Too Much Baseball is Not a Good
Thing
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(Note: This column by Little League International
President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen D. Keener, is reprinted from the
2005 Little League Baseball World Series Program.)
Each August, the Little League World Series celebrates children playing
baseball, and families and fans of Little League Baseball come to Williamsport
to trumpet the success of these champions, but the final score and world
championship banner are certainly not the most important things.
Little League is about playing, having fun, and learning some of life’s lessons
along the way. Too many times in recent years stories have been told about children
playing and sacrificing for baseball where the only thing that seems to matter
is the outcome.
That is most definitely not what Little League is about.
Terms like “overuse,” “burnout,” and “epidemic,” have been unjustly linked to
the Little League program when these stories surface involving children as
young as 10 who are playing dozens and dozens of baseball games during the
summer and continuing throughout the year.
Too often, the tradition and worldwide respect Little League Baseball and Softball
has established has created the misconception that all youth baseball is Little
League Baseball.
To the contrary, Little League remains true to its values of character,
courage, and loyalty by regulating its program to create an environment where
children from any walk of life can participate.
Throughout its 66-year history, Little League has been fortunate to have
volunteers who join the program to do their part in nurturing future
generations. Building strong citizens and improving the quality of life for
families in their communities is paramount.
Regrettably, there is another cross section of society that seems aimed at
profit and self-satisfaction that is fed by a twisted sense of commitment to
children. These people look like Little League volunteers. They may even talk
like Little League volunteers. But, their willingness to disregard the dramatic
difference between “play” versus “work” for nothing more than a chance to
exploit the children they are entrusted to mentor, has the potential to cripple
the future of youth athletics.
The evolution of ultra-competitive, excessively-expensive, and
loosely-regulated “travel ball” has brought Little League unwanted and
unwarranted criticism, especially at tournament time.
Because of the misleading comparison between tournament-hopping travel teams,
and the “Road to Williamsport” traveled by Little League International
tournament teams, critics claim the tournament is detrimental and contradictory
to Little League’s mission.
In reality though, those who support travel ball are in many cases fulfilling a
self-serving goal by seeking out a “higher level of competition” for the
expressed purpose of supposedly increasing their child’s chances of landing a
major college scholarship, or professional contract.
The intent of the various World Series tournaments is, and has always been, to
reward local players and leagues for their participation in the Little League
program. No local league is obligated to play in these tournaments, yet most
do. Why? Because it’s fun.
In the Little League division more than 7,000 teams play in the World Series
Tournament that concludes here at Howard J. Lamade Stadium with 16 teams vying
for the title of Little League Baseball world champion. Yet, 90 percent of the
teams entered in the World Series tournament are done playing in the first
three weeks.
In years past, Little League’s critics have called the tournament too long, too
stressful, or too competitive, but now come horrific reports of children and
teenagers enduring arm and shoulders surgeries to repair ruptured tendons and
broken growth plates as the result of playing too much baseball.
Little League’s mission has always been to create an environment that promotes
a healthy, fun experience, and never has it been about grooming Major League
prospects. As noted author, and Little League volunteer, Stephen King once
wrote, “A Little League field is a place where excellence should always be
applauded, but never expected.”
Do we expect too much of children today? For the parents who each year spend
hundreds of hours traveling to “elite” tournaments, and thousands of dollars
for private coaches and the like, these questions have to be asked: What’s
important? At what point does the child, who is playing several games a week, in
different baseball programs, have to take a stand and say enough is enough?
Should the child have to say anything, or is it time for the moms and dads to
cast off the unfulfilled dreams of their youth, and focus on what is in the
best interests of their children?
Little League is unyielding when protecting its players and adult volunteers.
Whether governing the number of innings a player can pitch in a week,
conducting background checks on volunteers, enforcing mandatory play rules, or
requiring a player to solely commit to a Little League International Tournament
team, all Little League rules and regulations are rooted in what is
collectively believed to be most beneficial for local leagues and their
participants.
Little League can not manage, and is not responsible for, the operation of
other youth baseball programs. Instead, the parents of the players who play on
these travel teams are responsible. Moms and dads must in turn hold these
people accountable and evaluate why they feel it is necessary for their son or
daughter to be there.
It was not long ago when such specialization was frowned upon and diversity was
in. Playing multiple sports made for well-rounded athletes with balanced
skills, and an energy level that was peaked by new teammates, different
challenges and variety of competition.
New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, who is on our Little League
International Board of Directors, grew up minutes from Williamsport in
Montoursville, Pa., and he was a three-sport athlete. Mike has reminded me
during several conversations on the subject that the cream of crop is destined
to rise to the top regardless of how hard he or she is pushed at 9 or 10 years
old.
In today’s society so much is based on numbers, so the numbers I use when
describing the long-range prospects of any youth baseball player go like this …
For the five million children playing baseball in the United States, 400,000
will play ball in high school. Of those 400,000, around 1,500 will be drafted
by a professional baseball team. From those 1,500 or so, 500 will play two
seasons or less in the minor leagues. Of the 500 in the minors, 100 will reach
the Major League level, with one making it to Cooperstown, N.Y. and the
National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Travel ball is the latest degree of separation between the haves and the
have-nots, but is it best for the children? Little League does not think so,
and for that reason will not subscribe to the interpretation that the Little
League program is too competitive, or not competitive enough, because being a
Little Leaguer is not simply about competition.
This is the time to relish youth. The best way for grown-ups to respect the
next generation of Little League coaches and volunteers is through their
involvement, and understanding of what in means to be a role model to the
children of today.
In life, perception too often is reality, and if a parent perceives his child
to be a prodigy, then that child must prove that to be true, or not. If the
answer is the latter, isn’t a life-altering injury too high a price to find
out, especially for a pre-teen?
I thank you all for coming to the 59th Little League Baseball World Series, and
wish you an enjoyable time while you are with us in Williamsport.
Stephen D. Keener
President and Chief Executive Officer
Little League Baseball and Softball