The 13yo female pitching LL baseball

[Amy in AZ.]

Is Mo'Ne playing travel baseball? The winners of the girl's LLWS, from last year are from South Tucson and all of them are travel ball players. I don't believe that there was one girl that wasn't from the coach's TB team. He knows what it takes to win it all, because he did it in LL baseball, too. It takes playing year around to get to the championships. We tried it with our son 18 years ago, and got pretty far. But, these all star team aren't just rec players. About the time, my son was playing, LL didn't allow you to play on another team, but that was changed.

 

[dbronstein]

And I disagree wholeheartedly that LL softball is "awful", especially in the World Series. Being able to assemble a team entirely of town players and win 20+ games to get to Portland is a very big deal, and an accomplishment to be proud of.

My DD and I really enjoyed watching the semis and finals. I was pleasantly surprised at how into it she was. Maybe it's not the same level as the top A level tourneys are, I really don't know, but it was a much higher level than she's playing at right now and it was good for her to see what it looks like. She learned quite a bit and it helped her see how important the little things are.

 

[dbronstein]

Is Mo'Ne playing travel baseball? The winners of the girl's LLWS, from last year are from South Tucson and all of them are travel ball players. I don't believe that there was one girl that wasn't from the coach's TB team. He knows what it takes to win it all, because he did it in LL baseball, too. It takes playing year around to get to the championships. We tried it with our son 18 years ago, and got pretty far. But, these all star team aren't just rec players. About the time, my son was playing, LL didn't allow you to play on another team, but that was changed.

I have a friend who coaches the top 12U baseball team in Illinois and he said that six of the players on the Illinois team in the LLWS play for one of the best TB teams in the state. I'm thinking it's the same for most of the players/teams in it. It's definitely not like it was when they first started televising it back in the 80s when the kids just played in the local LL and that was it. But then the entire landscape of youth sports has completely changed since then.

 

[ScottyDont]

Is Mo'Ne playing travel baseball? The winners of the girl's LLWS, from last year are from South Tucson and all of them are travel ball players. I don't believe that there was one girl that wasn't from the coach's TB team. He knows what it takes to win it all, because he did it in LL baseball, too. It takes playing year around to get to the championships. We tried it with our son 18 years ago, and got pretty far. But, these all star team aren't just rec players. About the time, my son was playing, LL didn't allow you to play on another team, but that was changed.

This year's winners played on two different travel teams (8/5 split) and the larger group played 14U fairly successfully. The talent gap between 12U A ball and 12U LL ball at the LLWS level is closing. Not "closed" yet, but it's getting there.

 

[nobrainhamster]

Gap?

The gap is closing, because It's the same players. If the kids were forced to choose one and not participate in the other, then the LLWS would not have most of the players making it exciting now.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

This year's winners played on two different travel teams (8/5 split) and the larger group played 14U fairly successfully. The talent gap between 12U A ball and 12U LL ball at the LLWS level is closing. Not "closed" yet, but it's getting there.

You do realize A level ball in baseball travel is the lowest skilled ( besides rec ), then there is AA, then AAA. The best of the best are in the "major's level", LL isn't even close to those true major's players.

 

[CoogansBluff]

You do realize A level ball in baseball travel is the lowest skilled ( besides rec ), then there is AA, then AAA. The best of the best are in the "major's level", LL isn't even close to those true major's players.

But how good are the teams that make the LL World Series? Obviously the typical LL all-star team isn't going to be as good as a typical travel team, but I'd think the best LL all-star teams - those that are basically stacked for the purpose of winning Williamsport - would be pretty good.

There was a team from Columbus, GA, that won it in 2006. Just googled their players since I remember that team. They had 11 on the roster. Two signed with Georgia, one with Mississippi State, one with Missouri. That's four SEC signees. One signed w/ South Alabama. Three others signed with D-II programs like Valdosta State. There was a juco in there. A couple couldn't be traced. I'd think that team could've played AAA travel.

 

[ScottyDont]

You do realize A level ball in baseball travel is the lowest skilled ( besides rec ), then there is AA, then AAA. The best of the best are in the "major's level", LL isn't even close to those true major's players.

I was referring to this year's softball LLWS winners, not baseball. That team (Robbinsville, NJ) consisted of 13 players that all played travel ball this year, 8 of them on an "A" 14U team.

 

[doublesteal]

Being from Philly we get a lot more TV covreage on Mo'Ne and the Taney team than anyone. I found interesting that she never had an interest in playing baseball, the coach seen her at the local rec center throwing a football around and convinced her to play. That ebing said she and a majority of the Philly team are playing travel baseball as well.

This girl is so well composed, she has done a lot of local interviews and when people ask about her success and how good she is the first thing she says is "I wouldnt be nearly as good without my team, they work hard behind me". Thats a true class act right there.

I have heard a lot of people on various sites be so critical of her saying she isn't that good she is just getting attention because she is a girl. But that girl still had t hit her spots to throw a shut out in the first game (and even though she didnt have her best game against Vagas she still had 6 K's in a little over 2 innings). Pretty damn good for a girl or boy if you ask me.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I was referring to this year's softball LLWS winners, not baseball. That team (Robbinsville, NJ) consisted of 13 players that all played travel ball this year, 8 of them on an "A" 14U team.

Oops my bad, thought we were still talking BB.

At 10u we played in a formated WS very much like LL, only the geographic restrictions were much more severe. As we progressed to the region/state playoffs, I notice the teams were compiling of more and more TB players. Once we won state and headed to Texas for the WS playoffs, a large majority of those rosters had TB players. This is pretty common.