Junior, Senior & Big League Baseball

"Big League Baseball" redirects here. For professional baseball commonly known as the big leagues, see Major League Baseball
Junior, Senior, and Big League Baseball

Junior, Senior, and Big League Baseball are divisions of Little League Baseball.
Sport Baseball
Founded 1981
TV partner(s) ABC, ESPN
Founder Carl Stotz
Official website http://www.littleleague.org/

Junior, Senior, and Big League Baseball are youth baseball divisions of Little League Baseball that are considered more advanced and difficult than younger Little League divisions due to more advanced rules, including the ability to lead-off and steal as the pitcher breaks, along with longer base paths and greater pitching distance. Junior League also includes the use of bats with 2 5⁄8-inch (6.7 cm) barrels rather than the transitional 2 1⁄4-inch (5.7 cm) barrels of Little League. Junior League also allows the use of metal spikes in cleats in addition to the molded or plastic spikes used in Little League.

Age divisions

Junior League

Junior League Baseball is for children aged 13 to 14 years old.[1]

Senior League

Senior League Baseball is for children aged 15 to 16 years old.[2]

Big League

Big League Baseball is for children aged 17 to 18 years old.[3]

Tournament Venues

Junior League

The tournament is held in Taylor, Michigan's Heritage Park.

Senior League

The tournament has been held in Bangor, Maine since 2002.

Big League

The tournament's host has been Easley, South Carolina since 1998. The tournament had previously been in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1968 to 1970 and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from 1970 to 1998.

Regions

In general

For the Little League baseball division, there are sixteen regions, whose champions are divided into two brackets (U.S. and International). The eight U.S. regions are: New England, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest (including Alaska), and West (including Hawaii). Since 2013, the eight international regions are: Asia-Pacific and Middle East (all countries in both regions, except for Australia, Israel, Japan, and Turkey), Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Europe and Africa (also includes Israel and Turkey), Japan, Latin America (Central America and South America), and Mexico.[4]

For the Junior, Senior, and Big League baseball divisions, there are only five U.S. regions:

The international regions differ in these three divisions.

Junior League regions

Unlike the Little League World Series — which has sixteen regions (eight in the U.S. bracket and eight in the International bracket) — the Junior League World Series has only ten regions, whose champions are divided into the United States Pool and the International Pool.[5]

The Junior League has five international regions:

Senior League regions

Unlike the Little League World Series — which has sixteen regions, divided into U.S. and International brackets — the Senior League World Series (1) has only nine regions, (2) has a host team (Maine District 3), and (3) the regional champions (plus the host team) are divided into two mixed pools that combine U.S. and international regions (Pool A and Pool B).[6]

The Senior League has only four international regions:

Big League regions

Unlike the Little League World Series — which has sixteen regions (eight in the U.S. and eight international) — the Big League World Series (1) has only ten regions, divided into Pool A (U.S.) and Pool B (International), and (2) has a host team (South Carolina District 1), which plays in the U.S. pool.[7]

The Big League has five international regions:

Playing Field

The distance between the bases is 90 feet, the same as for regulation Major League Baseball fields. The distance between the pitcher's mound to home plate is 60.6 feet, also identical to that of MLB. The minimum outfield distance in the upper divisions is 300 feet, while the maximum for Big League is 425 feet.

Game Length

A game consists of seven innings (same as in high school baseball) and is official if five innings have been completed.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Junior League Baseball. Little League International. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  2. ↑ Senior League Baseball. Little League International. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
  3. ↑ Big League Baseball. Little League International. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
  4. ↑ "Regions Realigned for 2013: Australia to Play in Little League Baseball World Series" (Press release). Little League Baseball. August 29, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  5. ↑ 2009 Junior League Baseball World Series pools and results. Little League Baseball Incorporated. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  6. ↑ 2009 Senior League Baseball World Series pools and results. Little League Baseball Incorporated. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  7. ↑ 2009 Big League Baseball World Series pools and results. Little League Baseball Incorporated. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
Little League Baseball

Boys: Little League Baseball | Junior League Baseball | Senior League Baseball | Big League Baseball
Girls: Little League Softball World Series | Junior League Softball (girls) | Senior League Softball (girls) |
Big League Softball (girls)
Boys softball: Little League Softball (boys) | Senior League Softball (boys) | Big League Softball (boys)

United States
Central

     Great Lakes
     Midwest

East

     Mid-Atlantic
     New England

South

     Southeast
     Southwest

West

     Northwest
     West

International
Far East

     Asia-Pacific and Middle East
     Australia
     Japan

Latin America

     Caribbean
     Latin America
     Mexico

Other

     Canada
     Europe and Africa

World Series:
Boys baseball – List of Champions
Little League World Series - Intermediate WS - Junior WS - Senior WS - Big WS

Girls softball – List of Champions
Little League Softball World Series - Girls Junior WS - Girls Senior WS - Girls Big WS

Boys softball – Boys Little League Softball WS - Boys Senior League Softball WS - Boys Big League Softball WS

Notable figures: Carl Stotz
Honors: Little League Baseball awards • Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum
In popular culture:
Movies: Mickey
Video games: Little League World Series Baseball
Well-known players: Danny Almonte • Mo'ne Davis • Aaron Durley • Carolyn King • Maria Pepe
Miscellaneous: Little League elbow • White House Tee Ball Initiative
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