What is a Little League Baseball Team?

Little League is a United States based nonprofit organization created by Carl Stoltz in the year 1930s. At first, Stoltz organized a very small group in Pennsylvania, with three baseball teams for kids that competed against each other. From this early start; Little League has grown to a huge size, with over 2 million players participating every year. Baseball programs for kids and teens can choose to affiliate with Little League, which widens opportunities for kids to participate with lots of other kids, and if their team is successful, may allow them to move on to games with teams in other divisions of the country. The association has affiliates in the US, Europe, Latin America, Canada, Asia and Australia.

United States Little League teams are controlled by region, and each region also organizes its teams by age and experience. In large towns there may be some Little League affiliates, organized by school district or area. Normally, to belong to a certain group, you have to live within the geographical boundaries for that group.

Depending upon the size of each program, teams are controlled based on ages. The youngest players, from the ages of 5-8 play Tee ball, where no pitching occurs, and scoring may be relatively insignificant. Kids from the ages of 7-12 may be placed in one of two groups, Minors, for kids with a small amount of experience, and Majors, for kids with more physical skill. Minors may be more divided for younger ages by using pitching machines. It's quite a jump for kids to move into pitched games, because pitches are often wild, and more walks than actual hits occur.

Little League also has Junior and Senior Leagues, and Big Leagues, and age necessities may be flexible. However juniors are typically for 13-14 year olds, an experienced child in majors might play on junior's team. 14-16 year olds might play on Senior teams, but a 16 year old might play on a Big Team too. Some groups may also offer softball teams, while many groups allow both boys and girls to play on baseball teams. A few large groups include Challenger Division teams for children who have disabilities.

Participating in Little League can be a satisfying experience for children, or it can be difficult. Although the organization has standards emphasizing fair play, and good behavior of parents and kids at games, not all leagues are created equal.

Some groups are disreputably competitive, and children may feel extraordinary pressure to compete. Others are much more laid back and are just about having fun together and learning how to play baseball or softball. Senior or Big teams tend to be the most demanding, because children who play on these teams may be considering professional or at least college participation in baseball teams.



There can be two different prices for participation, a parent volunteer price and a parent non-volunteer price. If you are not willing to commit time and effort into helping with your child or children's team/s, then you may have to pay more. You should provide most equipment, like bats, gloves, pants, socks, and shoes. A few groups have funds to help out kids with few resources and may also waive fees for participation and/or help pay for needed supplies.

For many, involvement in Little League is simply about playing baseball or softball locally for a few years. Others thrive on competition and the best teams will participate with other districts, and can even move up to competition in the Little League Baseball World Series, held every August in Pennsylvania. Kids who get this distant compete with both American teams and teams from other countries.

How is Baseball Teams Ranked?

Baseball rankings for teams are compiled in different ways by various authorities. Depending on which publication or source you read, you can find different ways of comparing the efficiency and success of various teams. With the overwhelming evidence of statistics, however, baseball rankings, in most cases, are compiled according to the same numbers.

During the baseball season, the main way that baseball rankings are displayed is by the teams' win-loss record. Because only the top four teams in each of the two leagues advance to the fall playoffs, baseball rankings reflect mostly how many games each team wins and loses as compared to the other teams in their divisions. Baseball has two leagues, the American and the National, and both leagues have three divisions. For both leagues, the winner of each division and the team with the next-best record overall make it to the playoffs. Baseball rankings show which teams have the best win-loss records all over the season, so it is not a surprise which teams make it to the playoffs.

Baseball rankings also include the different statistics that make the sport so detail-oriented. One of the statistics is the batting average. A batter's average is how many times he gets a hit in the entire number of at-bats he has.

The batter's standard is a strict percentage. For instance, if a batter gets three hits in ten at-bats, his batting average is .333. Baseball ranking list teams by batting average. It is not always the case that the teams with the highest team batting average advance to the playoffs, but this is a general occurrence.

On the pitching side of the equation is the Earned Run Average (ERA), the number of runs not caused by error that a pitcher allows for the innings he pitches. The key word in there is an error. If a run scores since of an error, the pitcher is not "charged" for that run. In nearly every case, the lower a pitcher's ERA, the more successful he is.

ERA is calculated in a different way than batting average. The standard is nine innings, which is how long a baseball game generally lasts. If a pitcher gives up single earned run every inning for nine innings, his ERA is 9.00. If he gives up only three runs in nine innings, then his ERA are 3.00. Teams combine their pitchers' ERA for a team ERA, and the team with the lowest group ERA is at the top of the list. As with batting average, it is usually the case that the teams with the lowest ERA are those at or near the top of their division.

Almost every other statistic in baseball lends itself to rankings, both for the individual and for the team. Baseball rankings consist of categories like hits, runs, doubles, triples, home runs, errors, on-base percentage and defensive fielding percentage. In all of these categories, baseball rankings list teams from best to worst. About the single category that a team doesn't want to lead is errors.

Fastpitch Softball Pitching Fundamentals

Different types of Baseball Bats

At one time, baseball bats were all manufactured out of some kind of hard wood. Today, there are really several different types of baseball bats in common use. The types of baseball bats often differ based on division and league specifications that govern the equipment that is considered the standard for all teams associated with a given league and the divisions that make up the league. This means that different types of baseball bats will be in general use in a minor or amateur league that would not be present in a major league.

In spite of the proliferation of differences in the bats used today, the old fashioned wooden baseball bat still tends to be the most general of all types. At one time, hickory bats were the most general type of baseball bat. While providing a great deal of toughness, hickory bats are also among the heaviest bats ever produced.

Currently, white ash is often the wood of choice for these types of baseball bats, because the wood is sturdy and resists cracking under pressure. White ash also produces a bat that is light enough to allow the batter to get a swing of adequate speed and force, but not so light that it makes hitting a baseball out of the park a task of no real import. Along with white ash bats, maple are also a popular option, though the maple bat tends to cost a little more than bats manufactured of white ash.


The aluminum baseball bat is of more recent period than wooden bats. First produced in the 1970's, aluminum bats rapidly gained supporters. This was mostly due to the fact that these types of baseball bats are lightweight, but also extremely durable. In the early years, it soon became obvious that the aluminum bat made it very easy to hit the ball great distances. The major leagues discontinued the use of the aluminum bat, mainly in order to avoid rendering previous records set with the heavier wooden bats irrelevant. However, some amateur and minor leagues allow the aluminum bat, even though the usage is not universal by any means.

New designs for types of baseball bats have appeared over the years. The so-called Baum Bat of the early 1990's attempted to make a transition bat that would help a minor league player who is picked for a major league team to make the transition from lighter bats to a heavier wooden bat. A few companies have created and attempted to market a bat made from billets of bamboo. Though, bats composed of several of hardwoods continue to be the types of baseball bats favored by the majority of players across the board.

What are the Differences between the American and National Leagues?

Major league baseball is a popular game played in thirty host cities all over the United States. Out of the 30 teams, 14 compete in the American League (AL) and 16 compete in the National League (NL). Further than the number of teams in each league, there are a few other minor differences between the leagues and one major difference.

In the first World Series, played in 1903, the Boston Pilgrims (AL) beaten the Pittsburgh Pirates (NL). In World Series play, the AL holds a determined advantage, having won 58 championships to the NL's 41. The first All-Star game was held in Chicago's Comiskey Park in 1933 as a means for baseball to platform its star players. Over the years, the NL has won 49 All-Star games and the AL has won 31. Unluckily, the 2002 game ended in a tie, the lone time that has happened in All-Star history.

The NL was the first league to combine as Jackie Robinson was the first African-American player to play major league baseball. He broke the color fence in 1947 as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The AL followed suit a few months later as Cleveland's Larry Doby became the initial black player in that league.

The main difference between the AL and NL lies in the fact that the American League allows a designated hitter while the NL does not. A designated hitter (DH) is a player permitted to bat in place of the pitcher. As a effect of using the DH, AL teams tend to average more runs than do NL teams as they have an additional solid batter in their lineup. AL pitchers not at all bat. The DH was introduced around the year 1973 season. On April 6, 1973, to be correct, New York Yankee player Ron Blomberg became the first DH to ever bat in a major league game. In the NL, pitchers still bat and while they may not be good hitters, they are expected to be able to make an efficient bunt when called upon.


During World Series play and inter-league play, where AL and NL teams play each other, the regulations of the home team apply. For example, if a game is held in an AL city like Boston, the DH rule is in effect and both teams are allowed to use a designated hitter. When games are held in NL stadiums, neither team is permitted a DH. Baseball purists would like to see the DH position done away with, but it is now well-established in the AL and is unlikely to be pushed aside.

Different Varities of Baseball

On the market, there are several different types of baseballs made from different "centre" material such as cork, rubber and polyurethane. The most important feature of these types of baseballs is that it offers cheaper alternatives to the traditional yarn wound baseballs. Though they are generally considered of lower quality and are not used in major leagues.

In a baseball, there is a pill, which is a small sphere of cork and rubber enclosed in a rubber shell. The pill is strongly wounded with three different layers of yarn and finished with a winding of cotton or polyester yarn. It forms the core. A final yarn is then applied to keep the ball tight and "together".

The ball is then dipped in a latex cement to give tacky surface to aid in adhering the cover to the core, as having this surface allows the cover to stay in contact with the core during the sewing process. Generally, the highest quality leather (alum-tanned leather) is used as cover material. It provides a soft supple feel, while providing good sewing uniqueness and good impact durability. Split leather from cowhide is also used to make cheap cost leather ball. Various synthetic covers are used to reduce the cost of ball production.

The ball is then hand-stitched with a red cotton thread in a 104-stitch pattern.

According to Major League Baseball's authorized rules for baseball

"The ball shall be a sphere formed by yarn wound around a small core of cork, rubber or related material, covered with two stripes of white horsehide or cowhide, tightly stitched together. It shall weigh not less than five or more than 5 1/4 ounces avoirdupois and measure not less than nine nor more than 9 1/4 inches in circumference." The manufacture of a baseball varies. Generally a baseball has a circumference of approximately 9 inches (23cm) and a mass of approximately 5 ounces (132g).

Curveball

As the ball spins, its top surface moves in the similar direction in which the air moves. However at the base of the ball, the ball's surface and the air move in opposite directions. As a effect, the velocity of the air relative to that of the ball's surface is larger on the bottom of the ball. The high velocity puts stress on the air flowing around the bottom of the ball and this makes air flowing around the ball "break away" from the ball's surface. The air at the top of the spinning ball is subjected to not as much of stress due to the lower velocity difference and hence can "hang onto" the ball's surface longer before it breaks away. The air flowing over the top of the ball will leave it in a direction pointing a little downwards relatively the usual straight back. According to Newton's 3rd law, the spinning ball throws the air down and the air pushes the ball up in reaction. The faster the rate of spin, the further the ball's path curves.

Knuckleball

Some people consider that when a baseball is thrown without a spin, it would dance through the air in an unpredictable manner due to any passing breeze. However this might not be the actual reason why the ball appears to "dance". Researchers have found out small changes to the orientation of the ball with respect to the flow of air result in dramatic changes in the forces acting on the baseball. Both the magnitude and the direction of the forces acting on the baseball change, thus the baseball appears to "dance" due to it having a slow spin. But the mechanism by which the forces change magnitude and direction has not been determined. It was clear that the stitch on the baseball is the reason behind it. The stitches on the baseball will most likely cause the boundary layer to trip to a confused state. Once the boundary layer becomes confused, a separated flow tends to reattach. This reattachment will significantly alter the forces acting on the ball. Similarly as the baseball rotates, due to the position of the stitches, a region that was confused might become laminar. The laminar flow will separate from the turbulent flow and cause the forces on the baseball to swing.