The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1960-06-24
SPORTS of TIMES
Little League
Baseball
BY LOU FABRO
Times Sports Editor

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Television viewers were treated to a heart-warm-
ing drama last week when NBC flashed the story of
how a bunch of barefoot kids rose from an obscure,
rocky baseball diamond to Monterrey, Mexico to the
1857 Little League world championship.
When these youngsters accomplished this feat,
they became international celebrities. Their story was
told in thousands of newspapers, on radio, ~televiSlon
and movie screens and in magazines and through other
means of communication.
AND THEY MET THE PRESIDENTS of the
United States and Mexico as we'll as many other i'm
portant people.
This was simply overwhelming for these young
sters, who came from poor families and who practlced
hard and long under a blazing sun to become an out
standing playing unit.
AS the story unfolded on television last week, no
doubt there we're thousands of Little Leaguers who
had their wide eyes focused on the TV tube.
Which leads us into the main topic: Little League
Baseball.
THE PROGRAM, WHICH WA LAUNCHED as a
three-team affair in 1889, has had phenomenal growth,
especially in the last ten years. Today, there are $500
Little Leagues in every state OF the U.s., in every
province of Canada and in Is other countries and us.
possessions.
On the surface, Little League baseball seems to
be a great thing. 1t pulls youngsters off the streets
and puts them into a supervised activity. 1t gives them
something to do during the idle summer vacation
months. LII baseball helps fight delinquency. It's de-
signed to promote craftsmanship.
But all isn't sweetness and light with the Little
League setup. 1t has been subjected to some sharp
criticism-all of it not unjustified.
Let's look at a few comments.
NJ PARENT OBSERVED THAT LITTLE
LEAGUE baseball would be a great thing If the par
ents wouldn't butt in so much and would just let the
kids play ball"
Parents should be interested in their children's
recreation. No one would dispute that. But parents
shouldn't get so consumed with enthusiasm that every.
thing is "win,w win"
Also, they shouldn't show a lack of sportsman
ship by heaping abuse on the umpires and coaches and
fathers of the kids from the other team. Don't think
1t doesn't happen. 1t does.
And there are some fussy, overzealous fathers
who tonguelash their youngsters when they pull a
"boner" or commit an error on the diamond. Little
Leaguers aren't pros.
CIRCLES. Some medical authorities claim that the
youngsters are placed under too much pressure es-
pecially when there is an emphasis on winning.
Even in last weeks TV play, viewers could sense
tremendous pressures that the Monterrey team had to
bear.
LII headquarters, in WilliamSport, Pa, wages a
constant campaign designed to promote the sports
manship side of LII baseball and to subdue the win
win drive. Yet the desire to win is unavoidable.
THIS is ESPECIALLY RUE with the annual
post-Season tournaments which climax with the eight
team world series in August. And this as a pet project
of LII headquarters.
The tournament setup is one phase of the LII
program that these medical authorities say shc"id be
eliminated. And they have many follow.
Whereas the desire to win is a natural instinct
during the regular season, it becomes a question of
must win" during the tourney because a loss means
the end. There isn't much question that pressure is
tremendous during the tournaments.
ANOTHER COMPLAINT is THAT THE AGE
bracket for Little Leaguers is too low. It's 8.12 years.
Still another criticism is that business groups shouldn't
sponsor teams.
And there are others.
The debate will continue as long as Little League
baseball exists under the present setup. Even if
changes were installed there will be debate. This
doesn't mean that some changes shouldn't me made.