Little League World Series

Little League, Big Dreams
$22.95
When I was a kid I pushed myself to play baseball. When looking back on it, I see a different perspective of kids and coaches who are both pushing and being pushed. As someone who has played at Williamsport and competed in regular Little League I thought I had seen all that it had to offer until I earned some money umpiring it as a teen.

For a large chunk of my life I played spring and fall baseball (fall was for the hard-cores, spring the middle ground and summer the lightweights[except all-stars at 11-12]} in youth baseball), and occupying my off season with camps and practicing I understand that there are limits to what children should do. At the same time I have trouble with pitch counts when I probably through an average of 200+ pitches a day for years with no problems whatsoever.

The weird thing looking back on it is that no one pushed me but me. Reading about kids being pushed by coaches and coaches by parents doesn't ring as true with my experiences playing. Unfortunately it rings true with the experiences I saw umpiring. Parents were the worst. I almost had to call a forfeit once because of parent behavior in a championship game for eight year-olds when an ejected parent has hesitant to leave.

The truely insightful sections of this book dealt not with the players, coaches, or parents but the other aspects. The commercial nature of the Series, the impact Little League has had on the way baseball is played and the competition Little League has from other organizations. The travel team system when discussed makes this book worth reading by itself. How competing leagues like the Cal Ripken League are threatening the dominance of Little League is interesting unto itself.

The most interesting section would still have to be the aforementioned impact Little League has had on the way baseball is played. From metal bats, safety gear, youths throwing curveballs and the way the long time Head of Player Safety for Little League is the most influential person in baseball in the latter half, if not the whole, twentieth century. The changes made to the way baseball is played at a young age have a profound impact on not just the way it is perceived, but how it is played at all levels.

I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest or experience playing baseball.

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$17.99

Little League World Series Baseball '08
$19.99
I am not a hard core gamer. I just love baseball and enjoy "playing" on occasion. I rented a few baseball games before buying this one. It's childish, but it didn't require hours and hours of learning to have fun with. The other more complex games just weren't fun because there were so many elements to learn. This game is simple, quick to learn, and not frustrating. I also don't like games with a bunch of power moves that make it unrealistic. This game has very little of that. It seems that only one player on a team can really use the special moves, and only when the meter is full, which seems to be only a couple times per game. The game play is more complex and realistic than Wii Sports, but not so much that it is difficult to play. That's all I wanted in a game. I am not a kid, but I would assume this game is good for kids because of its simplicity.

Little League World Series Baseball '08
$19.99
It was too much fun watching the Little League World Series this year and playing it at the same time!