Titanium bats ARE banned in many leagues. Of course, it’s hard for the umpire to tell the difference at a glance.
I played Little League. I wasn’t very good, but I learned early on you can steal bases more or less at will.
In Canada, at least, I find Little League baseball is one of the sports where you can expect parents to be civil and supportive. Hockey, unfortunately, is controlled by goons and thugs, and it is not unheard of for parents to scream obscenities at 8-year-old children during pee-wee hockey games and get into fistfights with each other. Such behaviour is rare in Little League, whereas in hockey it is literally a nightly occurrence. Baseball is a game of dignity and class, and all girls and boys should try it out.
We lost. Came in second in the tournament. Did it respectably, though.
Even the second place tournament trophies are much cooler than the regular season trophies, though. My son walked over to the neighbors (retired, no kids at home) this am just to show it off.
So, at least by the light of this morning, things are still all good.
I’m am weirded out that I cared so much about it though. Hope I managed not to show it too much.
On the bat issue, all of the bats they use, including the uber-bat, have “Little League/Pony League/Babe Ruth League authorized” engraved on them, along with the little copyright symbols. Beyond that, I’m just not experienced enough with how it used to be to know if they really make a difference.
I stopped posting about the progress of my son’s team after we came in 2nd in the first tournament.
But now I just can’t resist another post.
We played in another tournament, this one a round robin.
We lost a game early, but won the rest of the first part, which meant we came through as second in the bracket, playing the first place team in the other bracket.
Won that one last night.
Played tonight for the championship. Pulled the fat out of the fire to win. 20-19. Embarrassingly sloppy play on both sides. Much joy for our side. Much disappointment for the other side.
As a long game like this progresses, as errors get made, as a team comes from well behind, tempers fray. Coaches, parents and players on both sides were less than perfect. Except, if I may say so, for my son. 1 hit, no errors, 2 beautiful catches, no tantrums, no anything but love of the game.
