Trending
I have been following this subject for a few years now (4-5). Each year most of the United States and foreign teams do not fill their rosters with a full team which by Little League standards has always been 14 players. Teams bring 13, 12 and even 11 players. This is sad news as there are no qualifications for an individual player to make the all-star team. IE. No minimum batting average, no on-base percentage, no strikeout limit, no required ERA for pitchers, etc. The players are selected strictly at the managers discretion. Teams are made up from a league so there should be no problem maximizing a team.
This year, 2024, is exceptional and sad news for many players. None of the U.S. teams bought a LLWS full team of 14. Seven U.S. teams only brought 12 players and three U.S. teams only brought 13 players. None of the ten U.S. teams brought 14 players which accounts for 17 players staying home. 17 LL players who should have been brought to South Williamsport, PA to play the game they love, are not participating in the great sport of baseball and simply watching the LLWS on ABC or ESPN TV networks.
There are valid and realistic explanations -- some parents had paid upfront for a summer vacation, some of the kids get sick, some kids get tired from the long six month season (March 1 thru August 31), 4) some parents who cannot travel with their kids and would miss them for the long two weeks keep and them home, etc. -- but the kids can simply and easily be replaced by another worthy player. Recently, as I recall, two very popular PA teams from only a few miles away who went far in the series, only brought 11 players. I guess I ask, why?
In the 2024 foreign team category, three teams brought 12 players, four teams brought 13 players and three teams brought what they were supposed to, 14 players, Japan, Cuba and Aruba. This, of course, account for 10 players missing the LLWS action in S.W. Totally, 27 LL players did not play in the LLWS in 2024.
The LLWS game rules are filled with number of times each player must bat and how many outs and innings they must play. As I read the rules a few years ago, a team can even bring just 9 players. If a player gets hurt or sick during a game and cannot finish the game, the opposing team manager can permit play to continue or have the team forfeit which they never would.
It is mentioned on TV during the LLWS games, reported by the many radio stations and written in the dozens of newspapers worldwide that to appear in the annual LLWS is a dream come true and a once in a lifetime occurrence. And yes, I truly believe it is. I think the LLWS officials should require all regional winning teams to bring a full team to the series. Our local beloved and devoted LL manager from the 1969 Newberry League, deceased Fred Heaps, brought 14 players to the plate for the 1969 LLWS and he didn't need a game rule to play all 14 players equally. All teams in the distant past brought 14 players, this 11-12 players deal is a new concept ignoring it should be all about participation.
I believe the league administrators and managers of each regional winning teams should be required to bring the standard 14 players thus allowing all 280 kids, (20 teams times 14 players) and not just 253, to experience the dream and a chance of a lifetime.
I also believe that the Little League organization itself actually caused the old standard of 14 players to be 11-12-13 now by rewriting the rules. The regional team managers work those game rules into their game plan and come up with 12 players as the ideal enumerate. With a new CEO of Little League organization and a new board member who was previously a court judge, can make the 2025 LLWS fair for all players and teams alike.
MICHAEL McFADDEN
South Williamsport
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom