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Originally Posted by Dave Hensley
Little League is a charitable organization that, thanks largely to its television contract with ESPN and its charter fees from local leagues, took in $2 million more in revenue than it expended last year (for non-charitable organizations, that would be known as a "profit"). In my opinion, the organization is overzealous and wrongheaded in its insistence that its umpires work for free. They make no such demands on their executive and administrative staff in Williamsport, on their regional directors and staff in each of the eight US regions, or on local league service vendors such as insurance agents, equipment suppliers, or the like.
Little League has, in the US, been losing market share to competing leagues for a number of years now. Certainly there are any number of reasons for that, but one seems pretty clearly to be the general feeling amongst kids and their parents that the typical LL is pretty far removed from "real baseball." Perhaps that image could be improved if more leagues experimented with using "real umpires."
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Yes, Little League has a lot of money, and I'm not always happy myself with the attention drawn to the LLWS, which shouldn't be (and isn't for most teams) the center of the season. I can't quote figures, but I think that at least part of the surplus is keeping the Little League charter fee relatively stable.
On the other hand, our District hosts one of the softball world series, and I know that the participants (from all over the world) have a wonderful experience. The WS programs don't seem to be taking resources from the bulk of the teams' seasons and is a good experience for those that make it, but I sure wish that the LLWS wasn't such a goal for some leagues.
Little League has the lowest percentage of paid employees of any similar youth service organization that I know of. I've been involved for 14 seasons, and I've never met a paid employee of LL, though I've spoken with some on the phone. We'd certainly have better quality coaches, umpires, groundskeepers, and special events coordinators if we paid them, but I doubt if the quality of umpiring is ever the reason somebody chooses a different league. My local league saw slightly higher participation this year, and it is by far the biggest local program outside of highschool.
Little League has mandatory playing requirements and strongly encourages an accommodation for all players that want to play (including keeping it affordable). It can never be the most competitive league, and children may well find a better baseball experience in other leagues. What they'll find in Little League, hopefully, is an environment where every adult they come into contact with is motivated by making the experience the best for them. Rather than, say, being primarily motivated by money and ego.