| Experience suggests that
while players greatly enjoy the move to the larger field and the
opportunity to do such things as lead off from first base, the transition
is not always easy or smooth.
Many players, and
especially those very experienced in Little League, find the transition
difficult because they have learned the old lessons very well. In
Babe Ruth, pitchers must hold runners on base without balking.
Catchers must hold on to that third strike to keep the batter from
advancing to first. These will be new challenges the players must
face.
Of course, one of the most
difficult adjustments is simply the size of the field. The
players will only be a bit bigger and stronger than they were last
year. But the distance from the pitching rubber to home and the
throw from third to first will be much longer.
We all watched the scores
in AA Little League drop to single digits in AAA and to "real
baseball" scores in Majors. They will climb again in Prep
because the Little League pitchers that were use to striking out the side
will get hit again.... and again. Their strike-to-ball ratio will
also fall and the number of fielding errors will increase..... at least in
the first half of the season.
But, this is what Prep
League all about -- a learning experience. By the second half of the
season, the pitchers will begin to find the strike zone, the fielders will
learn to make the throws and the games will extend out to six or seven
innings.
Then, the players will be
ready for the move to the Major or International Leagues.
The managers for the Prep
League will work with the players to help them make the transition. |
