PTC Little League Fiasco

[DVA7130]

A team who affiliated themselves with my local LL (Peachtree City GA) recently won the state championship and were scheduled to play in the Southeast Region Tournament starting this past weekend, however only a few days before the start of play, a committee from Williamsport suddenly and mysteriously disqualified the team, stripped them of their title and awarded the runner-up the birth.

See the facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/peachtreecitylittleleague

And the most detailed press report here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/08/01/3227636/peachtree-city-little-league-ruled.html?sp=%2F99%2F164%2F165%2F

It seems on the outside (how the league wants it) that they were ousted because of obscure technicalities, but I work in this league, and I saw this team in person.

Fist off, this was Not a league team, or collection of league rec players in any possible way. This was a Very good Travel team(s) collaboration trying to crash the Big Dance. The "league" game I called for them this year was the most bizarre baseball game I have ever seen. It was a joke.

The coaches of this team flat out told me that they were a collection of USSSA travel kids trying to make it to the stage of the LLWS. They, "Basically just have to play a few 'league' games to qualify". I felt like the league team was just a punching bag. This travel team used their own pitcher and catcher while on offense because, "We want some actual competitive practice" as well as the poor rec catcher could not handle the pitching. It was the least balanced game I ever seen, and from experience with this league, I know it is hilarious that they tried to pass themselves off as the level of play you can expect in Peachtree City, my absolute least favorite place to call a ball game because it will be Bad and Boring.

This is not the way the tournament is supposed to work.

Well obviously they were caught. I posted my experience of the "league" game on the facebook page and it was deleted. They are trying to pass this off as technicalities, but I know the true deeper problems.

Rat behavior is Rat behavior, and I am ashamed this league tried to help the cheaters pull this off.

My journalism piece for the year.

[JaxRolo]

For every team that gets caught there is probably 10 that make it through.

[Jimurray]

For ever team that gets caught there is probably 10 that make it through.

Checkout team mizuno, Northside Suburban out of San Antonio. Not enough evidence.

[SoCal Lurker]

They got Al Capone on tax evasion . . . .

[Jocko]

Not sure exactly WHY a team would do this. But it raises a question....had the number of 12s been appropriate, would they have been disqualified? They're still a travel team.

[basejester]

I'm reading between the lines a little bit, but my guess is that the travel team was composed of more than eight 12-year-olds.  Their tournament affidavit lists truthfully the regular season team that each player played on.  The PTC Little League created a "rec team" composed of the intact travel team instead of a running a proper draft.  Something looked fishy to the Little League officials that led them to the correct conclusion.  (For instance, maybe all of the players came from the same rec team.)  The signed affidavit of the violation of the 12s rule was the most convenient evidence.  The league has attested themselves that their team is in violation of the rules.

 

Players on the Little League all-star roster who also participate on a travel team is not a violation.  A proper all-star selection process (giving all the players a fair shot) -  happening to result in an all-star team close to or matching that travel team - is not a violation.  Bringing a complete team into the league is a serious violation.  Making a farce out of the recreational league season will not go over well.  They haven't really participated in a legal recreational season, as described by @DVA7130.

 

This is guesswork.  I have no first-hand knowledge.  Your mileage may vary.  Void where prohibited.

[Jocko]

Just seems like an mlb team pretending to be a mens rec team for the purpose of playing in a tournament. Why? What's thd benefit? If they win out, well......they should have. If they don't, then they got beat by a bunch of rec kids with a daddy coach. Nothing to gain. Much like Rampage Jackson fighting an elderly person. I just don't see the point.

[basejester]

They get to be on TV.  It's an extremely inexpensive tournament for a successful team: $150 for the team.  Their travel is paid for by Little League.  Almost everyone they are competing with above the district level plays in some league in addition to the recreational one.  It's good competition.

 

Plus they get to be on TV.

[Fittske24]

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

[grayhawk]

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

 

Exactly - what's so hard about just splitting them up via a normal draft for league play?  

[basejester]

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

They have to play in 60% of the regular season, so a bit more than that.  But, yes, they could easily have met the requirement.

[DVA7130]

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

Shhhh

[Richvee]

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

Wouldn't the travel team coach need to coach one of the regular season LL teams to be allowed to coach the all star team?

[Rich Ives]

 

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

Wouldn't the travel team coach need to coach one of the regular season LL teams to be allowed to coach the all star team?

 

 

Yes.

[CricketChapman]

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

I know for a fact that this (weekdays with rec team, weekends with travel) is the procedure South Nashville uses.  And I am sure that it is comparative to the process all across the country.  It really cheapens the whole idea of what youth rec baseball is supposed to be about.

This is also happening in Cal Ripken.  The 12U State Champion at the tournament we recently hosted had played in 4-5 travel tournaments throughout the season.

[BigUmpire]

The Little League model is broke to be sure.

[basejester]

The Little League model is broke to be sure.

Can you be more specific?  I think thread isn't an issue of the model so much as not following the model.

[kylejt]

I think it was the fake draft, where all the 11's ended up on one team, and the 12's on the other. The "prez" tried to explain that that was just how the proper draft went down, and both manager had the choice of any player. And, they were new, and didn't know about the max number 12 years olds per team. Him just spouting that nonsense made the ax so easy to drop on these idiots. They could have very easily, with a little homework, gone about this the proper way.

 

Plenty of LL All Star teams are comprised of nearly intact travel teams. This is what usually happens: A properly selected 9-10 team does fairly well in post season, and the families all get along. Someone suggests to keep the team intact, and play some travel tournaments in the summer. The next season comes along, and nearly all the same players end up on the 10-11 team. Not through any sort of conspiracy, but by the very nature of these kids being, and continuing to be good. When they're 12, the same thing happens. Hence, the core group of these kids have been playing travel ball together for 2-3 years. It's not some sort of grand scheme, but just what naturally happens in many leagues.

 

Now, if a team is not properly selected, or kids from out of the boundaries are snuck in, etc., is when WP drops the hammer. So, if you decide to form your own league with two teams, don't allow other players in, have a sham draft, and then lie about, guess what's going to happen?

[BigUmpire]

 

The Little League model is broke to be sure.

Can you be more specific?  I think thread isn't an issue of the model so much as not following the model.

 

The lure of post season glory has ruined the model.

It seems that LOTS of leagues are doing this.

[StrikeDavis]

 

The lure of post season glory has ruined the model.

It seems that LOTS of leagues are doing this.

Legion baseball fell into that same thing.  They signed a 5-year deal to have the championships televised on ESPNU.  In order to accommodate ESPNU, they ended up bumping up regionals in PA (I assume other states as well) by about 2 weeks.  The teams in our area still play the same amount of games but in a shorter window.  The legion regular season around here wrapped up shortly after July 4th.  Playoffs were finished like a week and a half later.  Legion baseball also has a restriction where if you are on a legion team, you cannot play travel ball.  Guess where all the better players are?  The place where your season isn't over by July 4th.         

[Gfoley4]

 

 

The lure of post season glory has ruined the model.

It seems that LOTS of leagues are doing this.

Legion baseball fell into that same thing.  They signed a 5-year deal to have the championships televised on ESPNU.  In order to accommodate ESPNU, they ended up bumping up regionals in PA (I assume other states as well) by about 2 weeks.  The teams in our area still play the same amount of games but in a shorter window.  The legion regular season around here wrapped up shortly after July 4th.  Playoffs were finished like a week and a half later.  Legion baseball also has a restriction where if you are on a legion team, you cannot play travel ball.  Guess where all the better players are?  The place where your season isn't over by July 4th.         

 

Interesting. The Legion regionals for the Great Lakes are going on right now and the team from my hometown is still playing. (Illinois)

[StrikeDavis]

The Mid-Atlantic Regionals are going on in Brooklawn, NJ.  They wrap up on August 11th.  The Legion World Series runs from August 14-19 in Shelby, NC.  All the games are available on ESPN3.  The championship game is on ESPNU.

[kylejt]

Fortune and glory.

 

We have kids that bail out of our local league at 9, then come back at 12, to try to go on a tournament run. We have a history of going deep in the LL tournament, and even went to WP in '05.

 

Everyone likes to hate in LL, until their kid is 12. Funny how that works out.

 

Nearby, we had two idiot Dads that faked living in an apartment, to get their kids in same local as the rest of their travel team. That backfired because someone is always willing to rat you out.

[Jocko]

Fortune and glory.

 

We have kids that bail out of our local league at 9, then come back at 12, to try to go on a tournament run. We have a history of going deep in the LL tournament, and even went to WP in '05.

 

Everyone likes to hate in LL, until their kid is 12. Funny how that works out.

 

Nearby, we had two idiot Dads that faked living in an apartment, to get their kids in same local as the rest of their travel team. That backfired because someone is always willing to rat you out.

That's just sad.

[SoCal Lurker]

 

Fortune and glory.

 

We have kids that bail out of our local league at 9, then come back at 12, to try to go on a tournament run. We have a history of going deep in the LL tournament, and even went to WP in '05.

 

Everyone likes to hate in LL, until their kid is 12. Funny how that works out.

 

Nearby, we had two idiot Dads that faked living in an apartment, to get their kids in same local as the rest of their travel team. That backfired because someone is always willing to rat you out.

That's just sad.

 

I think a *lot* of that goes on w/ LL.  With teh new rules, I'm waiting to hear about the kids that changed schools to be eligible to play in a different LL . . . .