Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
August 23, 2002, Washington Post

Little League: Is It a Big Deal?

The Little League World Series is in full swing in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Every year, the LLWS seems to get bigger. This year, 16 all-star teams, from places as different as Harlem and Hawaii, Mexico and Moscow, have been competing for the title of world champions. More teams mean more games, more television coverage and more excitement.

I think the LLWS is great. The tournament is a once-in-a-lifetime dream event for any kid who plays the game. And the kids' games are a timely reminder of how great baseball can still be. That is, when you get it out of the hands of the billionaire owners and millionaire players of Major League Baseball.

Still, I can't help but think that everyone is making way too big a deal about who are the best 11- and 12-year-old baseball players. After all, as any kid who has ever lined up in class according to height knows, kids grow at different rates and at different times. That simple fact gives a huge advantage to the Little Leaguers who happen to have a growth spurt at age 11 or 12.

Don't believe me? Check out some of these LLWS games. Almost every team has some big kid who can steam in strikes at 60 to 70 miles per hour. The team from Aptos, California, has a pitcher who is listed at 6 feet 1 and 166 pounds! Standing on the mound at the Little League distance of 46 feet, a six-footer like that must look like Randy Johnson.

Of course, just because a kid is a big star at 12 years old doesn't mean that the same kid will be the best at 15, or 18 or on into college and the pros.

Twenty years ago, Cody Webster was the star of the LLWS. Who's Cody Webster? Cody was a big kid (5 feet 7, 175 pounds) with a 75 mph fastball. He fired a two-hitter against Taiwan to take the title back to Kirkland, Washington. But Cody never threw much harder and hardly played baseball past high school.

There is a flip side to this early fame stuff. Sometimes the kid who can't play a lick at 12 years old turns out to be a star. Everybody knows about Michael Jordan. Maybe the best player in the history of basketball, he didn't make his high school varsity the first time he tried out. MJ had to play with the JV, the junior varsity.

Other players have similar stories. University of Maryland star forward Chris Wilcox got cut from his junior high basketball team. However, he went on to be the eighth player picked in this year's NBA draft.

Maybe that's why we shouldn't make such a big deal out of a baseball tournament for 11- and 12-year-olds. And maybe that's why kids shouldn't be too worried about who makes the under-12 travel soccer team. Things can change pretty quickly in sports. Sometimes the kid who is sitting on top of the world one year is sitting on the bench the next.

I know. I made two Little League all-star teams when I was growing up in Marblehead, Massachusetts. But I didn't grow up to star for the Boston Red Sox. In fact, I didn't even play for my high school team.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's Friday sports column and is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

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