LL Mandatory Play

[Dave Hensley]

The sweet spot with respect to MPR in tournament play was the rule they had a couple of years ago - one at bat OR 3 defensive outs. Combined with the relaxed re-entry rules implemented about the same time (where both starter and sub could re-enter, and unlimited number of times) that MPR rule was virtually impossible for a coach to screw up, plus it actually created a "pinch hitter heaven" for the smart manager who realizes that his #13 or #14 guys aren't "the worst hitters on the team," they are instead in the top 5% or so of the hitters in their league.

That rule was the perfect compromise between the conflicting objectives of guaranteed participation and maximum competitiveness, and of course Little League went on to fix a rule that wasn't broken, resulting in what we have today - coaches making a travesty of the game one game before the nationally televised game.