{"id":287493,"date":"2023-08-25T14:20:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=287493"},"modified":"2023-08-25T18:04:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T22:04:43","slug":"little-league-for-baseballs-global-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/sports\/baseball\/little-league-for-baseballs-global-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"Little League, for baseball\u2019s global expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reinaldo Nerey<\/strong><\/p>\n

No president of the United States has played in the Major Leagues, but there are records of at least one being a star in the Little League diamonds. George W. Bush, at just 9 years old, ran around with bats and balls in the Central Little League of Midland, Texas, nearly 7 decades ago. Later, he became the first and only Little Leaguer to ever sit in the Oval Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

This might be an inconsequential piece of information. Still, it serves to illustrate the magnitude of a small project that came to life in the late 1930s and then went on to expand to more than 80 countries, involving every type of public figures and future stars of the athletic universe: Little League Baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan O\u2019Brien, Barcelona 1992 decathlon champion and triple world champion in Tokyo, Stuttgart and Gothenburg, played in Little League as a child; so did John Shuster, winner of the Winter Olympic Games in curling, and footballer Sydney Leroux, summer monarch in London 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

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With the Little League expansion program, Cuba debuted this year in the World Series in Williamsport. Photo: taken from the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another eloquent example of the reach of the Little League is the passage through said tournaments of true legends of the four great circuits of professional sports in the United States: MLB (baseball), NFL (American football), NBA (basketball) and NHL (ice hockey).<\/span><\/p>\n

A total of 34 Cooperstown Hall of Famers played in the Little League, including living legends like Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Greg Maddux, Carl Ripken Jr., Nolan Ryan and Joe Torre, as well as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, second scorer in NBA history, and Tracy McGrady, both immortals of U.S. basketball.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, 7 members of the American Football Hall of Fame went through the Little League, including the legendary Joe Montana and Dan Marino, as well as 7 other players who won the Super Bowl, among them Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Deion Sanders.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the truly wonderful thing about the Little League is that it has completely transcended the borders of the United States. According to reports from the organization itself, Little League Baseball has become the largest organized youth sports program in the world, with nearly 200,000 teams in all 50 U.S. states and in more than 80 countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Cuba showcased the talent of its players in their first foray into the Little League World Series. Photo: Jackson Ranger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This growth was impossible to envision in 1938, when Carl Stotz had the idea of creating an organized baseball league for boys in his hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The program was intended to instill in them sportsmanship and the values of fair play and teamwork. Brothers George and Bert Bebble joined that line and together with Stotz formed the first 3 Little League teams: Lycoming Dairy, Lundy Lumber and Jumbo Pretzel.<\/span><\/p>\n

They laid the foundations for a program that was not further developed due to World War II. However, after the end of the war, solid steps began to be taken for the rise and growth of the project, which in less than two decades managed to consolidate and expand nonstop, as shown by the following data:<\/span><\/p>\n

* In 1950 the Little League already had more than 300 affiliated circuits and in 1951 it experienced its first international expansion with the creation of a championship in British Columbia, Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

* By the end of 1952, the impact also began to be felt when Joey Jay became the first Little League player to play in MLB with the Milwaukee Braves.<\/span><\/p>\n

* In just a decade, the Little League managed to expand to 48 states in the country and carry out more than 4,000 programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

* International expansion peaked in 1957 and 1958, when the boys from Monterrey, Mexico, became the first Little League World Series champion in successive seasons. Contrary to what many may think, no team from the United States achieved 2 consecutive tournament titles until almost 40 years after its founding.<\/span><\/p>\n

* In 1960, only 15 years after the end of World War II, the Little League had more than 27,400 teams worldwide, reaching places with minimal baseball tradition such as Germany, from where the first European team (Berlin) arrived to Little League World Series.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Cuba showcased the talent of its players in their first foray into the Little League World Series. Photo: Jackson Ranger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we have already said, the Little League\u2019s international expansion of one of the strongest points of the organization, which has contributed to the development of baseball and the discovery of new talent in many countries. That impulse has been palpable in the traditional World Series that since 1947 has been held every year in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the history of the event, 29 countries have participated, including some without any baseball tradition such as Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Uganda or Turkey. Of all the foreigners, China Taipei is the one that has climbed to the top of the Little League classic the most times (17), followed by Japan (11), Mexico (3), South Korea (3), Venezuela (2) and Curacao (1).<\/span><\/p>\n

As for the regions of the United States, California is the winner (6 crowns), followed by Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and Hawaii, all with 4 scepters.<\/span><\/p>\n