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Welcome to Springfield Babe RuthNew to Springfield Babe Ruth? Read my sales pitch.Every year I get several phone calls in early April from parents looking for a league for their son or daughter to play in. In some cases it comes from parents new to the area, in others it comes from parents who forgot or were unsure of their youngster's desire to play this season. In other cases the calls come from parents who had thought they had an independent team for their youngster to play on, only to find out the team did not materialize.Springfield Babe Ruth is a league with a proven track record of providing baseball for teenagers. That is our only interest. We only form teams for players age 13-19. We have strong ties to managers at all levels. Some with sons or daughters in the league, some whose sons or daughters have long since left the league. We have strong relations with the High Schools in the area and are able to provide games on the High School fields. There is no doubt that every baseball league catering to teenage players is interested in signing up the teenage players for their league. Quantity as well as quality of players is important to all of us. Springfield Babe Ruth provides a variety of divisions (we call them leagues) for the players. After an orientation on the big field at the prep level where all of the 13 year olds play, we provide two levels of play for 14-15 year olds. The Major League caters to the JV calibre player while the International League provides opportunities for 14-15 year olds who need to gain playing time and confidence before competing against more advanced JV players. Our 16-19 league provides an opportunity for 16 year olds to play with advanced players, varsity and even college players while providing something unique for every player in this age category. Our all-star opportunities are unparalleled in the area. We offer separate all-star teams for 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17-18 year olds along with the Alliance all-star team for 14-15 year olds. However, the smallness of each age category offers many players who previously did not have opportunities to make all-star teams the chance to now play all-stars. As you look around for a place for your youngster to play baseball, consider Springfield Babe Ruth. We have the experience, longevity and programs to provide a quality baseball experience for your youngster, and when you sign up with Springfield Babe Ruth you can be assured we will be there with a team for your player. Shannon Coffey President, Springfield Babe Ruth A Description of Springfield Babe RuthUnless you have a son or daughter that played Babe Ruth in the past, it is likely, you may wonder what is next when your child graduates from Little League. This is a message to acquaint you with Springfield Babe RuthSpringfield Babe Ruth is one of many leagues across the country that is part of the Babe Ruth organization. It and its parent organization function similar to West Springfield Little League and its parent organization Little League. Traditionally Babe Ruth has been the primary organization for 13 and up players while Little Leauge has traditionally served youngsters from 5-12. Now days the differentiation has blurred and each organization offers play for all youngsters from 5-19. The counterpart, for Babe Ruth, to the under 12 little leaguers is the Cal Ripkin league. You may not have heard of the Cal Ripkin leagues, but there are several in Northern Virginia and they are much more common in central and southern Virginia. Springfield Babe Ruth became a franchised Babe Ruth league in 1956 for the 13-15 age group. This was only a year after Springfield Little League was franchised. In 1971 Springfield Babe Ruth received a franchise for the 16-18 year old players. Many of our current players have parents who played baseball in Springfield Babe Ruth when they were young. One of the significant aspects of Springfield Babe Ruth is that it is a community league. It is designed to be part of the community. We are not a commercial profit making company. Our only product is providing baseball opportunities for the youth of Springfield. We derive players and volunteers from the community. We provide as many services as possible back to the community. These include employment opportunities for young umpires, baseball knowledge through clinics and word of mouth and the normal league functions of organizing games. As a community league we are only as good as the support from the community. As players get older many things compete for their interest, expanded school activities, other sports, several baseball leagues, jobs and girls (and boys for the girls still playing baseball). Therefore the number of teams formed from a given geographical area dwindles as the players get older. For this reason, the areas supporting the Babe Ruth leagues are much larger than for Little League. Springfield Babe Ruth includes the Little League areas of West Springfield, Central Springfield and Lorton. The larger geographical areas are necessary to allow sufficient teams to be formed for each age category. This eliminates the problem smaller leagues have in playing the same teams over and over or having to travel across the county to play teams in other leagues. Sprinfield Babe Ruth offers a graduated program for players ages 13-19. Springfield Babe Ruth offers play in three leagues, the Prep League, International League, Major League and Senior League. Here is a description of each of the leagues. Prep League - The Prep League is for 13 year olds only. In previous years all 13 year olds played in Prep. This year we have made plans to allow a few 13 year olds to be drafted up to the next level. The Prep League starts play in early April and plays 2 games a week for a 20 game schedule. International League - The International League is composed of 14 and 15 year old players. This is one of two leagues of 14-15 year olds. The International League teams are formed from players that are not drafted into the Major League. The International League starts play in early April and plays two games a week for a 20 game schedule. The International League does not include any High School JV players. JV players are automatically drafted onto Major League or Senior League teams. Major League - These are generally the best of the 14-15 year olds. The Major League is composed of a large number of High School JV players. For this reason and because this league plays on High School fields, this league starts play in mid May. It plays 3 games a week for a 18 game schedule. Senior League - The Senior League consists of players of league age 16-19. This league starts play in mid May, plays 3 games a week and plays a 18 game schedule. This league has players with the largest difference in ability in Babe Ruth. We have average players and high school varsity and high school JV players. In addition we get some players returning from college. Many of the older players played American Legion in High School. Fields - The Babe Ruth teams play on 90' fields. This is perhaps the largest change from Little League. The 90' field (major league size) is three times the size of a 60' foot field and twice the size of a football field. While many little leagues have complexes of 60' fields, few Babe Ruth leagues have their own fields. We depend largely on county fields and high school fields. This presents a whole new level of administrative activities for the league. We work with the high school Directors of Student Activities to schedule their fields and must keep abreast of cancellations. County fields offer similar arrangements. Springfield Babe Ruth is in the process of adopting the a new field being built at Hooes Road Park. Along with three new soccer fields, Hooes Road Park will provide a sports complex for the whole family. With Hooes Road field in our possession, we will be able to provide better practice opportunities and better scheduling than before. Managers - The managers of our teams come from each area in our territory. We have managers from Lorton, Central Springfield and West Springfield. Many of our managers have had several offspring come through our program and thus have many years of experience managing on 90' fields. Allstars - Springfield Babe Ruth offers many different allstar teams at the end of the season. They include teams for ages 13, 14, 15, 16 and 16-18. Each of these teams have the opportunity to progress through 3 levels of competition to the Babe Ruth World Series. In addition there is an allstar team for the International League called the Alliance team which plays other leagues in District VI and District VII. Tournaments - Springfield Babe Ruth hosts a post season district tournament or state tournament each year. Sunday Baseball - In the past we have had a number of good players that signed up for Babe Ruth and the Travel League. This has caused difficulties in players missing games for both leagues. We started a Sunday baseball program as an alternative. These games are coordinated to not conflict with make up games for the house teams. They play one game per week, usually 9 innings on each Sunday. Fall Baseball - Springfield Babe Ruth forms teams to play in the Northern Virginia Fall Baseball League. This league plays a 14 game schedule of 2 games a week. There are three levels of play, 13-14, 15-18 and high school franchise. Many of our spring managers take their teams into the fall league. Umpires - Springfield Babe Ruth plays baseball on regulation 90' fields. The rules are by and large the same as profession baseball. Because of the increase in complexity, we employ umpires to umpire the games. For the Senior League the umpires are hired from Mid-Atlantic Umpires Inc. In addition we employ a number of adult umpires from the Springfield community. Finally, we provide employment opportunities for the youth of our area. Starting at age 15, youngsters can start umpiring games at the Prep level. These young umpires take training during the winter and start in the field under the mentoring of adult umpires. The use of teenagers to umpire games has its pluses and minuses. We found that with few exceptions, the young umpires quickly develop into very good umpires and are more than adequate to do the games in the Prep League. The use of youth umpires is part of the philosophy of Springfield Babe Ruth, to provide baseball services to the Springfield community. This includes providing training and employment for young umpires. The cost of the umpires is one of the largest expenses for the league and is the reason our registration fee is higher than Little League where the umpiring is done by volunteers.
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