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The Little League World Series is classic, like Ted Williams batting. But you could also say the 2024 edition of the Little League World Series was a sad, over-commercialized exploitation of children. The LLWS Tournament was on ESPN for almost the entire month of August. Teams of eleven and twelve-year-olds from across the country and around the world, along with their parent-volunteer coaches all gathered in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the event. It ended on August 25, 2024, when Lake Mary Little League of Florida beat Chinese Taipei 2-1 in 8 innings, in the most exciting game ever. It was both enjoyable and sad to watch at the same time.
The 2024 Little League International Championship Game
Lake Mary scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, in what is extra innings for Little League baseball. Little League baseball games last six innings. In this game, the winning run was scored when Lake Mary bunted and no body on the Chinese Taipei team was covering first base. A very exciting, and tragic, end to the game. The children on the team from Chinese Taipei cried, and the players from Lake Mary Little Legue consoled them. While the ESPN announcers and sportscasters everywhere heralded that winning bunt, everyone felt sorry for the Chinese Taipei team. ESPN does a great job broadcasting the World Series, but at what expense? Eleven and twelve-year-olds on television, with all that pressure, just to make money.
In your garden variety Little Legue game in your hometown there is a lot of pressure on the kids, what with all of their friends and family in attendance. Added pressure comes when you make it a play-off or local championship game. Now imagine what it is like when you put those children on television. Holy cow! Those children should be in school. Do you know how hard it is to get to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania? Very hard, possibly more difficult than winning a gold medal at the Olympics. The kids are already winners just for making it to Williamsport. To do so they need to win their district tournament, the state tournament, and the regional tournament. Their entire summer vacation is dedicated just to Little League Baseball.
Little League Baseball Reach and Difficulty
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According to the Little League International website, there are approximately two-million boys and girls who play Little League Baseball and Softball worldwide, in 80 countries and all 50 states, all trying to get into this tournament. Because baseball, like life, is all about luck, the line drives get caught and the pop fly’s fall in. To win all of those tournaments the teams that make it to Williamsport, PA are very lucky indeed, maybe they are luckier than they are good? As evidence, notice that while there are a few Major Leaguers that played in the Little League World Series, the vast majority of kids that play in the Little League World Series do not make it to Major League Baseball. In fact, they are out of baseball by the time they graduate high school.
We went to watch the Little League World Series once. We went there on vacation. Little League baseball is a great institution. My oldest son had played in the district tournament with his local team in 2017. They lost, but the winning team moved on to win the state and regional tournaments and go to Williamsport. or having made it all the way to Williamsport. The winner of the game would make the Little League World Series Championship Game and be on ESPN. This sounded exciting for the kids at the time. Looking at it now, was it really good for the kids or were they being exploited for money?
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