**** 2014 Little League World Series **** (1 Viewer)

[Mario Kart]

Some good stories and all but ESPN is taking it way too far. Where there is a dollar to be made in sports, ESPN is sure to be there. Kind of like Don King and boxing.

Many have heard of the female pitcher kicking butt. Great story. I hope the team does well.

Couple other things of interest though. Some kid today standing at 4'8" hit a home run to deep center field. Helped his team out with it, obviously however he has a teammate that is 6'4" and weighs 230 pounds. WTF!!!!

Anybody who knows about the Little League World Series knows that the age range is 11-13 but should there be a size range as well? This 6'4" kid is playing with a bunch of midgets and almost seems unfair. I'm not sure what height range might be but this kid sure isn't Little by any definition.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Height range? Ok then.

I must be an old curmudgeon I guess because I couldn't care less about the girl pitcher story. Girls develop faster than boys and at 11-13, many boys haven't caught up yet. The only story here is if you pitch well, that's cool. A two hit shutout is great, but it has nothing to do with her being a girl.

 

[belljr]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

I remember the llws before espn got involved. It was great. The ******* double elimination they do is wrong.

my father and grandfather both umped in it. Nevada wins it

 

[belljr]

Have i told you i hate they don't do a true double elimination for each bracket yet

 

[Treynwreck3]

The little (little) kid from Mexico hitting the tater was pretty cool.

I've already reached over saturation of the Philly girl. Enough already.

Yeah, the bunting and base running that I have seen is brutal. I probably expect too much from 12 year olds.

Did you know that you can bet on the outcome of the games? Seriously.

I will be rooting for Texas, simply because I can't stand to see what ESPN does if Philly gets to the finals.

Japan takes the title.

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

It really is a race to puberty.

Great game last night though between Chicago and Cumberland, RI where I used to live. Ebony versus Ivory.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

 

[Limp Ditka]

Some good stories and all but ESPN is taking it way too far. Where there is a dollar to be made in sports, ESPN is sure to be there. Kind of like Don King and boxing.

Many have heard of the female pitcher kicking butt. Great story. I hope the team does well.

Couple other things of interest though. Some kid today standing at 4'8" hit a home run to deep center field. Helped his team out with it, obviously however he has a teammate that is 6'4" and weighs 230 pounds. WTF!!!!

Anybody who knows about the Little League World Series knows that the age range is 11-13 but should there be a size range as well? This 6'4" kid is playing with a bunch of midgets and almost seems unfair. I'm not sure what height range might be but this kid sure isn't Little by any definition.

 

[Treynwreck3]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

It wouldn't be -EV if players could execute it properly.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

It wouldn't be -EV if players could execute it properly.

This is just a theory and not a proven fact; I assume most of these teams are all star teams that came out of their various leagues. Because they are taking the best dozen kids, these players are rarely asked to bunt during the regular season. How often do your 3, 4 and 5 hitters bunt?

 

[belljr]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

It wouldn't be -EV if players could execute it properly.

This is just a theory and not a proven fact; I assume most of these teams are all star teams that came out of their various leagues. Because they are taking the best dozen kids, these players are rarely asked to bunt during the regular season. How often do your 3, 4 and 5 hitters bunt?

Yes they are. If you can hit you can bunt. When the 3rd baseman is standing back on the grass you BUNT all day. I guarantee those coaches didn't teach these kids bunt rotation. Hell the pitcher doesn't even back up the catcher on plays to home. They have no proper rotation of an hit ball to the outfield.

Yes this is something I learned at their age.. Small ball is a lost art and many teams could capitalize I tought/teach my kids bunting and they don't appear to be behind

 

[Treynwreck3]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

It wouldn't be -EV if players could execute it properly.

This is just a theory and not a proven fact; I assume most of these teams are all star teams that came out of their various leagues. Because they are taking the best dozen kids, these players are rarely asked to bunt during the regular season. How often do your 3, 4 and 5 hitters bunt?

In this particular instance (LLWS), I see your point. I will take issue of the point that it is -EV strategy at "about every level". It is a vital skill that is rarely taught because it's not as impressive as a liner in the gap, or a bomb. Therefore, players don't like to practice it, and therefore it is a skill which most do not master.

 

[zamboni]

The Little League world needs more coaches like this one: http://deadspin.com/little-league-coach-gives-great-post-game-speech-to-kid-1623699530

My kids have been playing LL for years, and I've never seen anything close to the support the coach showed there.

 

[MattFancy]

I wanna know when kids this age started hitting homers every other at-bat. I remember when I played LL and was on All-Star teams, there were hardly any homers hit. Now you have a kid that's 4'8" hitting homers. How is this possible? Are the bats just much better now than when I was this age? I don't get it.

 

[belljr]

I wanna know when kids this age started hitting homers every other at-bat. I remember when I played LL and was on All-Star teams, there were hardly any homers hit. Now you have a kid that's 4'8" hitting homers. How is this possible? Are the bats just much better now than when I was this age? I don't get it.

yep

 

[Todem]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

It wouldn't be -EV if players could execute it properly.

This is just a theory and not a proven fact; I assume most of these teams are all star teams that came out of their various leagues. Because they are taking the best dozen kids, these players are rarely asked to bunt during the regular season. How often do your 3, 4 and 5 hitters bunt?

Yes they are. If you can hit you can bunt. When the 3rd baseman is standing back on the grass you BUNT all day. I guarantee those coaches didn't teach these kids bunt rotation. Hell the pitcher doesn't even back up the catcher on plays to home. They have no proper rotation of an hit ball to the outfield.

Yes this is something I learned at their age.. Small ball is a lost art and many teams could capitalize I tought/teach my kids bunting and they don't appear to be behind

My Travel team practices two days a week and we play a double header on Sundays. Our practices always have bunt drills, infield rotation, situational bunt drills, etc.

We play small ball when a team is asleep and opening that window for us. It is a lost art in the game. But those that really work at it have a disticnt advantage in close games. It can tip the scales when your team is cold at the plate.

The game last night between RI and Chicago was great. Rhode Island was a really scrappy team. Was rooting for them to go all the way. Chicago are beasts at the plate and a very aggressive team on the base paths. It will either catapult them to the finals or derail them. It will be interesting to see how they come out today after such an emotional win last night.

Nevada looks stout as well.

PA is strong but beatable. The female pitcher is terrific. She has a fantastic demeanor on the mound. Also can play SS and 1B. Very versatile ball player. But I agree...enough already. She is a really good ball player. Stop playing it up just because she is a girl? Are we not past that already? Especially at this age where girls and boy athletes can play together before real genetics kick in later in adulthood.

I love watching this with my son every year. It's always a treat.

As far as how these teams are put together. All of them are pretty much all-star teams from little league and some of them are Travel teams that the local little league allows into the league in the hopes they can represent their town.

For example my 9U (now 10U for our Fall season) was in Margate pony ball this year. We went to the state finals but were eliminated. If we won that we would have gone to the regional in Kentucky then finals in Texas.

So it would not surprise me if some of these teams are full on travel teams and play regular little league together as well if that particular town accommodates it. I would be interested to know how long some of these teams have played together for. Especially on the international side of the ledger.

 

[Todem]

I wanna know when kids this age started hitting homers every other at-bat. I remember when I played LL and was on All-Star teams, there were hardly any homers hit. Now you have a kid that's 4'8" hitting homers. How is this possible? Are the bats just much better now than when I was this age? I don't get it.

The bats today are insane. So much pop with this full composite bats. Easton Makos are really live. Those orange bats your seeing are Makos.

My son (9 years old) uses a 28 inch Mako and can hit it 180 ft. He is 4'2 and 53 pounds wet. Now he has tremendous bat speed and great hands and has a wonderful swing and works very hard at it, but that bat gives him easily an extra 30-40 feet.

Plus the size of some of these kids blows me away. It was not like this in the 80's. You had one giant and the rest of us were average joe size. baseball used to be a small mans game and has now morphed into the land of the giants.

Evolution.

 

[belljr]

I will say this things have changed a lot some for the good some for the bad. When I was 8/9 I went to baseball camp up there. My family has been to Williamsport for probably 40+ years in a row.

My grandfather and father were district administrators, my dad is still an advisor for our section and he still goes every year. It fizzled with me. I coached 15 year olds after college for about 7 years then took a break. I am back in with softball but we are not LL affiliated in my town.

It's great except for the dooshes that try to skirt LL rules especially with 12 year olds. Baffles me

 

[belljr]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

It wouldn't be -EV if players could execute it properly.

This is just a theory and not a proven fact; I assume most of these teams are all star teams that came out of their various leagues. Because they are taking the best dozen kids, these players are rarely asked to bunt during the regular season. How often do your 3, 4 and 5 hitters bunt?

Yes they are. If you can hit you can bunt. When the 3rd baseman is standing back on the grass you BUNT all day. I guarantee those coaches didn't teach these kids bunt rotation. Hell the pitcher doesn't even back up the catcher on plays to home. They have no proper rotation of an hit ball to the outfield.

Yes this is something I learned at their age.. Small ball is a lost art and many teams could capitalize I tought/teach my kids bunting and they don't appear to be behind

My Travel team practices two days a week and we play a double header on Sundays. Our practices always have bunt drills, infield rotation, situational bunt drills, etc.

We play small ball when a team is asleep and opening that window for us. It is a lost art in the game. But those that really work at it have a disticnt advantage in close games. It can tip the scales when your team is cold at the plate.

The game last night between RI and Chicago was great. Rhode Island was a really scrappy team. Was rooting for them to go all the way. Chicago are beasts at the plate and a very aggressive team on the base paths. It will either catapult them to the finals or derail them. It will be interesting to see how they come out today after such an emotional win last night.

Nevada looks stout as well.

PA is strong but beatable. The female pitcher is terrific. She has a fantastic demeanor on the mound. Also can play SS and 1B. Very versatile ball player. But I agree...enough already. She is a really good ball player. Stop playing it up just because she is a girl? Are we not past that already? Especially at this age where girls and boy athletes can play together before real genetics kick in later in adulthood.

I love watching this with my son every year. It's always a treat.

As far as how these teams are put together. All of them are pretty much all-star teams from little league and some of them are Travel teams that the local little league allows into the league in the hopes they can represent their town.

For example my 9U (now 10U for our Fall season) was in Margate pony ball this year. We went to the state finals but were eliminated. If we won that we would have gone to the regional in Kentucky then finals in Texas.

So it would not surprise me if some of these teams are full on travel teams and play regular little league together as well if that particular town accommodates it. I would be interested to know how long some of these teams have played together for. Especially on the international side of the ledger.

This can't be true. Unless LL changed their policy they do not sanction travel teams.

You can play on a travel team but it is not LL affiliated. Also some leagues would put all their best kids on one team to play the whole year and then the other kids on other teams to skirt the rules. yeah that's fair

 

[Todem]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

It wouldn't be -EV if players could execute it properly.

This is just a theory and not a proven fact; I assume most of these teams are all star teams that came out of their various leagues. Because they are taking the best dozen kids, these players are rarely asked to bunt during the regular season. How often do your 3, 4 and 5 hitters bunt?

Yes they are. If you can hit you can bunt. When the 3rd baseman is standing back on the grass you BUNT all day. I guarantee those coaches didn't teach these kids bunt rotation. Hell the pitcher doesn't even back up the catcher on plays to home. They have no proper rotation of an hit ball to the outfield.

Yes this is something I learned at their age.. Small ball is a lost art and many teams could capitalize I tought/teach my kids bunting and they don't appear to be behind

My Travel team practices two days a week and we play a double header on Sundays. Our practices always have bunt drills, infield rotation, situational bunt drills, etc.

We play small ball when a team is asleep and opening that window for us. It is a lost art in the game. But those that really work at it have a disticnt advantage in close games. It can tip the scales when your team is cold at the plate.

The game last night between RI and Chicago was great. Rhode Island was a really scrappy team. Was rooting for them to go all the way. Chicago are beasts at the plate and a very aggressive team on the base paths. It will either catapult them to the finals or derail them. It will be interesting to see how they come out today after such an emotional win last night.

Nevada looks stout as well.

PA is strong but beatable. The female pitcher is terrific. She has a fantastic demeanor on the mound. Also can play SS and 1B. Very versatile ball player. But I agree...enough already. She is a really good ball player. Stop playing it up just because she is a girl? Are we not past that already? Especially at this age where girls and boy athletes can play together before real genetics kick in later in adulthood.

I love watching this with my son every year. It's always a treat.

As far as how these teams are put together. All of them are pretty much all-star teams from little league and some of them are Travel teams that the local little league allows into the league in the hopes they can represent their town.

For example my 9U (now 10U for our Fall season) was in Margate pony ball this year. We went to the state finals but were eliminated. If we won that we would have gone to the regional in Kentucky then finals in Texas.

So it would not surprise me if some of these teams are full on travel teams and play regular little league together as well if that particular town accommodates it. I would be interested to know how long some of these teams have played together for. Especially on the international side of the ledger.

This can't be true. Unless LL changed their policy they do not sanction travel teams.

You can play on a travel team but it is not LL affiliated. Also some leagues would put all their best kids on one team to play the whole year and then the other kids on other teams to skirt the rules. yeah that's fair

Hey I am just the messenger. What happens is a travel team registers and plays little league. And BTW plenty of kids play both travel and official little league at the same time (I think it's crazy and too much but anyway). The city actually approached a few travel teams to come into the pony league.

What has happened down here in South Florida is Travel ball has taken over and honestly it is watered down. Between Dade, Broward and Palm Beach we have over 60 10U travel teams. That is insane. I never thought I would start a travel team but the talent level in my local little league was stripped by travel ball for the worse.

It is the reality I live in down here. It was not like this when I was growing up. Youth sports have gone to new heights of deuchery unfortunately. We have 10 great kids and families that "get it" so so far so good. But some teams are nuts and some teams should not be travel. it is what it is.

Back when I played, we were in little league, all-stars int he summer was your travel ball and we took the fall off. Now we play spring and fall. My son gets 3 months off a year though. I will not allow him to play year round like some parents. I know kids who basically play 12 months.....insane. I played 8-9 months a year myself and baseball was my only sport other than tennis. My son is also baseball and recreational tennis and of course school yard basketball , touch football etc.

I agree with you though. It is not exactly fair. But I am pretty sure it's going on elsewhere.

 

[belljr]

What a catch.

so story goes since the pa team just started 2 years ago their are is grandfather ed in. So their pool of players stayed at a ridiculous number. Ll still does not acknowledge travel but in 2014 added a new rule that kids that go to school in that area can also play without living there

 

[jon_mx]

90 percent of pros can't lay down a decent bunt.

 

[jon_mx]

And that girl is not only talented, she has a ton of class. She is doing stuff no other girl has ever done before. She deserves the attention although it is over done by ESPN.

 

[belljr]

Talented no doubt but I'd like to see her in 3 to 4 years

 

[Premier]

Why do they not coach bunting...unreal.

Because it's a -EV strategy at just about every level of baseball, and the time spent coaching it is better spent on different areas of player development.

thank God they don't teach it. Hopefully it dies.

 

[Premier]

90 percent of pros can't lay down a decent bunt.

Great. Maybe one day it'll be 100.

 

[Premier]

Is bunting the same as "he can't shoot free throws why don't they practice that" to old white people?

 

[belljr]

Bunting is no different then a 3pt line in basketball

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Bunting is no different then a 3pt line in basketball

They're almost polar opposites.

The closest thing to a basketball 3PT line in baseball is the rule where a hit ball that clears the outfield fence on the fly counts as an automatic home run.

 

[belljr]

My point is its a part of the game that can be utilized

 

[belljr]

Mone should have ran straight to second

 

[The Goat]

Is bunting the same as "he can't shoot free throws why don't they practice that" to old white people people who know how to win baseball games?

Fixed your post.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Is bunting the same as "he can't shoot free throws why don't they practice that" to old white people people who know how to win baseball games?

Fixed your post.

Successful bunt we just saw led to zero more runs in the inning.

 

[belljr]

Swinging away led to a double play

 

[belljr]

Wait.... when did they add dropped 3rd strike to this division. ... out of touch with rules

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Swinging away led to a double play

My understanding from studying large samples and reading a lot of research on the topic is there are two situations when it is preferable to bunt:1) when the hitter is less than a .075 shot to reach base safely swinging away

2) when there is a runner on second, zero outs, and the only goal is to score one run, like in the bottom of the last inning of a tie game

Just about any other situation is giving away outs you want to save to create big innings. In general, 100 sacrifice bunt attempts costs the team about 50 runs.

In an environment like the LLWS where so many wild pitches/passed balls occur, most teams are better off waiting for the pitcher/catcher to screw up a pitch rather than sacrificing.

 

[sporthenry]

Oof. When do we start paying the umps?

 

[belljr]

Who said sacrifice

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

 

[belljr]

Wait.... when did they add dropped 3rd strike to this division. ... out of touch with rules

2012 implementation

 

[Todem]

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

That's travel. And not every travel team is a good team. And a lot of these kids your seeing in the LLWS play travel ball too.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

That's travel. And not every yravel team is a good team. And a lot of these kids your seeing in the LLWS play travel ball too.

I would say that the better "travel" teams or whatever you want to call it would beat these kids 7-8 games out of ten. The 12 year olds play on fields that are the same size as 10 year old competitive fields. And, they pitch from 10 year old mounds. not the kids fault at all, but why all the fuss over LL, when there is a lot better baseball being played by the same aged kids.

 

[sporthenry]

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

That's travel. And not every yravel team is a good team. And a lot of these kids your seeing in the LLWS play travel ball too.

I would say that the better "travel" teams or whatever you want to call it would beat these kids 7-8 games out of ten. The 12 year olds play on fields that are the same size as 10 year old competitive fields. And, they pitch from 10 year old mounds. not the kids fault at all, but why all the fuss over LL, when there is a lot better baseball being played by the same aged kids.

Is it mutually exclusive? Don't have kids but when I played, you played both. Travel teams were better bc you drew from all over. I like LL because it has that organic feel to it as opposed to just the best kids who could afford to travel for practice.

 

[Pipes]

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

That's travel. And not every yravel team is a good team. And a lot of these kids your seeing in the LLWS play travel ball too.

I would say that the better "travel" teams or whatever you want to call it would beat these kids 7-8 games out of ten. The 12 year olds play on fields that are the same size as 10 year old competitive fields. And, they pitch from 10 year old mounds. not the kids fault at all, but why all the fuss over LL, when there is a lot better baseball being played by the same aged kids.

Is it mutually exclusive? Don't have kids but when I played, you played both. Travel teams were better bc you drew from all over. I like LL because it has that organic feel to it as opposed to just the best kids who could afford to travel for practice.

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

That's travel. And not every yravel team is a good team. And a lot of these kids your seeing in the LLWS play travel ball too.

I would say that the better "travel" teams or whatever you want to call it would beat these kids 7-8 games out of ten. The 12 year olds play on fields that are the same size as 10 year old competitive fields. And, they pitch from 10 year old mounds. not the kids fault at all, but why all the fuss over LL, when there is a lot better baseball being played by the same aged kids.

Not a fair comparison at all. Little League teams come from a school district while good travel teams can pull from kids from a radius of 100 miles or more. And who cares if travel teams are better part of the allure of the Little League World Series is most of us can relate to these kids since most of us played Little League. These kids seem to be having fun. I don't think the same can be said for travel ball teams.

 

[Todem]

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

That's travel. And not every yravel team is a good team. And a lot of these kids your seeing in the LLWS play travel ball too.

I would say that the better "travel" teams or whatever you want to call it would beat these kids 7-8 games out of ten. The 12 year olds play on fields that are the same size as 10 year old competitive fields. And, they pitch from 10 year old mounds. not the kids fault at all, but why all the fuss over LL, when there is a lot better baseball being played by the same aged kids.

Is it mutually exclusive? Don't have kids but when I played, you played both. Travel teams were better bc you drew from all over. I like LL because it has that organic feel to it as opposed to just the best kids who could afford to travel for practice.

LL is great story, but the better ball players in the 11 to 13 range play USSSA ball, or some other form of " competitive " baseball. I think a competitive team from the same age group would crush these kids.

That's travel. And not every yravel team is a good team. And a lot of these kids your seeing in the LLWS play travel ball too.

I would say that the better "travel" teams or whatever you want to call it would beat these kids 7-8 games out of ten. The 12 year olds play on fields that are the same size as 10 year old competitive fields. And, they pitch from 10 year old mounds. not the kids fault at all, but why all the fuss over LL, when there is a lot better baseball being played by the same aged kids.

Not a fair comparison at all. Little League teams come from a school district while good travel teams can pull from kids from a radius of 100 miles or more. And who cares if travel teams are better part of the allure of the Little League World Series is most of us can relate to these kids since most of us played Little League. These kids seem to be having fun. I don't think the same can be said for travel ball teams.

Plenty of travel teams are having plenty of fun. Everything depends on the type of program your running. Most kids down here play both travel and little league. My son loves playing baseball.

Period.

In the meantime the Little League World Series is always a treat. Watching these kids always brings a big smile to my face.

Nevada vs Illinois

South Korea vs Japan

Should be two great games!

 

[Raider Nation]

Stupid South Koreans. Bunch of cheaters!

 

[Todem]

South Korea's pitcher who finished the game was just insane. Beautiful fluid motion and the kid was throwing pure heat. At least Chicago made a decent rally there in their last inning.

Overall a great LLWS this year. Lot's of great games.

 

[belljr]

See Illinois 1 loss Nevada 1 loss stupid tv