Lexington youth baseball teams choose freedom over fame

By Travis Waldron - twaldron@herald-leader.com

Sometime in the coming week, TV viewers might tire of round-the-clock Olympics, Cincinnati Reds losses and Brett Favre coverage.

For relief, they'll turn to ESPN in search of a traditional end-of-summer favorite: Little League Baseball.

Ripken divisions
Southeastern Lexington is playing in the Major/70 World Series, and South Lexington is competing in the Major/60 World Series. What's the difference?
The numbers refer to the two different sizes of fields.
In Little League Baseball, ages 11 and 12 play on a field with a mound 46 feet from home plate and base paths that measure 60 feet. Cal Ripken offers that “standard” field, but also a field on which the mound measures 50 feet and the base paths are 70 feet.
Cal Ripken leagues may choose which they want to use.
Southeastern uses both the 50-70 and 46-60 versions. South Lexington uses the 46-60 field only.
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Cal RipkenWorld Series
Two teams will represent Lexington in Cal Ripken Baseball World Series for players 12 and under:
Southeastern Lexington All-Stars — Major/70 World Series at Aberdeen, Md., Saturday through Aug. 16.
South Lexington All-Stars — Major/60 World Series at Martin, Tenn., Thursday through Aug. 14.

What they will not see throughout two weeks of broadcasts is a team from Lexington, which has been home to some of the nation's finest youth baseball leagues of the past decade.

Lexington's two dominant youth baseball organizations — Southeastern and South Lexington — will both be represented in the World Series, but their All-Star teams will not be on ESPN and will not visit Williamsport, Pa., because they are not part of the Little League Baseball family. Instead, both play under the banner of Cal Ripken Baseball.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

Southeastern Lexington's All-Stars open play Sunday in the 16-team Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series at Aberdeen, Md., making their sixth consecutive appearance in the international competition.

South Lexington's all-stars begin competition Thursday in the 10-team Cal Ripken Major/60 World Series at Martin, Tenn.

But why would Lexington's two most competitive leagues choose less-heralded Cal Ripken Baseball over Little League Baseball, with all the TV exposure and acclaim?

Freedom.

Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken district commissioner Steve Bentley and Southeastern President Mike Hostetter said Ripken Baseball offers more freedom to choose the way they govern the leagues.

“The words we use are flexibility and autonomy,” regional commissioner Robert Faherty said. “We think a league, given its structure, should have some freedom. You can't cookie-cut it for every program.”

Cal Ripken Baseball is a division of Babe Ruth Baseball. The 4-12 age division adopted the name of the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer when Ripken became involved with the organization earlier this decade.

Though Cal Ripken and Little League center on the same basic principles, the two leagues take different on-field approaches.

Bentley said Cal Ripken Baseball allows parents to choose an experience that best serves each player's aspirations, whether the child is more competitive and looking to transition to high school or just playing ball for something to do in the summer.

“Mom and Dad have the option,” Bentley said. “You have Minor League and Major League. Let's say you have the kid who wants to play piano on Tuesday and wants to play ball two times a week. He's an OK ball player. He doesn't come up here and go through tryouts. He says, ‘I don't want to play ball five days a week.'”

Another example Hostetter cited was the freedom to change on-field rules. Cal Ripken does not require mandatory play for all players the way Little League does.

Instead, Bentley said, the leagues have been able to create different ways to get everyone involved.

Cal Ripken offers the opportunity to create a variety of leagues, such as a 9-12 division for the most competitive players (Majors), an 11-12-year-old division for the less competitive (Minors). It also has a supplemental division for ages 9-10 that allows those playing in Majors more playing time or those who are less competitive to have a place to play.

Bentley and Hostetter agreed that under Little League, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to develop leagues their own way.

“In my opinion, Little League pretty much dictates what you have to do,” Hostetter said. “If you don't do it, they don't care. Because they're so popular, they tell you to hit the road. Cal Ripken is not as demanding.”

Those associated with Little League see the benefits of Cal Ripken, but they prefer the tradition of Little League.

Tim Seeberger, a coach and representative at Eastern Little League in Lexington, said his league hasn't considered changing the rules that differ between the two leagues.

“There's some tradition built into Little League,” Seeberger said. “Little League is about participation. It's about giving kids a chance to play baseball. We've generated rules for participation, not just competition.”

While the two leagues see some issues differently, officials from each are not interested in competing with the other.

“If you're talking about big-picture philosophy, there's some competition. We're trying to service the same group of people,” Faherty said. “But we both get discouraged when kids are turned away from youth baseball completely.”

Seeberger agreed.

“We feel like we have a great product,” he said of Little League. “But we feel like they have a great product, too. It's the difference between a Cadillac and a Lexus — whatever you prefer works best.”