Road to the LLWS 2023 edition

[LEsoftballdad]

And my point is if the goal is to grow the sport (which I'm a huge fan of) why not highlight the best product. Watching kids drop fly balls or lob it over the plate is not nearly as likely to draw in a 7 year old as watching a girl make a diving catch or rip one off the fence.

I'm constantly amazed at how good some of these girls are at such a young age. I think the vast majority of the public would be also.

If you want to highlight the best talent, watch Athletes Unlimited. It's on every weekend now.

What area of the country are you in? Clearly not the Northeast.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Yep for sure. The one that wins our state almost every year is made up of several Lower A/Upper B players in that town who roster together that one year with the intention of trying to make a run in the tournament. They aren't near the top of talent in TB nor are they committed LL players either.

LL changed the requirements to compete in the Senior event this year. Players no longer have to actually play a LL season.

The Central team is still listed as Beardstown, IL but they only have 5 or so players actually from Beardstown. Some of them were brought in from two hours away and I’m sure all of them play travel ball.

Devil’s Advocate: I can go compete with my team in another Northern Southeastern West Region Premiere Platinum Deluxe Kryptonite National Invitational … or I can go play on TV.

I disagree that showing highlight reels is the way to get young kids into the game. Showing them things they believe they can do is the way.

 

[BucketDud]

LL changed the requirements to compete in the Senior event this year. Players no longer have to actually play a LL season.

The Central team is still listed as Beardstown, IL but they only have 5 or so players actually from Beardstown. Some of them were brought in from two hours away and I’m sure all of them play travel ball.

Devil’s Advocate: I can go compete with my team in another Northern Southeastern West Region Premiere Platinum Deluxe Kryptonite National Invitational … or I can go play on TV.

I disagree that showing highlight reels is the way to get young kids into the game. Showing them things they believe they can do is the way.

Yeah guess I didn't mean just highlight plays though that's what I referenced, but seeing a really clean game where teams pitch well, play great defense, and great hitters punishing mistakes. Not a game full of errors, bloop hits, or mental mistakes. Those are painful to watch....

That's interesting about LL rule change I did not know that. I know some of those Beardstown girls. They always had several good players on those young Blitz teams for such a rural area. Of course many of those have moved on to higher level teams.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Central (Illinois) vs. Latin America (Puerto Rico) ... that was painful to watch. Some unusual observations though:

PR's starting pitcher had a neck tattoo and a sleeve.

I am assuming the NUMEROUS illegal pitches were for moving the pivot foot after setting the toe? I am not familiar with LL's pitching rules (i.e., step back vs. start back).

I may be wrong, but ... Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. They are part of the United States. Why are they playing on the international side and representing Latin America?

My wife and I were debating ... do you give the mercy "step off" outs when playing on TV in an event like this? I said no. The answer was yes.

PR must have drank Jobu's rum. With a runner on first, the batter swings and loses her grip on the bat. The bat flies out and lands between first and second base where it gets in the way of the runner stealing! The runner gets caught in a rundown, falls down, and is tagged out.

 

[Bernmoll]

Watching the quality of play pretty obvious these teams are about the equivalent of middle/upper B level USSSA.

I'm not sure if the announcers are just pretending to be unaware or if they truly don't realize these aren't even close to the top teams in a region nonetheless the US.

I think everyone knows that Little league is generally local Rec and travel ball teams, in particular 'national' teams are teams with big rosters from kids all over and parents who can afford to send their kids to daily lessons. Little league is where most girls start out. My DD played both as long as she could and we quit LL last year because she wanted to play more competitively. Regardless, I'm a huge advocate for rec ball. Softball for many girls isn't going to last - it is supposed to be fun and a great way for girls to develop skills that will benefit them in the future. Good for LL and ESPN for broadcasting the LL games. If the travel ball circuit finds a way to broadcast more games, good for them. But don't bash LL because of your view of them being less than. They are kids...

 

[BucketDud]

I think everyone knows that Little league is generally local Rec and travel ball teams, in particular 'national' teams are teams with big rosters from kids all over and parents who can afford to send their kids to daily lessons. Little league is where most girls start out. My DD played both as long as she could and we quit LL last year because she wanted to play more competitively. Regardless, I'm a huge advocate for rec ball. Softball for many girls isn't going to last - it is supposed to be fun and a great way for girls to develop skills that will benefit them in the future. Good for LL and ESPN for broadcasting the LL games. If the travel ball circuit finds a way to broadcast more games, good for them. But don't bash LL because of your view of them being less than. They are kids...

Geez.......Again I was not bashing LL players at all. Their talent level is what it is. And you're right good for them getting on ESPN very cool.

But I was specifically answering TMIB question why nobody seemed as interested in it on this page. And I do not think it is good that ESPN announcers portray them as the top teams in the country. I get that is serves their self-interest as a network, but is just misleading to the general public who doesn't know difference.

Over the past several years I have had people comment to me after watching the WCWS for the first time just how athletic the players are and how good the game is to watch. The stereotypical view that softball isn't competitive is clearly not true, but seeing things like TMIB mentioned above represented as the top teams in country only perpetuates that myth.

 

[Bernmoll]

Geez.......Again I was not bashing LL players at all. Their talent level is what it is. And you're right good for them getting on ESPN very cool.

But I was specifically answering TMIB question why nobody seemed as interested in it on this page. And I do not think it is good that ESPN announcers portray them as the top teams in the country. I get that is serves their self-interest as a network, but is just misleading to the general public who doesn't know difference.

Over the past several years I have had people comment to me after watching the WCWS for the first time just how athletic the players are and how good the game is to watch. The stereotypical view that softball isn't competitive is clearly not true, but seeing things like TMIB mentioned above represented as the top teams in country only perpetuates that myth.

Appreciate your comments but what do you expect the commentators to say? "... Hey folks- look at this mediocre pitching from a 12 yr old rec team! They are doing good despite not being a top Triple Crown Alliance team!!" When I'm watching 10-14year olds play in this tournament or even in a pgf or whatever travel tournament , I appreciate it for what it is. It's a bunch of kids playing a sport, representing their community, making memories and having a good time. I ask that you do the same.

 

[Vertigo]

Geez.......Again I was not bashing LL players at all. Their talent level is what it is. And you're right good for them getting on ESPN very cool.

But I was specifically answering TMIB question why nobody seemed as interested in it on this page. And I do not think it is good that ESPN announcers portray them as the top teams in the country. I get that is serves their self-interest as a network, but is just misleading to the general public who doesn't know difference.

Over the past several years I have had people comment to me after watching the WCWS for the first time just how athletic the players are and how good the game is to watch. The stereotypical view that softball isn't competitive is clearly not true, but seeing things like TMIB mentioned above represented as the top teams in country only perpetuates that myth.

It’s probably because a similar type of comment was made in another LL thread on here recently.

Many of us had kids who started out in and came up through LL. Some of us put a lot of volunteer years and time into developing our Leagues to provide our local girls with a great experience and to keep them from folding (especially on the SB side). It’s the dismissive tone that is a turn-off and the reason why it doesn’t sit well with some of us.

 

[_MIA_]

After watching 1000’s of MLB games over the years watching most levels of softball makes me cringe at times..just watch how many P5 girls throw..

 

[RADcatcher]

Geez.......Again I was not bashing LL players at all. Their talent level is what it is. And you're right good for them getting on ESPN very cool.

But I was specifically answering TMIB question why nobody seemed as interested in it on this page. And I do not think it is good that ESPN announcers portray them as the top teams in the country. I get that is serves their self-interest as a network, but is just misleading to the general public who doesn't know difference.

valid point!

Over the past several years I have had people comment to me after watching the WCWS for the first time just how athletic the players are and how good the game is to watch. The stereotypical view that softball isn't competitive is clearly not true, but seeing things like TMIB mentioned above represented as the top teams in country only perpetuates that myth.