Western Regional: Seven up, seven down
By John Murphy
After covering the Western Regional for eight years, here are my ideas on what's a hit and what needs the heave-ho at the regional and in Little League baseball.
Without further ado, seven up and seven down about the show at Al Houghton Stadium and beyond:
THUMBS UP
VOLUNTEERS: They make the regional go. The umps, the grounds crew, the press box denizens and all of the others deserve our sincere admiration. Sometimes I wonder why they do it, but it's apparent they have tremendous camaraderie and love to help youngsters.
CHALLENGER GAMES: Incredible. One only needs to see the smiles on the faces of these mentally or physically disabled players to realize the worth of this program.
SPORTSMANSHIP: When you see a third baseman shake the hand of an opponent who has just hit a home run, you realize it's not life and death to these kids - at least not yet.
PIN-TRADING: It's the current version of collecting pogs, only with something cooler and more unique to attain.
TEAM 14 HOSTS: Should be considered for saint-hood. Most humorous statement came from Montana host Ray Imbriani: "Guys, go in the barracks and I'll pretend like I'm watching you."
INTERVIEW ROOM: It's air-conditioned at that's not bad. Eliminates the conflicts between the media and security.
ICE CREAM GUYS: Funny costumes, inexpensive confections. What's not to like?
THUMBS DOWN
PRE-GAME CEREMONIES: Tedious, seemingly endless.
Dump the players' pledge and all the other pledges. Stop introducing everyone in the ballpark. Ground rules would suffice.
ROSTERS: Each team should be required to have 14 players, not a "maximum" of 14. If this is such a worthwhile experience, allow the greatest amount of youngsters to enjoy it. Don't allow some teams to gain a competitive advantage by only carrying 12 players.
PLAYER PARTICIPATION: Get rid of the courtesy runners, except when running for the catcher. Constant substituting slows the game. Each player should get two innings in the field and one at-bat.
PITCH COUNT: Keep the 85-pitch count rule. Re-think the concept of being eligible to pitch the next game if you throw fewer than 20 pitches. This also slows the game and sometimes puts wild, dangerous pitchers on the mound - just ask the kid who had his arm broken by a pitch in an earlier area tournament.
REFRESHMENTS: No more food stands with $6.50 cheeseburgers and $4 hot dogs. Please. Even the Western Regional volunteers are complaining.
MUSIC: Nothing by Queen or Neil Diamond. More Beach Boys.
About this blog
The definitive blog on the Little League Western Regional Tournament.
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