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gasbag
281 Posts |
 Posted - 08/18/2009 : 12:46:47
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| Why does the Little League World Series get coverage on ESPN and the others don't ? Similarly, why does Travel Ball Select cover Cooperstown and the USSSA Elite 32 but not Ripken or the Little League World Series ? Is it all about revenue ? |
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12uCoach
357 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2009 : 14:47:27
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| ESPN is in the NorthEast. Little League is big in the NorthEast, ESPN producers remember being little boys and playing "Little League", they did not play travel ball or "USSSA" or "AAU". Someone found a sponsor. ESPN has 98 channels on 24/7 and had time to fill. Midget bowling got bad ratings, so we get bad baseball. |
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clg003
79 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2009 : 15:03:39
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Truth is there are more people who have played in Little League and more kids that play in Little league currently than any other association world wide. Its also become a yearly traditon with good ratings so why fix something that aint broke. This is a TV issue not a baseball issue.
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2009 : 15:25:18
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quote:
Originally posted by 12uCoach
Midget bowling got bad ratings, so we get bad baseball.
Wow.
I guess that's why we have 1000 channels and an On/Off switch.
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3sondad
220 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2009 : 16:06:35
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I was thinking about this the other day ... I knew half the 12U Astros that played in the NYBC last year. I saw 10 minutes of one game and the only reason I saw that much was because I had a father of one of the players text me that "I needed to see something". We watch a lot of the LL World Series yearly. We don't live or die by it, but we watch a lot of games when we are actually home.
The reason none of the other organizations will be able to compete for TV coverage ... LL adds a flavor that no other "league" is set up to match ... The final game is always "US" verses "Them". What else can pull in a LARGE audience? The international flare is what makes LL great for TV. Say the Sox make it to championship game in the NYBC you have GA vs CA. If you get two CA teams the audience gets smaller. How many Regional meets or National meets are covered by TV compared to International meets? I bet some of you even watch the US Girls Soccer team in the World Cup finals a few years ago... Girls Soccer ... not that there is anything wrong with that. 
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Edited by - 3sondad on 08/18/2009 17:51:54 |
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itsaboutbb
164 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2009 : 18:29:47
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We watch in our house too but why are they not making the field dimensions bigger? The kids are getting bigger each year. My son played on that size field in rec ball @ 9-10 year old.
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sirlurker
187 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2009 : 20:14:24
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By being first you get the coverage...lol. Little League was the first to organize youth baseball and they have been covered on tv since 1963. ABC used to just televise the championship games but when ESPN came around and needed something to fill up their 24/7 schedule one of their choices was Little League in 1985. Been growing in ratings ever since.
Not many travel leagues were around in 1985 and it will take a few years to catch up in popularity. But some of the championship tournaments seem to be getting more and more coverage each year. I think ESPN would get good ratings from covering Cooperstown...Maybe we need a "Travel Ball Network" to cover all the travel baseball outside of little league....jeez..think what kind of monster that would create..HA! |
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whits23
596 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2009 : 21:28:23
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| so if there was a round robin tourney between usssa national champ,aau champ,ripken and LL who wins..lets say they go 70 foot bases and 250 fence as a comprimise |
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Titan1
210 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 00:09:02
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I would take the usssa champion. LL would not fair well
quote:
Originally posted by whits23
so if there was a round robin tourney between usssa national champ,aau champ,ripken and LL who wins..lets say they go 70 foot bases and 250 fence as a comprimise
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 09:02:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Titan1
I would take the usssa champion. LL would not fair well
quote:
Originally posted by whits23
so if there was a round robin tourney between usssa national champ,aau champ,ripken and LL who wins..lets say they go 70 foot bases and 250 fence as a comprimise
How is 70 foot base paths a compromise?
More to the point, who cares? This sounds like sour grapes. The kids are having the experience of a lifetime. How does that affect what we do? |
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Topscout
59 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 14:30:45
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Watching those kids from California hit 300 foot bombs with small barrel bats makes me believe that they (individual kids) would hold their own with the elite travel teams.
The primary difference in skill level will be the geographic boundries that are involved in little league that would seem to spread the talent and not allow an East Cobb Astros to exist. |
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clg003
79 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 14:46:21
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quote:
Originally posted by whits23
so if there was a round robin tourney between usssa national champ,aau champ,ripken and LL who wins..lets say they go 70 foot bases and 250 fence as a comprimise
To compare USSSA to any All Star type of a league is simply not fair. Dont forget All Star leagues are kids from one park. How many top notch USSSA teams have kids from one park. USSSA teams have no geographical significance. I mean some teams fly in players from other states so that makes the playing field totally unfair. A USSSA team could very well be a multi state and park all star team whereas any one Little League team is from one park. The same goes for AAU but since USSSA is big in Cali, Georgia, Flroda and Texas it typically fields better teams. |
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whits23
596 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 16:38:25
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i am not rooting for any program over another but think it would make a good round robin. Anyone who thinks these LL kids dont play tournaments on the side is mistaken. The team from texas a few years ago had half their team on usssa rosters
The pitcher for the winning LL team last year sure looked good on the Terror this year.
When i say a top usssa team i would say for instance could warner robbins walk into a local triple crown tourney and win it? Or could the cal ripken champ win it? Could the ripken 12u beat the LL team?
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oldmanmj
191 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 18:03:27
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| Let's put this twist on it, as it is geographically decided as to who can play on the LL teams. What if the players that travel out of their own communities to help stack a travel team, stayed in their community to play LL baseball. I guarantee you, there would be some even more outstanding teams playing in the LL WS and would force them to make some major changes to how it is played. In an ideal world, we play the game with these young men to help them get better and hopefully play at the next level, if...if it is their desire. Playing in the LLWS, to those young men is no less dramatic than winning the Elite 32, Cooperstown, AABC, AAU National, etc. Even though we all agree the level of baseball may be inferior, the emotions are the same.......outstanding experience for any young man at any level, no matter his ability. Dads, step aside and let them have a blast. I know mine doesn't get paid to play at 12 , 13 , .... |
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gasbag
281 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 09:00:45
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| I'm not sure about the "no lead off" rule but the 200 foot fences at Cooperstown and LL World Series allow for more kids to enjoy the thrill of hitting a home run ! I think that's a good thing for all kids and not just the elite kids. At 12 years old, I wish that every kid had the home run experience. As a matter of fact, I end many of my practices with each kid practicing their home run trot !!! Come on fella's, tell me you don't wish you were out there rounding second with the fans cheering knowing your mates were going to mob you at home plate ? Every kid deserves that chance and not just the elite kids. |
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Texas Baseball
7 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 09:36:34
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quote:
Originally posted by gasbag
Why does the Little League World Series get coverage on ESPN and the others don't ? Similarly, why does Travel Ball Select cover Cooperstown and the USSSA Elite 32 but not Ripken or the Little League World Series ? Is it all about revenue ?
If you notice, with the possible exception of the championship game, Travel Ball Select's coverage of the Cooperstown event is strictly limited to the information provided in the game scores link on Cooperstown's website. They want you to believe they have a staff covering the event, but that's not how it works. |
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Frydaddy
80 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2009 : 21:12:17
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quote:
Originally posted by whits23
i am not rooting for any program over another but think it would make a good round robin. Anyone who thinks these LL kids dont play tournaments on the side is mistaken. The team from texas a few years ago had half their team on usssa rosters
The pitcher for the winning LL team last year sure looked good on the Terror this year.
When i say a top usssa team i would say for instance could warner robbins walk into a local triple crown tourney and win it? Or could the cal ripken champ win it? Could the ripken 12u beat the LL team?
I searched that kid from California Kiko (Enrico) Garcia and also found his big teammate Luke Ramirez. They play USSSA and if I researched their roster more I would say there would be quite a few others from that Chula Vista CA Little League team on that USSSA roster.
Also, The Ripken World Series does have International teams. They are broadcast on the MLB network. I have been watching on DirecTV and those parks in Aberdeen are awesome!
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Edited by - Frydaddy on 08/23/2009 08:22:33 |
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Topic |
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Little World Series vs. Cooperstown, Ripken, USSSA
