Sounds like someone's kid got stuck playing little league.

Field size matters.

I'm not a select fan boy, but 13-14 yr olds playing on a 10 year old field doesn't represent the game of baseball.

I have no problem watching the LLWS for what it is (reality TV). But it is not the best representation of the game at that age.

There is a reason those Pearland kids haven't been in their own LL up until this season.

Not that it chnages your point much but i would think it's kids that have just turned 13 after, what, May? Are there really 14 year olds out there (legally)?

But good point on the field size. It was indeed a big transition back in my day to go from little league to junior league (pony, babe ruth, or whatnot). I don't think leagues with field size variations in limited to select.

The whole select thing reminds me of places where kids of anybody who's anybody are in gifted and talented programs.

And I realize that i might be geeralizing like some on here have done to little league, but the select folks around me are more likely to have their kids play ball outside of just baseball season and i don't think that is a good thing.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/55b62cace4b0a13f9d18fdd3

So if Texas won would LL still suck?

7-2 USA right now b1

10-2 still b1

This is like an old school Taiwan blowout.

Japan getting a bomb dropped on them

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Japan getting a bomb dropped on them

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Too soon?

These home runs are retarded

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Aren't the best ball players playing select and travel ball anyway?

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Yeah, LLWS is a joke for mainly this reason. At least in Texas, if you're playing little league it's because you weren't good enough to make a select team.

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If a kid has the physical gifts to play it's not really going to matter what team or league a parent gets their kid on. 'Select' is oftentimes a matter of parents willing to pay for their kids to play and travel.

But don't worry about my opinion. If you were or your kid is on a select team then you're special.

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"Select" wasn't the right word to use. When I was in 7th grade, I was playing on 90 foot bases, not 60, and I was ****ing terrible at baseball. The kids that are good at baseball aren't playing on 60 foot bases at age 13. These kids can't even get lead offs, this is hardly baseball.

Is the wall like 100 ft

What a horrible product. Move the fence back. My gosh.

10-9, ror

At 13-14 I played on an in between field.....we had 75ft base paths and I think the corners were at 275.

its only the bottom of the second?!

I'm confused. I thought the age group for the LLWS was 10-12, not 13-14. When I played little league in the late 80s/ early 90s, that's what it was. The 13-14 year olds (the junior league) played on bigger fields. Has it changed?

Aren't most of these kids in 7th grade now? Beginning of season, they were still in 6th? Isn't that still little league? I don't remember leading off on base until summer of 7th grade.

I stopped playing after 6th grade, but the 7th graders were leading off and playing on bigger fields from what I remember. If I remember correctly, you had to be no older than 12 for the calendar year.

13-10 Japan now...

Wow. Japan getting revenge.

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I'm confused. I thought the age group for the LLWS was 10-12, not 13-14. When I played little league in the late 80s/ early 90s, that's what it was. The 13-14 year olds (the junior league) played on bigger fields. Has it changed?

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There shouldn't be any 14's. The 13's are the kids who started the season as 12-year-olds.

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There shouldn't be any 14's. The 13's are the kids who started the season as 12-year-olds.

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Don't let facts get in the way. Little League sucks.

The fact is that almost all of these kids are 13+.

The fact is that almost every other competitive league that kids this age (including the entire Pearland team prior to this season) play in is 60.6/90 with open bases and high school size outfields.

The fact is that the LLWS much closer resembles softball timing than baseball timing.

For a reality tv show, the LLWS is entertaining television. However, it does not resemble the game of baseball.

It's fun to watch. Congrats to all the kids who are apparently much better than these kids and play in much bigger parks as part of their impressive road trips, and congrats to their parents who can afford to pay for it. Good for them. I'm not sure that we need to **** on the LLWS to make that point.

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The fact is that almost all of these kids are 13+.

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The "+" was a nice touch, by the way. Just saying 13 wouldn't have looked nearly as bad.

Ok.

The thing most of you guys seem to be missing is that the argument is not select vs Little League.

Simply put, EVERY SINGLE KID you see on TV (ie. At the LLWS) has played select ball the last year or two. That comparison is silly and pointless.

The point I'm trying to make is that the field size (mound distance, base distance, fence distance) at the LLWS is shorter than our local league uses for 10 yr olds.

It makes for good tv, just not good baseball.

If the age limit is 13 then none are 13+.

Since the cutoff is May 1, and assuming every single kid wasn't born on this exact date 13 years ago,13 +/- is an appropriate descriptor.

There are certainly kids that participate in this age group that are less than 13 as well.

They're 13. Saying 13+ when none are 14 or older is just trying to make your arguement sound better. When someone asks your age, do you add the + to it?

No but I don't play in the 12 year old league either.

However, if THAT is what you keep hanging up on, I'll concede your point.

The age of the kids has little to nothing to do with my objections.

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Aren't the best ball players playing select and travel ball anyway?

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Yeah, LLWS is a joke for mainly this reason. At least in Texas, if you're playing little league it's because you weren't good enough to make a select team.

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In little league the kids who make all stars all play select ball. It would be a pretty safe bet to say that all the kids in the United States bracket play select baseball. Most of the time select ball doesn't mean your kid is better it just means you paid for them to play.

Funniest thing about this post is that a bunch of people who clearly have no idea what they are talking about are getting all worked up about an event that is held for kids.

The biggest problem with the age thing is that the difference between 11 to 13 is huge. Some 13 year old kids have mustaches and stuff. As you get closer to 14 you're talking about kids that are way too old to be playing with 12 year olds.