Stop Little League Vote to Take Year of Eligibility

This will adversely affect many kids including a member of my family.

I dont understand why they are taking away the best years of a kids baseball life. Lets face it, for some kids this is the only baseball they will EVER play. Why strip them of that opportunity?

This rule change hurts current players, especially the 10 year olds

This is extremely disappointing and I will move my son to a Cal Ripkin league

This should start with incoming 5 year olds as to not take away a year of little league from kids

The change if approved , should be introduced at the 7 years old level, and the group 8-12 yrs old should be grandfatherd in,

My son's 12 yr old year was the best! Don't take that away from any kid!

Little League is great just the way it is. Why are you trying to fix something that isn't broken.

The implementation will cause many problems. All of this year's 11 and most of the 10 year olds will be considered 12 next year. Since they all have to play majors if they want, that will leave little room in most leagues for this year's 9 year olds (next year they are 11) to play majors. So that age group will also be hurt - only 1 year of little league majors. Thus, the way this is implementation is proposed, this year's 9 and most 10 year olds (unless they are up this year - not the majority) will likely only end up with 1 year of majors. That's in addition to the problems with kids 20 months in age difference all being considered as a 12 next year ... you have a group of kids who will never have the fun of being the 'oldest' as a 12.

I dont understand why you are fixing something that isn't broken.

let the kids play....don't ruin their 12 year old little league year

losing a year of baseball is bad for those who know and love the game

also grandfather in current 9s and 10s. should fix itself after that.

If safety is the issue, it's equally as unsafe for a 13 year old to play a full season of LL as a baseball age 12 y/o as it is for a player who won't turn 12 until after their final season of LL is over. And that's what this rule change will create. Much prefer to see this phased in over 4 years, if at all.

If this is to take affect they should have at least 4 years of transition so as to not penalize the current older division players. My younger is 10 this year and will jump to being 12 next year, lose a year in little league, and probably not make all stars since the 13 year olds will be there.

The rule it's self is not what is in disagreement here it is the implementation. If you are going to grandfather in one group than grandfather all groups that are currently playing. The more responsible thing to do is to not grandfather anyone in, if they pass the rule. As far as liability is concerned as stated in the last post, each individual Little League carries their own policy. LL does not pay for it the leagues do. Has anyone thought about the mass exodus this will cause and the financial impact this will have on smaller leagues? This could cause leagues to fold. Revenue that was expected is never realized. Leagues have no time to prepare their leagues for the lower revenue. Local leagues pay to be apart of the Little League Charter and in return they see no benefit financially from Little League. Implement the rule if it is passed, responsibly!

Oh, and all you folks that say it should be grandfathered in for all the current players, you're are only thinking of yourselves. I'm sure WP had to wrestle with the Liability guy to get him to cave into allow some current 11s to be waived in 2015. To grant this to everyone would defeat the liability issue that this revolves around. Now, if anyone can think of any other reason that WP would be pushing this, we're all ears. This is a $ issue, folks. If you want to get to the heart of this, ask the Liability guy directly. Dan Kirby, [email protected]. And let us know what you hear.

Here's the deal: WP know if this passes, they'll lose players. They'll also anger a lot of kids that'll get pushed up, or out earlier. So why would they shoot themselves in the foot like this? When the moved date from 7/31, kids got bigger on the small field. They must have seen a spike in injuries since then, and feel the financial need to move it. They can't admit this is the issue, as they'd open themselves up to lawsuits. THIS is the only logical explanation for this move. A petition, although well meaning, is worthless, as it's the DAs that vote. I have no idea where this petition would go, or who would get it. It's up to the local presidents to pressure their DAs to veto it. Even then, WP can do what the want on their own, as they did when the moved it the first time. So, everyone needs to follow up with their local president before the DAs head to Congress. No, it can't hurt to sign the petition, but the real power comes from the DAs. So, make your voice heard to your local prez.

I was confused at first, because this has been the cutoff for years in softball, but its a little different. Baseball is not moving the date back to 12/31, there are moving the date forward to 12/31. Basically whatever age you will be turning in the current year will be your playing age. I like it. Although I do think they should start this for 5 year olds, that way they do not remove a year of playing from current players. The reason I like it is it takes away the 13 year olds from playing on the small 46/60 field. Cal Ripken leagues do not have this issue as their 11 and 12 year olds play "real" baseball rules on a larger 50/70 field. I know little leagues have this division up to age 13, but they also have the option for 12's turning 13 to play on the small field, and thats just dangerous. Kids are much bigger than they were 50 years ago, and the league needs to reflect that. Seriously, how silly is it in the little league world series to see a 6' tall 13 year old kid playing on a 46/60 field? I wouldnt want my son pitching to him. In school ball, travel, and Cal Ripken, 13 year olds play on a Major league size field, but in little league some of them play on a field with only 60 foot bases? Like I mentioned, dont hurt current players, but for the future this is a good thing.

This does not make sense. If any changes are to be made the age cut off should be August 30 like it was seven years ago. This correspondonds with the current school age cut off.