2 little league rule questions

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by jicecone

Been awhile since I did LL but, this is what I remember about it also. Of course trying to find LL rules online is next to impossible because of LL Inc.'s sacred cash cow mentality. That for sure, has never changed

You can buy one from the LL on line.

Theyt can't be much of a cash cow - they get provided as part of the "per team" charter fee of $16 or so.

[smbbcoach99]

Originally Posted by ToolinFool

This is what the Little League Umpires Manual says. Hope that it helps.

1.13 -- The first baseman may wear a glove or mitt not more than 12 inches long from top to bottom and
not more than eight inches wide across the palm, measured from the base of the thumb crotch to the outer edge
of the mitt. The glove may be of any weight.

1.14 -- Each fielder, other than the first baseman and the catcher, may wear a glove not more than 12 inches
long nor more than 7-3/4 inches wide , measured from the base of the thumb crotch to the
outer edge of the glove. The glove may be of any weight.

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS:
⇒ In Baseball, only the first baseman may wear a first baseman’s mitt.
⇒ In Softball, the first baseman and the catcher may wear a first baseman’s mitt.

The "glove" our first baseman uses meets the specified measurments for a fielder. How is that viewed?

[nopachunts]

Originally Posted by smbbcoach99

The "glove" our first baseman uses meets the specified measurments for a fielder. How is that viewed?

It is viewed as a legal glove. F3 can wear any glove or mitt as long as it doesn't exceed the specificed measurements.

Fielders other than F2 or F3 can wear any glove as long as it doesn't exceed the specificed measurements. F1's glove is also restricted to no white or gray.

[PeteBooth]

BOB there is no more eteamz. It is now called Active.com

Most of the LL regulars that were at eteamz have gone elsewhere. I believe the LL facebook page.

Pete Booth

[Larry1953]

Is there really any advantage to be gained in Little League by having a first baseman play with a mitt as opposed to a glove? Most kids don't (or shouldn't) just play one position at that level and a well-broken in glove that you know better than your best friend seems to be the most important thing about catching a ball.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Larry1953

Is there really any advantage to be gained in Little League by having a first baseman play with a mitt as opposed to a glove? Most kids don't (or shouldn't) just play one position at that level and a well-broken in glove that you know better than your best friend seems to be the most important thing about catching a ball.

Dude, didn't you play Little League? Every first baseman has a mitt. I had a fielder's glove for the rare times I played other positions (like the pitching fiasco ), but I had a first baseman's mitt from LL MInors all the way up. And this was back in the 60's! My dad oiled it up, I put a ball in it, tied it up with a shoelace, put it in a pillow case, and had my mom run it over with the car a few times to break it in! Little League was, and still is, serious business. Nowadays, kids have designer everything....batting gloves, primo bats, gloves and mitts, and all sorts of gear.

Aside from it just being cool to have a first baseman's mitt, the big advantage it gives you is that you can scoop errant throws in the dirt much easier than with a fielder's glove, and it also gives a really great big target for the infielders. The first baseman can save his infield many errors by being skilled at the position.

[Larry1953]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Dude, didn't you play Little League? Every first baseman has a mitt. I had a fielder's glove for the rare times I played other positions (like the pitching fiasco ), but I had a first baseman's mitt from LL MInors all the way up. And this was back in the 60's! My dad oiled it up, I put a ball in it, tied it up with a shoelace, put it in a pillow case, and had my mom run it over with the car a few times to break it in! Little League was, and still is, serious business. Nowadays, kids have designer everything....batting gloves, primo bats, gloves and mitts, and all sorts of gear.

Aside from it just being cool to have a first baseman's mitt, the big advantage it gives you is that you can scoop errant throws in the dirt much easier than with a fielder's glove, and it also gives a really great big target for the infielders. The first baseman can save his infield many errors by being skilled at the position.

I played LL from 1960 to 1969. My first glove was a Christmas present from Grandma - a Del Crandel model catcher's mitt that looked like a pillow. The problem was I was a lefty. The next week Dad took me to a sporting goods
store and I got a Rawlings Mickey Mantle youth model with fat fingers and a brass button for the wrist strap. Dad caught every throw we ever tossed together with that mitt. One of my proudest moments: at the end if the year the LL coaches would play a game so the kids could razz them for some payback. Dad played second with that pillow mitt. He fielded 5 or 6 grounders flawlessly. The others dads were awed. I was beaming. A couple generations later I took my son to a Dick Birmingham camp. He had the middle fielders use a "paddle glove" to learn better fielding mechanics. Seeing that brought back warm memories from that day about 30 years earlier when Dad pulled off his Maz performance.

Nah, I played first, second, CF and pitched with a Trapeze model glove. I only recall a couple of guys who had a first baseman's mitt. They didn't seem to do any better than I did.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Larry1953

Nah, I played first, second, CF and pitched with a Trapeze model glove. I only recall a couple of guys who had a first baseman's mitt. They didn't seem to do any better than I did.

I was always envious of my best friend John's Trap-Eze. You're right, that was an awesome glove, with the laced trap!

[Larry1953]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I was always envious of my best friend John's Trap-Eze. You're right, that was an awesome glove, with the laced trap!

Indeed it was! Memories so thick you have to sweep them away from your face. Remember the red batting "helmets" that were just ear flaps that you fit over your cap? How did we ever survive?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Larry1953

Indeed it was! Memories so thick you have to sweep them away from your face. Remember the red batting "helmets" that were just ear flaps that you fit over your cap? How did we ever survive?

We had blue ones like that in practice, but they broke down and got us real helmets for games.

[Larry1953]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

We had blue ones like that in practice, but they broke down and got us real helmets for games.

Same story here. Do you remember a lousy wooden bat that had a flesh colored dimpled rubber sleeve that almost came up to the trademark? It seemed to have a sweet spot about the size of a quarter and it always stung your hands if you made contact. Baseball shoes were all black and had molded hard rubber cleats. They were pretty good at the beginning of the season, but toward the end the cleats had worn down to knubs that made them look more like bowling shoes. We thought we were hotshots when we moved up to PONY League and they let you wear metal cleats. I remember a lot of umps used a ballon protector.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Larry1953

Same story here. Do you remember a lousy wooden bat that had a flesh colored dimpled rubber sleeve that almost came up to the trademark? It seemed to have a sweet spot about the size of a quarter and it always stung your hands if you made contact. Baseball shoes were all black and had molded hard rubber cleats. They were pretty good at the beginning of the season, but toward the end the cleats had worn down to knubs that made them look more like bowling shoes. We thought we were hotshots when we moved up to PONY League and they let you wear metal cleats. I remember a lot of umps used a ballon protector.

I think mine were molded plastic cleats, but otherwise identical results. I had a Louisville Slugger 29 and an Adirondack 30 in LL minors and majors. We made those things last, taping them up, etc. Yup, the metal cleats did make us feel like real ballplayers. That, and getting to take "lead-offs."

[Larry1953]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I think mine were molded plastic cleats, but otherwise identical results. I had a Louisville Slugger 29 and an Adirondack 30 in LL minors and majors. We made those things last, taping them up, etc. Yup, the metal cleats did make us feel like real ballplayers. That, and getting to take "lead-offs."

What was the length/weight differential of bats back then. I could swear it was an ounce per inch. The bats always seemed too short to get to the outside pitch, and the longer they got, the heavier they got and you lost bat speed. They seemed to be distinctly engineered to impart the least amount of energy from a swing possible on contact with a ball. Or maybe I was just a lousy hitter.