Team Insight

teaminsightmag.com July/August 2022 ~ Team Insight • 19 leagues flexibility and additional ways to increase interest in the game of baseball and soball. As a result, this is a special year for Little League Baseball, which is expecting full houses at its season-ending championship tournaments. "Aer two years of not being able to hold our events in full capacity due to the corona- virus pandemic, Little League International is excited to an- nounce the return of all seven World Series events, and their respective Region Tournaments, with the anticipation of interna- tional participation and full fan and visitor opportunities in 2022," says Keener. The 2022 World Series also marks the first year of the expansion of teams in both Williamsport and Greenville, with four new teams being added at the Little League Baseball World Series and two new teams being added at the Little League Soball World Series. For baseball and fast-pitch so- ball conducted by the Babe Ruth League, 2022 has been better than 2021, which in turn was better than the dark ages of 2020. "Currently, our numbers are not back to 2018/2019 partici- pation numbers," reports Steven Tellefsen, president/CEO of Babe Ruth League, but its participation numbers have increased from 2020 to 2021 and now to 2022. Before the pandemic hit, Babe Ruth League had just under one million participants among all the divisions. Now with international travel becoming more possible, Tellefsen and his team are pushing for more participation from overseas teams. Meanwhile, Sandy Jones, com- missioner and CEO of Dixie Boys Baseball, remains very optimistic about the current state and future of youth baseball. "We have an increase in teams from the 2021 season," says Jones, although it is unlikely the group will reach its 2019 participation numbers. Jones is bullish on the future of Dixie Boys Baseball. "We are trending toward our 2019 pre-pandemic numbers and have already surpassed 2021 numbers," Jones says. "While most leagues are smaller in overall numbers, we are excited to see a return to league play in many less-populated communities. Some leagues hav- en't had a program in years and are returning to play." T h e re h av e b e e n s o m e significant changes to the base- ball-playing calendar for Dixie Boys Baseball, which condensed its tournament calendar days through maximizing weekend play that allows more parents and spectators to attend. Also, during the pandemic they moved its five World Series events from August to July due to conflicts with the school calendar and the August 1 date of high school football practices. As it emerges from pandem- ic-related challenges, Jones is philosophical about the role of Dixie Boys Baseball in the grand scheme of the youth baseball world. "There appears to be a renewed interest in the game and it is our responsibility as leaders to find ways to make the game more enjoyable for the participants." At the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), 2022 "has been a great year," according to executive director Richard Neely, who reports that all of its numbers are up and tourna- ments are all set for the summer. "We made no changes due to the pandemic, except that now we are playing baseball." With approximately 100,000 boys playing baseball this year under the AABC banner, the organization has eight World Series sites for eight different age groups, although some teams have had to cancel playing in a World Series because of team and family finances. The business of conducting youth baseball at Pony Baseball & Soball is quickly improving aer the shutdown of play in March 2020. "In 2021, we were probably 60 percent of capacity and this year we are probably close to 85 percent of what we were prior to the pandemic," estimates Pony Baseball president Abraham Key. Two of the biggest issues im- pacting participation in Pony's programs are somewhat beyond the control of Key and his staff. "e slow return to play is partly due to limited facility availabil- ity and some local leagues have closed or merged with another local league," Key reports. But, the reports from the front lines remain upbeat. "Everybody – players, coaches, and parents – are happy to be back playing," says Key. "Kids are excited about playing baseball and soball." n BASEBALL BY THE NUMBERS There are 15.6 million baseball players in the U.S., according to research from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), making it the second most popular team sport in the U.S. behind only basketball's 27.1 million players As recently as 2012, overall participation in baseball in the U.S. was as low as 12.9 million players. Even though the number of baseball players in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s is growing, more half of all baseball players are between the ages of six and 17. SOFTBALL BY THE NUMBERS There are 2.1 million fast-pitch softball players in the U.S. and nearly 70 percent of them (68.3 percent to be precise) are female, accord- ing the SFIA. In 2019, overall participation in fast-pitch softball in the U.S. was as low as 1.8 million players. Of the current (through 2021) 2.1 million softball players, just more than 50 percent of them (1.2 million) are considered core players who play fast-pitch softball 26-plus days a year. A little more than half (54 percent) of all fast-pitch softball players are between the ages of six and 24; nearly 70 percent of all core players are between the ages of six and 24 and 62.2 percent of core players are between the ages of six and 17. While fast-pitch softball remains a game dominated by players younger than 17, there's proof that the game is popular with adults: 28 percent of all fast-pitch softball players actually have a college degree or higher.) n

• Cover