The Little League Baseball World Series is an annual baseball tournament in the eastern United States for children aged 11 to 13 years old. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. The Series was first held 71 years ago in 1947 and is held every August in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Although the postal address of the organization is in Williamsport, the Series itself is played at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium at the Little League headquarters complex in South Williamsport.)
Initially, only teams from the US competed in the Series but it has since become a worldwide tournament. The tournament has gained popular renown, especially in the United States, where games from the Series and even from regional tournaments are broadcast on ESPN. In 2006, the age limit was changed to include players who turn 13 after April 30 of the same year, rather than after July 31, as had previously been the case. As the Series takes place in August, many of the players will have already turned 13 before the Series starts. In 2014 Little League originally voted to change the age cut off from April 30th to December 31st. However, this caused outrage by parents because the players born between May 1 and August 31, 2005 would have lost their 12 year old season because they would be considered to be 13 years old even though they have not reached their 13th birthday. Effective November, 2015, a new implementation plan was established, which "grandfathers" players born between May 1 and August 31, 2005 as 12-year-olds for the 2018 seasons, using the current April 30 age determination date for the 2018 season. Beginning with 2019, a new determination date of August 31 will be used, which will ban 13 year old players from participating in the Series. Thus, players would have to have their 13th birthday after August 31st.
While the Little League Baseball World Series is frequently referred to as just the Little League World Series, it is actually one of twelve tournaments sponsored by Little League International, in twelve different locations. Each of them brings community teams from different Little League International regions around the world together in baseball (five age divisions), girls' softball (four age divisions), and boys' softball (three divisions). The tournament structure described here is that used for the Little League Baseball World Series. The structure used for the other World Series is similar, but with different regions.
Video Little League World Series
Qualifying tournaments
In the summer months leading up to the Little League World Series, held each year in August, Little Leagues around the world select an All-Star team made up of players from its league. It is these All-Star teams that compete in district, sectional and/or divisional, and regional tournaments, hoping to advance to Williamsport for the Little League World Series. How many games a team has to play varies from region to region. In the United States, the tournaments at the lowest (district) level lack nationwide standardization. Some use pool play or double elimination, while others use single elimination.
In the United States, the fate of district winners varies widely from state to state. In some larger states such as Pennsylvania, New York, and California, the district winners advance to one of many sectional tournaments. The winners of each sectional tournament then advance to a state or divisional tournament, the latter only being held in Texas and California and are similar to the state tournaments held in less densely populated states. Most smaller states lack competition at the sectional level and go straight from district to state tournaments. A handful of states are composed of only one district, and the district champion is the automatic state champion.
With 4 exceptions, every state as well as the District of Columbia crowns a state champion, and sends that team to represent it to one of eight regional tournaments. The exceptions involve California, Texas, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Because of their large geographic and population sizes, California and Texas send two representatives to their regional tournament; Northern California and Southern California in the West region tournament and Texas East and Texas West (whose areas encompass more than the geographical areas of East Texas and West Texas, splitting roughly along the I-35/I-37 corridor) compete in the Southwest region tournament. Conversely, North Dakota has only one city (Fargo) that operates Little League-sponsored competitions; the Dakotas have one district spanning the two states, and its winner becomes the joint champion and advances to the Midwest region tournament.
The state champions (as well as the Northern California, Southern California, Texas East, Texas West, and Dakotas champions) compete in one of eight different regional tournaments. Each regional tournament winner then advances to the Little League World Series. See [4] for a comprehensive breakdown of current and historical US regional tournament locations, participants and results.
Other countries and regions pick their own way of crowning a champion. Little League Canada holds tournaments at the provincial and divisional level to field six champions (five provincial and one divisional) at the national tournament: Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Atlantic Provinces. The host site of the national tournament varies from year to year, and the host team gets an automatic berth as the seventh team. The tournament is played as a round robin and uses the page playoff format. The winner of the national tournament earns the right to represent Canada at the Little League World Series.
The Little League World Series consists of 16 teams-8 from the United States, and 8 from other countries. Prior to 2001 there were eight teams in the LLWS: four U.S. teams (Central, South, East, and West) and four international (Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Far East). It should be noted that in 1975 there were only four teams in the LLWS, all from the United States. The international teams returned in 1976. Starting in 1976, two brackets were established, with the four U.S. regions competing in the U.S. bracket and the four non-U.S. regions competing in the International bracket. The U.S. national champion and the International champion then compete for the World Series title.
In 2001, the number of regions was doubled to 16, from which the 16 regional champions continued to be divided into the two brackets: 8 in the United States Bracket and 8 in the International Bracket. From 2001 to 2009, however, each team was then randomly assigned to one of two "pools" in their respective bracket. In the opening days of the tournament, the teams competed round-robin within their own pool. The top two teams in each pool advanced to the semifinal of their bracket, where the first place team from one pool competed against the second place team from the other. The respective winners advanced to play in either the United States or International Final. The U.S. champion and the International champion advanced to compete in the Little League World Series Championship Game.
On April 14, 2010, Little League announced that starting in 2010, round robin play would be replaced by a double-elimination bracket in each pool. The winners of each pool would advance to single elimination US and International Championship games, and the winners of those games would advance to the World Championship game. Every team would play a minimum of three games: the four teams that lost their first two games would cross over and play U.S. vs. International games.
On June 16, 2011, it was announced that the double-elimination format had been modified. The pools were eliminated, with the eight U.S. teams continuing to compete in one bracket and the eight International teams in another bracket. The tournament remains double-elimination until the U.S. and International Championship games, where it becomes single-elimination. (That is, if the team that advances through the winner's bracket loses the championship game they are eliminated and the teams do not play a rubber game.) Each team still plays a minimum of three games, playing a "crossover" (U.S. vs. International) consolation game if eliminated after their second game.
Regions
The eight regional tournament winners which compete in the United States Bracket of the Little League World Series, as well as the states those regional champions could possibly hail from are as follows:
- New England (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT)
- Mid-Atlantic (PA, NY, NJ, MD, DC, DE)
- Midwest (ND/SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO)
- Great Lakes (MI, WI, OH, IN, IL, KY)
- Southeast (VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, TN)
- Southwest (MS, LA, AR, TX East, TX West, OK, CO, NM) *Known as Gulf States during 2001 LLWS
- Northwest (AK, WA, OR, ID, MT, WY)
- West (AZ, NV, UT, Northern CA, Southern CA, HI)
The eight divisions which compete in the International Bracket are as follows:
- Asia-Pacific and Middle East
- Australia
- Canada
- Caribbean
- Europe and Africa
- Japan
- Latin America
- Mexico
The eight divisions which compete in the United States bracket represent 96% of the players in Little League with over 2.2 million players while the eight divisions in the International bracket represent 4% of the Little League or less than 130 thousand players.
Prior to 2008, instead of two separate geographic regions, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa held two coterminous regions:
- Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA)
- Transatlantic
The Transatlantic and EMEA regions were geographically identical. Leagues from the Transatlantic region generally consisted of children and other dependents of American expatriates, typically Armed Forces personnel, international organization members, and oil company workers (such as the team representing the Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran, which advanced to the World Series 19 times through 2007, including all the tournaments from 2001 through 2007). The leagues within the "EMEA" region consisted of players native to the league's own country. Representative teams for the Trans-Atlantic region had to have at least 51% nationals of Canada, the U.S. or Japan, while teams for the EMEA region could have no more than three players from those three countries.
Teams in the reorganized Europe and MEA regions did not have nationality restrictions, as evidenced by the 2009 series. In that year, both regions were won by teams made up primarily of children of American expatriates. Europe was represented by a team from Ramstein Air Base, a United States Air Force base in Germany, while MEA was represented for the second time in its two-year existence by the team from the Saudi Aramco camp.
On August 29, 2012, Little League announced a significant realignment of the international regions, which took effect in 2013:
- Australia left the former Asia-Pacific Region and received an automatic berth in the LLWS. Australia has now become the fourth-largest country, and the largest outside North America, in Little League participation.
- The former MEA (Middle East-Africa) Region was disbanded.
- Middle Eastern countries, except for Israel and Turkey (see below), were placed in the former Asia-Pacific Region, which was renamed the Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region.
- African countries were placed in the former Europe Region, which was renamed the Europe and Africa Region. Israel and Turkey remained in the renamed Europe and Africa region; they had been in the former Europe Region as members of the European zone of the International Baseball Federation.
Maps Little League World Series
Venues
Two venues host World Series games: Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Little League Volunteer Stadium. Lamade Stadium has hosted games since 1959, and added lights in 1992. Volunteer Stadium opened in 2001 when the field expanded to 16 teams. Prior to 1959, the Little League World Series was held at Original Little League on West Fourth Street in Williamsport.
Both fields have symmetrical fences, with a distance of 68.6 m (225 feet) from home plate to each of the outfield positions. That distance had been 62.5 m (205 feet) before 2006.
Admission to all LLWS games is free for all spectators. However, stadium seats for the championship game are distributed in a random drawing of all interested parties due to high demand. Some early round games, mostly games with Pennsylvania teams, will use first-come, first-served admission if a big crowd is to be expected. Lamade Stadium has a berm beyond the fences that has allowed the facility to hold up to 45,000 spectators.
Notable events
- 1951 - A team from Montreal, Canada became the first team outside of the United States to play in the tournament.
- 1955 - The first walk-off home run in the championship game was hit by Rich Cominski, from Morrisville, Pennsylvania, in the 7th inning.
- 1957 - Monterrey, Mexico became the first team outside of the United States to win the tournament. Pitcher Miguel Ángel Macias threw a perfect game, which has not occurred in a championship game since, as of 2017.
- 1971 - Lloyd McClendon, from Gary, Indiana, hit five home runs in five official at bats over the span of three games. He was intentionally walked in his other five plate appearances.
- 1982 - Kirkland, Washington won the championship over Chiayi County, Taiwan. This snapped a streak of 31 consecutive wins by Taiwanese teams at the LLWS, and is considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of Little League.
- 1993 - Long Beach, California became the first team from the United States to win consecutive championships.
- 2005 - Michael Memea, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, won the championship with a walk-off home run in the 7th inning.
- 2007 - Dalton Carriker, from Warner Robins, Georgia, hit a walk off home run in the 8th inning in the championship game.
- 2012 - A team from Lugazi, Uganda made it to the LLWS, becoming the first team from Africa to reach the LLWS.
Little League World Series champions
- ?Forfeits due to ineligible players. Zamboanga City, Philippines was disqualified and stripped of its 1992 championship. Chicago, Illinois was stripped of its 2014 U.S. championship title, which was given to runner-up Las Vegas, Nevada.
Championship tally
Championships won by country/state
- In 1976, the tournament was split into two brackets: one for International teams, and one for teams from the United States.
Championship notes
- In November 1974, Little League Baseball banned all non-U.S. teams from the World Series for 1975. After considerable criticism, the ban was rescinded prior to 1976.
- In 1985, Mexicali, Mexico, represented the West Region of the United States in the Little League World Series. Because of its proximity to the El Centro/Calexico area in Southern California, Mexicali competed in and represented California's District 22 in the Southern California division from 1957-1985, representing the bordering city of Calexico, California. David Cardenas Cortes ( LLWS 1985 US champions ) Played in MLB for Cleveland, Colorado and Atlanta.
- In 1992, Long Beach was declared a 6-0 winner after the international tournament committee determined that Zamboanga City had used ineligible players that were either not from within its city limits, over age, or both. The championship game was originally won by Zamboanga City 15-4.
- From 1997 to 2002, no teams from Taiwan participated in the tournament. In 1997, the Taiwan Baseball Association decided its leagues would no longer charter with Little League, claiming inability to comply with rules enacted in 1992 regarding the maximum size of player pools and number of participating teams in leagues based at schools, and residency requirements, which Little League Baseball had stated it would enforce more strictly, especially after the 1992 incident. From the introduction of Far East teams in 1967 until after 1996, Taiwan had won 17 of a possible 30 championships and had been runner-up twice.
- In 2014, Chicago defeated Las Vegas for the U.S. championship before losing to Seoul, South Korea in the LLWS championship. On February 11, 2015, Chicago was stripped of its U.S. title for fielding ineligible players; it was retroactively awarded to Las Vegas.
Famous participants in the Little League World Series
- Danny Almonte - The center of significant controversy following the 2001 series due to age falsification / (2001 World Series) Bronx, New York.
- Wilson Álvarez - Former MLB player / (1982 World Series) Maracaibo, Venezuela.
- Jim Barbieri - Former MLB player / First player to play in a World Series, and a Little League World Series / 1966 MLB World Series / (1954 World Series champion) Schenectady, New York 1953 LLWS World Series runner-up / Played in back to back LLWS World Series.
- Jason Bay - Former MLB player / 2004 National League (NL) Rookie of the Year / (1990 World Series) Trail, British Columbia.
- Derek Bell - Former MLB player / 1992 MLB World Series champion / (1980 runner-up & 1981 World Series runner-up) Tampa, Florida.
- Cody Bellinger - MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers / 2007 World Series / Chandler, Arizona North Little League
- Christian Bethancourt - MLB player for the San Diego Padres / (2004 World Series) Panama City, Panama.
- Larvell Blanks - Former MLB player / (1962 World Series) Del Rio, Texas.
- Jim Brower - Former MLB pitcher / (1985 World Series) East Tonka, Minnesota.
- Sean Burroughs - Former MLB player / (1992 & 1993 World Series champions) Long Beach, California.
- Kevin Cash - Former MLB player / Current manager for the Tampa Bay Rays, 2007 MLB World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox / (1989 World Series) Tampa, Florida.
- Matt Cassel - NFL quarterback for the Tennessee Titans / (1994 World Series runner-up) Northridge, California.
- Gavin Cecchini - MLB Player for the New York Mets / (2006 World Series) Lake Charles, Louisiana.
- Chin-Feng Chen - Former MLB player / First Taiwanese-born player in MLB history / (1990 World Series champion) Tainan County, Taiwan.
- Jeff Clement - Former MLB player / (1996 World Series) Marshalltown, Iowa.
- Michael Conforto - MLB player for the New York Mets / (2004 World Series) Redmond North, Washington.
- Billy Connors - Former MLB player / (1954 World Series), Schenectady, New York 1953 LLWS runner-up Schenectady, New York. / Played in back to back LLWS.
- David Cortés - Former MLB player / 1985 World Series (1985 US champions) Mexicali, Mexico.
- Mo'ne Davis - First girl to record a win as a pitcher and to pitch a shutout / First little league player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the time of tournament play / 2014 AP Female Athlete of the Year (2014 World Series) Philadelphia.
- Austin Dillon - 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion / 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion / (2002 World Series) Forsyth County, North Carolina.
- Chris Drury - Former NHL player / 2001 Stanley Cup champion / 1998 Hobey Baker Award winner / 1999 Calder Memorial Trophy winner / (1989 World Series champion) Trumbull, Connecticut.
- Ray Ferraro - Former NHL player / (1976 World Series) Trail, British Columbia.
- Stephen Fife - MLB player for the Chicago Cubs / (1999 World Series) Boise, Idaho.
- Jeff Frazier - Former MLB player / (1995 & 1996 World Series) Toms River, New Jersey.
- Todd Frazier - MLB player for the New York Yankees / 2015 MLB Home Run Derby champion / (1998 World Series champion) Toms River, New Jersey.
- Jace Fry - MLB player for the Chicago White Sox / 2006 Little League World Series / 2006 World Series - Beaverton, Oregon
- Gale Gilbert - Former NFL quarterback / (1974 World Series runner-up) Red Bluff, California.
- Randal Grichuk - MLB player for the St. Louis Cardinals / (2003 & 2004 World Series) Richmond, Texas.
- Charlie Hayes - Former MLB player / 1996 MLB World Series champion / (1977 World Series) Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
- Ken Hubbs - Former MLB player / 1962 National League (NL) Rookie of the Year & Gold Glove Winner / (1954 World Series) Colton, California.
- Billy Hunter - Former NFL player / U.S. Prosecutor for Northern District of California / Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association / (1955 World Series runner-up) Delaware Township, New Jersey.
- Erik Johnson - Former MLB player / (1978 World Series US champion, WS runner-up) San Ramon, California.
- Keith Lampard - Former MLB player / (1958 World Series) Portland, Oregon.
- Carney Lansford - Former MLB player, 1988 & 1990 MLB World Series runner-up / 1989 MLB World Series champion / 1981 MLB Batting champ / 1988 American League (AL) All Star / 1992 Hutch Award Winner / (1969 World Series) Santa Clara, California.
- Adam Loewen - MLB player for the Arizona Diamondbacks / (1996 World Series) Surrey, British Columbia.
- Jack Losch - Former NFL player for the Green Bay Packers / (1947 World Series) Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
- Vance Lovelace - Former MLB player / (1975 World Series) Tampa, Florida.
- Lance Lynn - MLB player for the St. Louis Cardinals / (1999 World Series) Brownsburg, Indiana.
- Jason Marquis - MLB player that is a free agent / 2005 NL Silver Slugger Award / 2006 MLB World Series champion / 2009 National League (NL) All Star / (1991 World Series) Staten Island, New York.
- Stephane Matteau - Former NHL player / 1994 Stanley Cup champion / (1982 World Series) Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.
- Lloyd McClendon - Former MLB player / Current manager for the Seattle Mariners / (1971 World Series runner-up) Gary, Indiana.
- Lastings Milledge - Former MLB player / (1997 World Series) Bradenton, Florida.
- Bobby Mitchell - Former MLB player / (1967 World Series) Northridge, California.
- Max Moroff - MLB Player for the Pittsburgh Pirates / (2005 World Series) Maitland, Florida.
- Jim Pankovits - Former MLB player / (1968 World Series Runner-up) Richmond, Virginia.
- Francisco Peña - MLB player for the Kansas City Royals / (2001 World Series) Bronx, New York.
- Chad Pennington - Former NFL quarterback / (1991 World Series) Hamilton, Ohio.
- Yusmeiro Petit - MLB player for the Washington Nationals / 2014 World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants / (1994 World Series champion) Maracaibo, Venezuela.
- Marc Pisciotta - Former MLB player / (1983 World Series) Marietta, Georgia.
- Boog Powell - Former MLB player / 1969 & 1971 MLB World Series runner-up / 1966 & 1970 MLB World Series champion / (1954 World Series) Lakeland, Florida.
- Jurickson Profar - MLB player for the Texas Rangers / (2004 World Series champion / 2005 World Series runner-up) Willemstad, Curaçao.
- Guillermo Quiróz - MLB player for the Cleveland Indians / (1994 World Series champion) Maracaibo, Venezuela.
- Colby Rasmus - MLB player for the Houston Astros / (1999 World Series runner-up) Phenix City, Alabama.
- Cory Rasmus - MLB player for the Los Angeles Angels / (1999 World Series runner-up) Phenix City, Alabama.
- Brady Rodgers - MLB player for the Houston Astros / (2003 World Series) Richmond, Texas.
- Michael Saunders - MLB player for the Toronto Blue Jays / (1999 World Series) Victoria, British Columbia.
- Turk Schonert - Former NFL player / Former Offensive Coordinator for the Buffalo Bills / (1968 World Series) Garden Grove, California.
- Jonathan Schoop - MLB player for the Baltimore Orioles / (2003 World Series & 2004 World Series champion) Willemstad, Curaçao.
- Gary Sheffield - Former MLB player / 1997 MLB World Series champion / 1992 MLB Batting Champ / 7-Time National League (NL) All-Star / 2-Time American League (AL) All-Star / 5-Time Silver Slugger Award / (1980 World Series runner-up) Tampa, Florida.
- Brian Sipe - Former NFL quarterback & 1980 NFL MVP / (1961 World Series) El Cajon, California.
- Andrew Stevenson - MLB player Washington National - 2005 Little League World Series / 2005 World Series - Lafayette, Louisiana
- Carl Taylor - Former MLB player / (1954 World Series) Lakeland, Florida.
- Rubén Tejada - MLB player for the New York Mets / (2001 World Series) Santiago de Veraguas, Panama.
- Clete Thomas - MLB player that is a free agent / (1996 World Series) Panama City, Florida.
- Héctor Torres - Former MLB player / (1958 World Series Champions) Monterrey, Mexico.
- Devon Travis - MLB Player for the Toronto Blue Jays / (2003 World Series Runner-up) Boynton Beach, Florida.
- Carlos "Bobby" Treviño - Former MLB player / (1958 World Series champions) Monterrey, Mexico.
- George Tsamis - Former MLB player / (1979 World Series Runner- up ) Campbell, California.
- Pierre Turgeon - Former NHL player / 4-time NHL All-Star / (1982 World Series) Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.
- Julian Vandervelde - NFL player for the Philadelphia Eagles / (2000 World Series) Davenport, Iowa.
- Dave Veres - Former MLB player / (1978 World Series) Torrejón AFB, Spain.
- Ed Vosberg - Former MLB player / 1997 MLB World Series champion / (1973 World Series runner-up) Tucson, Arizona.
- Krissy Wendell - U.S. women's national hockey team / (1994 World Series) Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
- Dan Wilson - Former MLB player / 1996 American League (AL) All-Star / (1981 World Series) Barrington, Illinois.
- Rick Wise - Former MLB player / (1958 World Series) Portland, Oregon.
Media coverage
The first broadcast of the Little League World Series on television was on ABC Sports (now ESPN on ABC) in 1963. For years, only the championship game was televised. Since the late 1980s, when the tournament was reorganized, both the U.S. and international championships, the "semifinals", have been shown. As the years passed, more telecasts were added on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. In 2006, 28 of the 36 games were televised on the three networks.
The 2006 world championship game was to be the last telecast on ABC Sports before ESPN's complete takeover of the sports division and name change. However, the final was postponed one day because of rain and was shown by ESPN2.
In January 2007, it was announced that ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC had extended their contract with the Little League organization through 2014. That year, every game of the LLWS was scheduled to be televised for the first time, with all but one game live on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC. (The other game was to be available online at ESPN360, then shown on ESPN2 the next day.) In addition, a number of games were to be shown in high-definition on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. The championship games in all other divisions, as well as the semifinals and finals of the Little League Softball World Series, was scheduled for either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
In June 2011, it was announced that ESPN would add 17 games to its schedule on ESPN 3D.
Coverage of the qualifying games has increased in the US recently: as of 2014, all regional group games (with the exception of the Southwest and New England regions) are streamed online via the ESPN3 platform, with the semifinals joining the finals on an ESPN network. The aforementioned Southwest and New England regional games are aired in full on the Longhorn Network (itself owned by ESPN) and NESN, respectively. The increased level of participation, competition, and publicity of the Little League World Series in recent years has established a trend in the opposite direction of most other preteen sports.
Most LLWS games are broadcast live on local radio station WRAK 1400AM, which is owned by Clear Channel. The radio broadcasts are also streamed online at the LLWS page at littleleague.org.
Other divisions in Little League Baseball
Each of the other eleven divisions of Little League Baseball has its own World Series format (including three in boys' softball).
See also
- List of Little League World Series champions by division
- List of Little League World Series broadcasters
- Little League World Series on television
- The Little League World Series Baseball video game series published by Activision
- Mexico in the Little League World Series
- Danny Almonte - the center of an age fraud investigation during the 2001 series
- Amateur baseball in the United States
- List of organized baseball leagues
- Baseball awards § World (world, international-bracket, and regional champions)
- Baseball awards § U.S. youth baseball (national, regional, and state champions)
References
External links
- Little League official website
- Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum
- The Little League Baseball International Tournament (comprehensive information on district, sectional, state/provincial/country, and regional tournaments). Unpage Publications
Source of article : Wikipedia
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