Little League Regionals

[NJZoo]

I watched some of the Western regionals Friday night (Oregon and Montana maybe), and it was tough to watch. Lots of missed fly balls and over throws. Even my daughter was cringing, and she loves to watch any softball on TV. I thought the level of play last year was pretty good (particularly the pitching), so hopefully this was just an off game or two.

 

[Gambler Bob]

The California teams looked a lot better than any of the other teams I have seen play.

 

[Vertigo]

Having watched PGF softball for the last 7 yrs watching little league softball is painful and it’s more painful to think the general public probably thinks this is the best of the best at that age. The fielding is atrocious. Some of the pitching is pretty decent and there are a few good hitters but the overall lack of athleticism just makes it so hard to watch.


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I guess I’m just not understanding why having 11-12 y/o girls playing the game they love and being on TV bothers some so much? Who cares what the general public thinks? Any youth softball on TV is a win in my book.

 

[_MIA_]

Having watched PGF softball for the last 7 yrs watching little league softball is painful and it’s more painful to think the general public probably thinks this is the best of the best at that age. The fielding is atrocious. Some of the pitching is pretty decent and there are a few good hitters but the overall lack of athleticism just makes it so hard to watch.


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Stop taking yourself so seriously..it’s a bad look.

 

[Lobster Birch]

After watching the Oklahoma Sooners the last few years it’s really painful to watch any team that isn’t the Sooners play. UCLA? They suck. Clemson? Oh, lord. Batbusters? It’s a bloody horror show. Why we even have other teams besides Oklahoma is beyond me.

 

[Orange Socks]

I don't think there is any thing wrong with televising LL. I love it. Bad softball is better than no softball.

 

[uvamargo]

This is spot-on. There is definitely something magical about making a good run with a LL team. When we made it to states (big deal for our LL - we were the 1st SB team in our LL to do so) the venue was about 2.5 hours away. I know that doesn’t seem very far for many but we had families from our League who didn’t have a kid on the team travel out to watch us play. Nothing quite like looking out in the crowd and seeing them all there, rooting the team on.

THIS. By all accounts, my daughter should be moving on from rec ball and focusing solely on travel. But WOW did she have the time of her life this summer making it all the way to the Florida state 10U championship. The whole run will be a highlight of her life for sure, and I'll let her play LL forever because of the pure joy it brought them.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Is this the catch all thread now? I had been following the Central region, but scrolled back through some random gmaes last night ...

What the heck happened in the Oregon/Washington game? That was downright disgusting, particularly when the announcers kept saying "this is about the kids" while the adults spent THIRTY MINUTES delaying the game with replays and appeals. I'm going to go back to look at it again and will write a breakdown.

For all of you who think you want things like replay in the game, go watch that 30 minutes and tell me if you really feel that way.

 

[stox]

Is this the catch all thread now? I had been following the Central region, but scrolled back through some random gmaes last night ...

What the heck happened in the Oregon/Washington game? That was downright disgusting, particularly when the announcers kept saying "this is about the kids" while the adults spent THIRTY MINUTES delaying the game with replays and appeals. I'm going to go back to look at it again and will write a breakdown.

For all of you who think you want things like replay in the game, go watch that 30 minutes and tell me if you really feel that way.

I just watched the highlights but I think the review often got the calls right for the most part.

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[The Man In Blue]

I just watched the highlights but I think the review often got the calls right for the most part.

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I think they got the calls correct also (BR out at third base, R2 touched third base). Neither was even really that close. My issue was with the process to get there. This is why I need to watch it again to try to piece it together. When I watched it in the first time (without pausing or rewinding), there was a lot that didn't make sense.

My bigger issue was the repeated "this is about the kids" when it was really about adults. The kids were bored out of their minds and ready to move on either way.

It seemed as if they "pre-reviewed" parts of a play when they shouldn't have. Eventually there was a series of appeals that seemed as if the coach was grasping at straws, followed by an incorrect call, that was then re-reviewed and overturned ...

Not sure if it was just communication issues or technical issues. Or a little of column A and a little of Column B.

Without the full breakdown, I will stress this for umpires: It is CRITICAL that the coach specifies what it is she/he is questioning when they ask you to consider going for help (or in this case, to a video review). If the coach cannot tell you SPECIFICALLY what you may not have seen and/or cannot provide a SPECIFIC VALID reason you did not see it, then there is nothing more you should do. Without very specific details, it is a fishing expedition. That's what that 30 minutes felt like.