World Series Blog

"Last Day of Pool Play"

Entry Date: August 6, 2008
By: Lance Van Auken, Senior Communications Executive, Little League International

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 Today is the last day of Pool Play at the Little League Baseball Mid-Atlantic and New England regional tournaments here in Bristol, Conn., at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center.

 

The players here are anticipating the arrival tomorrow of the Commissioner's Trophy, better known as Major League Baseball's World Series Trophy awarded annually to the world champion in the big leagues. This one belongs to the Boston Red Sox, having won the Fall Classic last year.

 

And everyone is enjoying the historic first telecasts  of regional games by the New England Sports Network (NESN) and the Madison Square Garden network (MSG). Announcers John Giannone, Lou Merloni and Tina Cervasio are doing an outstanding job, along with Producer Brian Zechello all the other folks representing NESN and MSG.

 

But the unsung heroes here in Bristol are the members of the grounds crew, which has done a teriffic job of keeping Breen Field in great shape for these games. It rained - hard - for most of last night and this morning, but the grounds crew was somehow able to not only make the field playable, but to put it into great condition. The result: A 20-minute delay in the first game of the day, when it could have been hours.

 

But that's just par for the course for Little League volunteers, not only here in Bristol, but around the world. They're simply the best.

"Let’s see that one again"

Entry Date: July 31, 2008

By: Dennis Lewin, Chairman of the Little League International Board of Directors

Little League Baseball has been a big part of my life. I played it. Both of my parents coached it and I helped coach it while in high school. I produced television coverage of the World Series many times during my 30 years at ABC Sports. Now, I am honored to serve as Chairman of the International Board of Directors for Little League Baseball, Incorporated.

I am proud to be a part of a great tradition that has provided youngsters around the globe an opportunity to not only learn sports skills, but, also life skills, including, but not limited to, sportsmanship, integrity, how to play fair, how to win and how to lose. It is an organization for boys and girls that has seen such innovations as playing fields sized for youngsters, batting helmets, catcher’s helmets, pitch counts and more. Now, Steve Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball, and his staff have decided to experiment with the use of instant-replay technology during the upcoming Little League World Series, the first such use in baseball to our knowledge.

After leaving ABC Sports, I joined the National Football League as Senior Vice President of Broadcasting where I was extremely involved in the creation and implementation of the League’s instant replay system. At first, I was a skeptic and of the “old school.” “Sports are played by humans, officiated by humans and humans do make mistakes and should be permitted to do so. Also, there is no need to interrupt the natural flow of an event, etc., etc., etc.”

However it did not take long for me to realize I was wrong. The greatest errors were ones that millions of viewers knew were incorrect rulings made by humans that did not have a view of a play as good as the ones the viewers had by virtue of the multiple angles that television cameras provide. I suspect one would find very few players, fans or officials today who don't agree that whatever problems may be “created” by the limited use of instant replay, the positives have far outweighed the negatives.

A few years ago, a Little League World Series U.S. Semifinal Game was potentially decided by a ball that was called a double by rule. TV replays clearly showed it should have been a home run. The losing team possibly had its chance to play in the Little League World Series U.S. Championship Game ruined by the call. Following the game and having seen the replay, the umpire who made the call felt as badly as the losing team.

Now all 32 of the World Series games are televised by ESPN and Mr. Keener decided that it was time to experiment with batted balls that might be incorrectly ruled in play or out of play at the outfield fence. Thus, he went to ESPN to work out the technology that will be used. As for the kids, the greatest users of technology today are the younger generations. They are more in tune with using modern “technology” than my generation. It’s a regular part of their lives in and outside of school. I suspect if you asked most youngsters they would rather have a game umpired correctly than potentially lose (or win) because of a mistake.

Yes, I know the criticism that will come our way. “This is a game for kids.” “The delays will be more often and longer than anticipated.” “The purity and wholesomeness of the event will be compromised.” “Replay is a slippery slope, you use it on a limited basis for ‘obvious’ errors and slowly you start to micro-manage decisions and expand the use of replay.” “Television angles can be deceiving.”

Little League Baseball will experiment. If it is successful it will continue. If not, it will be “under review” once again next year. The process can always be modified, refined or canceled.

I say, give replay a chance to prove itself to be “fair or foul.”