Little League World Series Championship tonight at 9pm Central....

[quincy]

It was a fun game.

Cal just scored 10 runs against you to tie the game and send it into extra innings. No way are you putting on the breaks, 9 run 7th.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I was so mad last weekend. I was watching the USA LL baseball championship game, if you didn't see it Tennessee was winning 15-5 going into the bottom of the 6th, (6 inning game) California starts chipping away at the score and with back to back 2 out homeruns tie it up 15-15. And then my local TV station decided to switch to a local broadcast of a Detroit Lions Preseason pregame show. Yes in the middle of the inning during an incredible comeback they switched to a pregame show of a practice game. I ran to my PC and went on ESPN and the broadcast was blacked out for me (due to it being on tv on a local channel, who had switched it off). Upset was not a strong enough word. So I had no idea if Cali completed the comeback and won in the 6th, or if TN got the last out... It ended up that TN scores 9 in the top of the 7th, I wish I could have heard the coach talk to those kids between innings because every single one of the them was hanging his head during that 6th inning, I want to know how he boosted their moral enough to get them to go back out there and knock the stuffing out of the ball. It would have made great TV. Instead the TV station thought I would rather hear some washed up ex pro talk about some other washed up soon to be ex pros who might get some playing time in the 3rd and 4th quarter of a game that doesn't mean anything.

I just can't bring myself to watch LL baseball. My father got to see the game, and told me about it later that day.

To put the game into perspective. LL plays with 225' fences. Around here our AAA and Major baseball teams 10-11yo play on a minimum of 250' fences and lots are on 275'. Our 12-13yo play minimum of 275' and mostly play 300'.

Not only is the pitching sub par, but none of the "bombs" that I see in the video would have made it out in our BB complexes.



By sub par pitching...........watch the 3 HR hit by Lorenzo, all are right in a hitters wheelhouse/powerslot first time putting a pitch there is a mistake, second time is stupid, third time is just insane. If I was coaching he wouldn't see a pitch above the belt line, and preferred only above the knees.

 

[Mylil32]

Kid from Japan easily hit one 300', it was in the parking lot on the other side of the giant hill all the kids slide on. Same kid was also pitching the MLB equivalent of 100MPH; HE was the real deal.

 

[rdbass]

I enjoyed the games, watch almost every game. Wife even enjoyed watching the games with me. I think they call this "quality" time. Wife mentioned something like this too me after she got home from one of her marriage counselor /retreats. (I was to busy to attend). Sure was way better then watching the home channel, she always wants to watch. Hate that channel,because wife thinks of projects for me to do. I just like seeing how well the players hit, but because of the Tech. Hitting forum I'm also dissecting their swings. Even bad baseball/softball is better than no baseball/softball to me.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Kid from Japan easily hit one 300', it was in the parking lot on the other side of the giant hill all the kids slide on. Same kid was also pitching the MLB equivalent of 100MPH; HE was the real deal.

I couldn't find any video of the 300' hit or the pitcher. We have to remember all this age does is fastball. They should have a CU, but you can go a whole game and never see one. Once they hit 13-14-15, for boys, and incorporate breaking pitches the tide sure changes for pitchers and hitters.

 

[rdbass]

Sub-par pitching maybe, because of the pitch count rule that they have for the pitchers. Need a team almost made up of mostly kids that can pitch. You will have a #1 thru a # 5 pitcher on the mound. A couple of games teams had a pitcher on the mound that hasn't pitched in weeks. Use most of your pitchers in one game, so you can continue. So this maybe the reason for a sub-par kid on the mound. He's just try to throw strikes. Safety of the pitcher is more important than the game. Not saying this for arguement sake, just saying the rules make the pitching what it is. How many pitchers can a town have? How many good pitchers can a town have? I know in my town we only have one good pitcher and that's my DD. HAHA

 

[Mylil32]

Oh they were throwing breaking balls, according to the announcers anyway. They did mention several times how the Ugandan team had never seen breaking balls before and were having a difficult time with them.

 

[Mylil32]

Japan’s 6-foot, 206-pound Little League pitcher just drilled a Venezuelan kid in the head | Off the Bench


It goes without saying that Donald Trump would like to see this kid’s birth certificate.

Here we are at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., where Tokyo, Japan has obviously disguised an adult in a Little League uniform to compete in the international bracket. Actually Kotaro Kiyomiya (pictured) is 13 years old, and at 6-foot, 206 pounds, is easily the largest kid in the tournament — or in Pennsylvania. In an interview with ESPN’s Chris McHendry prior to the game (seen below), Kiyomiya said that he hit 60 home runs in 50 games during the regular season. He also said that his pitching “is very fast.”

Indeed, it tops out at 80 mph … which at the 46-foot Little League distance is roughly equivalent to 104 mph in MLB.

Japan’s game with Venezuela is on right now, and through three innings Kiyomiya has eight strikeouts. He also hit one batter in the head (video here). Yikes. Luckily, the kid seems to be OK. Although the sound of the ball hitting the helmet caused deer in Kenya to look up, startled.

This raises the age-old concern — should gigantic Little Leaguers like Kiyomiya be forced to play up at the next level, against kids more their own size? I know they want to play wit their friends, but this is a genuine safety concern.

Imagine if Japan wins the LLWS, and the players form a dogpile in the middle of the field. There could be several deaths.

 

[Mylil32]

Here's a video of one of his homeruns, it's a good one, but I saw him hit one farther then this, over that hill and into the parking lot.

VIDEO: 13-Year-Old Japanese Babe Ruth Hit A Monster Home Run At The Little League World Series - Business Insider

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Oh they were throwing breaking balls, according to the announcers anyway. They did mention several times how the Ugandan team had never seen breaking balls before and were having a difficult time with them.

When I have flipped through the channels and land on LL, I've yet to see one throw a breaking pitch or even a beginner breaking pitch. For one thing 99% of them are still too young/underdeveloped. In baseball breaking pitches should not be thrown until the Growth plate of the elbow is nearly closed. A easy rule of thumb is puberty, in the old days you weren't allowed to throw them until you started growing facial hair as a sign of "puberty".

Fastball - Any age
Change up - 10 y.o.
Curveball - 14 y.o.
Knuckleball -15 y.o.
Slider -16 y.o.
Forkball -16 y.o.
Screwball -17 y.o.

Also if you watch the pitchers, their arm slot is not in proper angle for breaking. They are majority high slots for FB. Lower slots are usually consistent with more movement pitches. Also their follow through, most are cutting under the glove, another indicator of high arm slot.