Willow Glen Little League: 2010 Spring Season 2012 Baseball Divisions
Minor AA (ages 8 through 10) - Minor AA builds upon Minor A by adding player pitching, limited base stealing, and 9-man defensive platoons. Minor AA is also the 1st level where teams are drafted based on the results of Player Try-outs. All players who attended Try-outs and were not drafted onto Majors or Minor AAA teams are eligible for the Minor AA draft. Games are played both within WGLL teams and with other leagues. Inter-league games are called interlock. Games typically 6 innings, but are usually limited by a 2-hour time limit with no new innings starting after 1:45 elapsed time from the first pitch.. This level is very close to full "Little League" baseball rules, but has a number of limitations to make it more suitable for players not quite ready for the upper levels. The Minor AA level is ideal for those 8 through 10 year olds who are ready to move beyond Minor A, but are not quite ready for competitive level of play in Minor AAA. 7 year olds wishing to play Minor AA may attend Try-outs and make themselves eligible for the draft.
Minor AAA
Minor AAA (ages 9 through 11) - Minor AAA is the official "Minor League" of Little League baseball, and follows the official Little League Baseball rules. Games are 6 innings long, and typically last close to 2 hours. Minor AAA teams are formed using a draft based on the Player Try-outs. All players not drafted into Majors and not restricting themselves to Minor AA or A are eligible to be drafted at this level. Games are played both within WGLL teams and with other leagues. The Minor AAA champion in WGLL will advance to the District 12 Minor Tournament of Champions (TOC). The Minor AAA level is ideal for those 9 to 11 year olds who are ready to play full Little League baseball, but are better suited to the less advanced level of Minors. 8 year olds may also make themselves available for the Minor AAA draft if desired.
Majors
Majors (ages 10 through 12) - The Majors level is the "official" level of Little League Baseball. This is the level of players which competes for the right to advance to the Little League World Series each year. The rules in Majors are similar to Minor AAA; the level of play is just more advanced here. Games are played both within WGLL teams and with other leagues. The Majors teams are formed using a player draft system. All players not drafted into Majors will be available for the Minor AAA and Minor AA drafts. The Majors champion in WGLL will advance to the District 12 Majors Tournament of Champions (TOC).
T-ball
T-Ball (ages 5 through 7) - T-Ball is the introductory level of baseball in WGLL. The primary emphasis in T-Ball is on having fun and developing a love for baseball while teaching very basic skills. This is a non-competitve level and no scores are kept for any games. Games are 3 innings long, and every player both bats (off of a Tee) and plays in the field every inning. For the 1st half of a season, players remain on base regardless of put-outs (there aren't many in T-Ball!). In the 2nd half Managers will typically begin pulling runners off of bases when they are put out, but the number of outs in an inning is still not recorded. All 5 year olds must play T-Ball. Most 6 year olds should also play T-Ball (the only exception is for strong 6 year old players who are ready to advance and who have played at least 1 year of T-Ball). Some 7 year olds who are not quite ready to hit pitched balls will also play T-Ball. Games typically last about 60-90 minutes in T-Ball.
Minor A
Minor A - (ages 7 through 9) This is the next level up from T-Ball, and the primary difference is that the hitting tee is replaced by coach pitch. Each batter will receive up to 7 pitched balls, and his turn at bat ends when he puts a ball into play or exhausts all 7 balls. There are no walks or strikeouts in Minor A, and there is no base stealing. Like T-Ball, this is a non-competitive level of play and no score is kept. All players will bat in the 1st inning (ie, the inning doesn't stop at 3 outs) although defensive put-outs will be recorded. Games are 3 innings, and the 2nd and 3rd innings will end when all players have batted or 3 defensive put-outs are recorded. All players also play in the field each inning, although no more than 6 infielders (including pitcher and catcher) may be used. Most 7 year olds play Minor A, and a good portion of 8 year olds also play Minor A. 8, 9 and 10 year olds who are not quite ready for the competitive and advanced nature of Minor AA find a good home in Minor A. 6 year olds can petition to play at this level is they have played at least one year of T-Ball. All players not attending Try-Outs will be automatically placed on a Minor A team. Games typically last 60-90 minutes.
Juniors
Juniors (ages 13 through 14) - The Juniors level is the next level for players graduating from Majors. The primary difference between Juniors and Majors is that Juniors play on the "big diamond" (90 foot base paths instead of 60 feet, just like the big leagues!). The Juniors level also increases games to 7 innings. WGLL typically fields only a couple Junior teams, so most of the games are played against teams from other leagues in our District. Juniors home games are played at Del Mar High School.
Seniors
Seniors (ages 14 through 16) - The Seniors level is designed to co-exist with High School baseball. The Seniors season doesn't begin until early May, after the high school baseball season has ended. This level is ideal for those players who are too old for Juniors, and for those high school players who wish to keep playing baseball. Like Juniors, most of the Seniors games are played against teams from other leagues in our District.
San Jose American
