Little league baseball.....then vs. now (3 Viewers)

[Outbackjack]

As I was walking back from the cages (my high school son getting some tee work) at the local baseball complex....I saw something shocking as a 4/5 (?) year old was headed to practice.

My son umps for the little kids...and to watch him reminds me of how different it is today,

Now I played baseball in the mid 1970s out at Driftwood Park in Kenner.

After seeing this little kid today, it struck me about the massive differences.

1. Every kid now has a baseball bag that is a HUGE backpack....I used to carry my bat to games, over my shoulder....with my glove secured to it through the hand hole.
2. Surely in his bag is a personal helmet......coach used to bring 4 “team helmets” in that army green bag.
3. When you reached base, they traded out your helmet for the earmuff looking base running helmet.
4. The kid had 2!!! Gatorade tall squeeze bottles, in the “bottle netting” compartment of his bag......it never crossed my mind, or anyone’s, to bring a drink to the park.
5. Coaches pitch from one knee about 15 feet away...which is a good thing for the littlest ages......at 5 we had this massive warehouse fan sized “pitching machine” with the swinging arm would fire balls at us...and I’ll never forget the plug running across the infield.
6. As kids play now, there is no noise from the defense.....we used to “chatter” all the time.....hey batter, batter, swing!!!!! Still recall that like it was yesterday.
7. Kids are in FULL uniforms in rec.....we had matching mesh T Shirts that said Driftwood.....and jeans!!!
8. Where I went today is a “complex”....5 manicured fields, with full dugouts...around a concession stand, impressive scoreboards at each.....we had one backstop. And a bench behind the screen was the dugout. And no outfield fence.
9. Saw fields lined, with real bases attached by plugs sliding into grooves. We had a dirt/grass/weed mixture with actual “bags” for bases.
10. Now the on deck batter goes behind the hitter, even if it’s to the other side....lefty hitter, on deck goes to first base side. I remember being really close on deck and facing the hitter’s front.
11. And now when someone gets dinged by the ball, everyone on the field immediately takes a knee presumably out of respect. I don’t recall what we did, but it wasn’t that. I imagine tossed the injured behind the fence and said Play Ball!!

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Yup, there are all kinds of new ways to separate parents from their money
Also you forgot year-round traveling leagues, where you have to pay a decent chunk of money to travel and play baseball

 

[St. Chris]

I played on the west bank in Algiers in the 70's. I don't know how it is now, but every memory you listed goes for me too. I would also add, most parents were not there (including mine) and the ones that were did not tell the coach how to do his job. I get the impression from stories I hear, that that is not the case these days.

 

[JimEverett]

back where i played when you got a foul ball you would return it to the concession stand and get a coke.

also - parents stay for practice now. i was one of the few kids whose parents drove me to practice - the rest rode their bikes (coach brought the bats, all kids brought were gloves) or walked - like you wrote st. chris.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

back where i played when you got a foul ball you would return it to the concession stand and get a coke.

also - parents stay for practice now. i was one of the few kids whose parents drove me to practice - the rest rode their bikes (coach brought the bats, all kids brought were gloves) or walked - like you wrote st. chris.

Ha yup
Foul ball left the park and kids would go scrambling for it

 

[Craigj]

I feel bad for the parents who can't afford hundreds of dollars per year spent to play baseball. I played little league in the 90s. I would get a new glove every couple of years because the old one was falling apart. The coach would bring a couple of bats, balls, helmets and catchers gear in one big bag. You also weren't considered a bad parent if you didn't go to every single game.

 

[efil4stnias]

I played on the west bank in Algiers in the 70's. I don't know how it is now, but every memory you listed goes for me too. I would also add, most parents were not there (including mine) and the ones that were did not tell the coach how to do his job. I get the impression from stories I hear, that that is not the case these days.

with who?

 

[JimEverett]

I feel bad for the parents who can't afford hundreds of dollars per year spent to play baseball. I played little league in the 90s. I would get a new glove every couple of years because the old one was falling apart. The coach would bring a couple of bats, balls, helmets and catchers gear in one big bag. You also weren't considered a bad parent if you didn't go to every single game.

I do as well.

The amateur model for baseball is very screwed up and it results in losing a lot of talent. It is a result of the nature of baseball itself to some degree (have to get hundreds of reps to get a meaningful evaluation) but it still stinks.

 

[efil4stnias]

Yup, there are all kinds of new ways to separate parents from their money
Also you forgot year-round traveling leagues, where you have to pay a decent chunk of money to travel and play baseball

this has been covered here before. Its a racket. They prey on your ( as a parent ) willingness to do whatever to give your child an edge. They tell you exactly what you want to hear. So you accept. Then comes the fees. $2500 here, $1000 here, $300 for ONE Marruci bat, $300 for a glove, the travel etc.

and by the time your child is 15, he is burnt out.

My oldest started tennis at 7. The coach called us into her office. Said your child is "gifted" and a lefty, which gives her a decided advantage. She said she wanted to work with her, 3 times a week. Would mean a commitment from her and us. This meeting lasted about 15 min.

At the very end, i said" one question" - what is the cost? Ill never forget her reply ( ever)- " you cannot put a price on success".

I said not only can I, i am. $250 a week, plus travel ( for tournaments ) - ok thank you.

Point was- she went RIGHT at the heart of what a parent wants to do - give their child every chance at succeeding.

They have the pitch down to a science. There is no more "rec" ball- well there is, but thats for losers.

 

[SaintJ]

As I was walking back from the cages (my high school son getting some tee work) at the local baseball complex....I saw something shocking as a 4/5 (?) year old was headed to practice.

My son umps for the little kids...and to watch him reminds me of how different it is today,

Now I played baseball in the mid 1970s out at Driftwood Park in Kenner.

After seeing this little kid today, it struck me about the massive differences.

1. Every kid now has a baseball bag that is a HUGE backpack....I used to carry my bat to games, over my shoulder....with my glove secured to it through the hand hole.
2. Surely in his bag is a personal helmet......coach used to bring 4 “team helmets” in that army green bag.
3. When you reached base, they traded out your helmet for the earmuff looking base running helmet.
4. The kid had 2!!! Gatorade tall squeeze bottles, in the “bottle netting” compartment of his bag......it never crossed my mind, or anyone’s, to bring a drink to the park.
5. Coaches pitch from one knee about 15 feet away...which is a good thing for the littlest ages......at 5 we had this massive warehouse fan sized “pitching machine” with the swinging arm would fire balls at us...and I’ll never forget the plug running across the infield.
6. As kids play now, there is no noise from the defense.....we used to “chatter” all the time.....hey batter, batter, swing!!!!! Still recall that like it was yesterday.
7. Kids are in FULL uniforms in rec.....we had matching mesh T Shirts that said Driftwood.....and jeans!!!
8. Where I went today is a “complex”....5 manicured fields, with full dugouts...around a concession stand, impressive scoreboards at each.....we had one backstop. And a bench behind the screen was the dugout. And no outfield fence.
9. Saw fields lined, with real bases attached by plugs sliding into grooves. We had a dirt/grass/weed mixture with actual “bags” for bases.
10. Now the on deck batter goes behind the hitter, even if it’s to the other side....lefty hitter, on deck goes to first base side. I remember being really close on deck and facing the hitter’s front.
11. And now when someone gets dinged by the ball, everyone on the field immediately takes a knee presumably out of respect. I don’t recall what we did, but it wasn’t that. I imagine tossed the injured behind the fence and said Play Ball!!

I coached my sons for 10 years in Little League until the younger one just sort of retired after one year of moving to 90-foot bases and travel teams -- "Dad, it's just not fun anymore," which was the simple truth, and that was that. The older one switched to lacrosse after two years but the younger one played LL from tee ball at five through majors at 12, and he still talks about how fun it all was for him.

I enjoyed the list and it made me smile. For fun, I went through these with my own thoughts:

1. Yes, but see #2.
2. The word is "lice" -- now a major fear, and this is very mom-driven, even though lice are pretty rare. So we got him a helmet rather than listen to mom worry and frantically check his head after every game/practice. That helmet probably added two years to MY life.
3. Well.....yes, and now you have your own helmet.
4. Agreed. Nothing wrong with some kid having a cold drink on a hot night at some point in a two-hour game, though.
5. Yes. Our district went tee ball, coach pitch, one year of machine pitch (back to coach pitch on nights the machine broke), and then kid-pitch starting at age nine.
6. Agreed. There is less "hey batter batter."
7. Our district, you get a jersey (really just a quick-dri T-shirt with a your team's major league logo), a cap with the logo, and socks that color. You go buy your own baseball pants, which is a switch from the jeans. Also a lot of kids have cleats, and not sneakers. But I am pretty sure that 50 or so years ago I too got a jersey, cap and socks.
8. Absolutely a difference. From ages 5-8 we just used township and grammar school fields with a backstop and a bench behind a fence. We are land-locked and only had two fields, one had wooden covers over the benches, and the one for majors (kids 11-12) actually had cinder-block dugouts with solid constructed roofs. But I do remember a concession stand at Lakeview.
9. From 5-8, it was whatever that particular field had, and often we brought our own bases. Once you got to minors (9-10 years old) we had the real bases, and some dad would do the base/foul lines with the chalk liner bucket on wheels.
10. We did not have "on deck" -- you couldn't leave the dugout until it was your turn to bat. Honestly, from a safety and common sense standpoint, I have no problem with this.
11. I remember play stopping when I'd get hit by a pitch, once when I got hit in the head, once when it just knocked the wind out of me. For our own team, my rule if you got stung by a ball in the field, you could either (1) cry and stay in the game or (2) not cry but come out; this ended up having the desired effect, the kid would dry his eyes and go back to his position. (Obviously, someone really hurt is taken care of.)

Two final comments:

1. By and large, for all those years almost every coach really just wanted to make sure every kid got involved, had some fun and tried to improve. Playing time is split up evenly by rule, which is great at that age, kids grown and develop at different rates. Pitch counts are strict. We make the kids play all different positions (within reason). It is very competitive and we are all trying to win --we keep score, there are standings, and playoffs at the end of the season -- but there is plenty of time for focusing more on winning than development when the kids get older.

2. The increased parental involvement is great. Whole families come out to watch the games. Parents pitch in to help coach, give each others' kids rides, help repair the field (we had a big flood once knock down a fence), get it ready for game day when it's been raining... And involved parents do not complain, because they are invested and see up close that we are just having fun with our kids.

I understand that there are negative anecdotes out there about youth sports, but in particular my middle son and I had eight great years together in Little League, and we both miss it. I have to assume that one day, maybe I'll be a grandfather out there watching my boy coach his child. No guarantees in life, but Lord willing it's something nice to look forward to.

 

[antipop]

Now I played baseball in the mid 1970s out at Driftwood Park in Kenner.

Galatas, brah...

i played there in the 80s...lived right across the street from home plate...

 

[efil4stnias]

I coached my sons for 10 years in Little League until the younger one just sort of retired after one year of moving to 90-foot bases and travel teams -- "Dad, it's just not fun anymore," which was the simple truth, and that was that. The older one switched to lacrosse after two years but the younger one played LL from tee ball at five through majors at 12, and he still talks about how fun it all was for him.

I enjoyed the list and it made me smile. For fun, I went through these with my own thoughts:

1. Yes, but see #2.
2. The word is "lice" -- now a major fear, and this is very mom-driven, even though lice are pretty rare. So we got him a helmet rather than listen to mom worry and frantically check his head after every game/practice. That helmet probably added two years to MY life.
3. Well.....yes, and now you have your own helmet.
4. Agreed. Nothing wrong with some kid having a cold drink on a hot night at some point in a two-hour game, though.
5. Yes. Our district went tee ball, coach pitch, one year of machine pitch (back to coach pitch on nights the machine broke), and then kid-pitch starting at age nine.
6. Agreed. There is less "hey batter batter."
7. Our district, you get a jersey (really just a quick-dri T-shirt with a your team's major league logo), a cap with the logo, and socks that color. You go buy your own baseball pants, which is a switch from the jeans. Also a lot of kids have cleats, and not sneakers. But I am pretty sure that 50 or so years ago I too got a jersey, cap and socks.
8. Absolutely a difference. From ages 5-8 we just used township and grammar school fields with a backstop and a bench behind a fence. We are land-locked and only had two fields, one had wooden covers over the benches, and the one for majors (kids 11-12) actually had cinder-block dugouts with solid constructed roofs. But I do remember a concession stand at Lakeview.
9. From 5-8, it was whatever that particular field had, and often we brought our own bases. Once you got to minors (9-10 years old) we had the real bases, and some dad would do the base/foul lines with the chalk liner bucket on wheels.
10. We did not have "on deck" -- you couldn't leave the dugout until it was your turn to bat. Honestly, from a safety and common sense standpoint, I have no problem with this.
11. I remember play stopping when I'd get hit by a pitch, once when I got hit in the head, once when it just knocked the wind out of me. For our own team, my rule if you got stung by a ball in the field, you could either (1) cry and stay in the game or (2) not cry but come out; this ended up having the desired effect, the kid would dry his eyes and go back to his position. (Obviously, someone really hurt is taken care of.)

Two final comments:

1. By and large, for all those years almost every coach really just wanted to make sure every kid got involved, had some fun and tried to improve. Playing time is split up evenly by rule, which is great at that age, kids grown and develop at different rates. Pitch counts are strict. We make the kids play all different positions (within reason). It is very competitive and we are all trying to win --we keep score, there are standings, and playoffs at the end of the season -- but there is plenty of time for focusing more on winning than development when the kids get older.

2. The increased parental involvement is great. Whole families come out to watch the games. Parents pitch in to help coach, give each others' kids rides, help repair the field (we had a big flood once knock down a fence), get it ready for game day when it's been raining... And involved parents do not complain, because they are invested and see up close that we are just having fun with our kids.

I understand that there are negative anecdotes out there about youth sports, but in particular my middle son and I had eight great years together in Little League, and we both miss it. I have to assume that one day, maybe I'll be a grandfather out there watching my boy coach his child. No guarantees in life, but Lord willing it's something nice to look forward to.

that was the good ole days.

Go to a travel ball game today. Just listen to the parents. You will be shocked at the very least.

 

[St. Chris]

with who?

Norman Playground. Part of NORD. By St. Andrew's school.

 

[JimEverett]

Ii will put in a defense for the tourney/travel ball teams:

League ball has changed where I am at. It really is not competitive. Nothing like what league ball was when I was growing up. And it is boring when the kids start to pitch because there are not enough pitchers that can get the ball close to the strike zone.
To top it off, a lot of the leagues I am familiar with tend to stack teams. Why they do this, I don;t know because they end up winning every game like 20-1: no one gets anything out of it.

Lastly, I find thte rec parents to be infinitely worse than the tourney ball parents. Worse about complaining to coaches about playing time, worse towards umpires, worse towards other kids playing.

 

[efil4stnias]

Norman Playground. Part of NORD. By St. Andrew's school.

ok. know it well. saw your age and wondered if you played with the likes of Mike Hoyland or Jeff Davis....