just much stronger than others for whatever reason. I believe a single rec program has a responsibility to make its own teams as evenly matched as possible, but a league of multiple parks is just ripe for mismatches.

 

[BobInMadison]

Unless the league is really big, it doesn't take much to get wild fluctuations from year to year, and some of these can lead to long-term growth or damage to an organization.

Some of these changes can be if the players on a TB team derived from the best players in an organization decide to continue with LL play or leave it.

 

[Sweet Lou]

How does any coach let the score get this far out of hand. We beat a team 16-2 the other night and that was with a 4 run limit through the first 4 inning and even that was painful to watch t eh other team.

How do you learn anything in a 42-0 game?

Instruct your girls to strike out and return to the dugout if you have to. You're not REQUIRED to run to first on a dropped 3rd strike.