Just When I Think Little League Can't Get Any Stupider They Go And Make The Dumbest Rule I've Seen In 36 Years Of My Life

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Staten Island Advance/ SILIVE.com I’ve been covering Little League All-Star Tournaments for over 3 1/2 decades and there’s obviously been many rule changes through the years.

Some, in my opinion, have made things better. Others, at times, made little sense. But regardless of whether I agreed or not, nothing ever made me cringe.

Until now.

In a nutshell, Little League has instituted a policy in which every player on an All-Star roster must be in the starting lineup from the onset of a game. There’ll still be nine fielders when a team takes the field — for now, anyway — but if a team has a roster of 12, for instance, every player will be included in the starting lineup and get a regular turn at the plate throughout the game.

Many people say winning doesn’t matter, that it’s all about the kids having fun and this new policy sure does reek of that notion. Yes, you most certainly want to see kids have an enjoyable, learning experience while playing sports. But anybody that truly believes winning is not paramount to most is kidding themselves. It’s important to a lot of people, from league administrators, to coaching staffs and parents.

I question whether a ‘rotary lineup’ or a ‘continuous batting order’ (CBO), as District 24 Administrator Frank Cambria called it, compromises what would have been the true outcome of a Little League All-Star Tournament game if it had been played under previous rules.

First off, Charlie Di Biase is a great writer and an even better guy. In a time when newspapers and local reporters are dying, it's nice to still read people you have for a long time, almost like you hear their voice in the paper or in the article. 

I have been extremely critical of Little League of the years, for a variety of reasons. I could talk to you for hours about how they force feed sportsmanship down our throats and make kids shake hands on the field during the game after giving up a home run (SOFT), how they have a double elimination format but absolutely screw over a team who wins out and makes the winner's bracket final as they can lose once and lose the title. I could highlight how shitty the umpire situation is and how despite a $60 million TV Deal, they refuse to pay the umps, and instead give the positions to umps who pay a fee (which is a complete money grab) to attend one of their umpire camps. You can read about that one at length here .

Brandon Walker hates the LLWS, and doesn't understand the appeal. Myself and Mark Titus have gone to war for the sport, citing it's unpredictability makes it highly entertaining. Additionally, it's one of the last true amateur events out there. Brandon won't budge he hates it. 

I'll never get his hatred, but even as a massive fan of The LLWS, it 100% has it's flaws which I highlighted above. I thought that was going to be the end of it. Until today when I read this article and became enraged at how soft the event and sport has gotten. Like disgustingly soft. 

The way LLWS works is teams start in mid June and compete locally, and then advance and advance and advance until teams represent a certain region and make the LLWS. For example , on Staten Island you have an island tournament, that winner advances to the city tournament, then the state tournament, then a regional tournament. The winner of the regional tournament represents The Metro region. This occurs across the entire country. 

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Now let me take a moment and remind you that the season begins in March with practices for their teams, seasons run April to June, where an all star team  is selected and then practices every day sometimes 2 times a day, and they play games as they advance throughout the summer until late August if they make the LLWS. Parents are on their own to pay for new bats, hotel rooms, and travel expenses which add up. This is a massive commitment. Families miss vacations. Siblings spend weekends on the sidelines watching their brother weekend after weekend. Massive commitment. To say this is an "awww shucks" type of event, or that the kids don't care if they win or lose (as the broadcasts make it out for you to believe) is total bullshit. 

Winning matters. 

Which is why it irritates me so much that the newest rule is going to force teams to bat every player with a "rotary lineup". Meaning if you have a roster of 12 players, all 12 are in the lineup (only 9 in the field), and remain in the lineup THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE GAME. Are we fucking kidding here? How soft is this shit? We've decided that kids and families who gave up their summers are now made to have an all inclusive tournament to decide who's the best in the country, and the world? Quick reminder, the kids on these teams were selected from their local town Little Leagues as the best players. So what's next, we just pick out of a hat? We've already established there is a set of selections and that these tournaments are the best of the best, yet instead of allowing managers to set their lineup with the best chance to win, Little League has forced an "everyone bats" rule? Holy shit is that dumb. 

Why do this? (Be prepared to be irrate)

SILIVE.com “They’re going this route because they want more players to get more playing time, to be more involved from the beginning,’' said Cambria.

“I think because (Little League) received some complaints that, with a roster of 13 (the standard for most All-Star teams in recent years), some kids were only getting one at-bat (per game) and some weren’t playing the field,’' added South Shore LL president Ben Defibaugh. “With a rotary lineup, other kids will get up more often.’'

Only getting 1 at bat? That's a goddamn team! That's baseball. There are better players than others, and you know who knows that better than anyone? THE KIDS THEMSELVES!!!!! Ask Little Johnny from Iowa City,IA who's a better hitter him or his friend, and he will know it's his friend. If asked to set the lineup, they'd play the best players, and contribute where they could. 

This is so dumb on so many levels… the game is 6 innings ! If you were lucky your best player got 3 at bats in a low scoring game. Now we are cutting that down to 1-2 so everyone can be included? In an all star tournament to determine THE BEST TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD ? WHEN KIDS WILLINGLY GAVE UP THEIR SUMMER TO COMPETE IN THIS? 

GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. 

I'm disgusted how soft this is. 

Charlie nails it on the head here, it waters down the tournament so much, and without a doubt doesn't really show who has the most talented teams. Baseball is my best 9 vs your best 9 and let's let it play out. Sure subs can contribute, and have a big moment but the best lineup should play, and we get to see who wins. 

SILIVE.com But that’s where it can compromise the game’s outcome. Traditionally, most managers bat their best players at the top of the lineup, hoping they’ll get, at the very least, four plate appearances in a six-inning contest. That method is as old as the wheel and makes sense, of course.

I wish I could say I'm surprised by this, but I'm not. Little League can't get out of it's own way. Everyone who actually plays and manages takes it super serious, yet the suits and the Board of Directors and decision makers make it out like it's a bullshit everyone gets a trophy , who cares if you lose let's all have Ice Cream and sing Koombaya. It's a fucking disgrace and I think it's an injustice to the coaches, the parents , and most of all the kids and sadly this may be the tip of the iceberg and it will only get worse and stupider.