Little League At Its Finest

Posted on September 24, 2011 by admin

Like all baseball fans, I am fascinated by the annual Little League Baseball World Series, which is held every August in South Williamsport, Pa., birthplace of the fabled league that was founded in 1939.

The Series, which began in 1947, presents Little League at its finest – young ballplayers, playing their hearts out for their team and town. This year, congratulations goes to Ocean View Little League from Huntington Beach, Calif., a team that brought Orange County its first Little League World Series championship.

Despite a tough pitchers’ duel for most of the game, it was a hit that ended the contest and won it for the Californians, who defeated Japan 2-1.

Throughout the past five years of playing baseball with his friends, Nick Pratto had imagined a magic moment at the plate when he’d dig in with his team down to its last out and the winning run on base. He’d be just one hit away from being a hero.

Then, on August 28, 2011, Pratto earned his chance to make that dream a reality. In the bottom of the sixth inning, he got ahead in the count and lined the ball into center field, driving in a base runner for the winning run. As he rounded first base, Pratto began to celebrate before being mobbed by his teammates.

What an incredible experience for a youngster and his team.

Why Kids Quit Baseball

Every year I am amazed at the skills, talent and athleticism of these young players emulating their favorite major league ballplayers.

So I was shocked when I read an article on the Little League World Series website that stated that 63 percent of the Little League ballplayers drop baseball after finishing Little League. Could that be right?

Sure, there are a lot of other sports to choose from – football, basketball and lacrosse, for example. But according to the Little League itself, the Number One reason given by players for dropping baseball was:

“I can’t hit.”

“I can catch” they say. ”And I can throw…but I can’t hit.”

Anyone who’s ever played baseball has been there–standing at the plate, bat in hands, facing skilled pitching that can be both blazing fast and confusingly clever. Succeeding in hitting the baseball three out of ten times at the plate is considered exceptional success.

In response, an entire industry has developed to help players become better hitters. Baseball hitting training and baseball equipment such as batting aids have become integral components of every batter’s hitting strategy.

A key element in the success of batters who improve their hitting averages is swing training for improved bat speed – the speed at which a bat travels through the hitting zone. A player must be able to generate good bat speed in order to be an effective hitter. A 1 mph increase in bat speed can result in approximately seven feet of distance on a batted ball.

Well, that is why we developed the Hitting Jack-It System™ — a variable-weighted hitting system that fits in the perfect balance point on the bat.

The Hitting Jack-It System™ was developed as a complete hitting system “by ball players for ball players” and the first of its kind baseball hitting aid that provides batters with immediate results, to quickly build their bat speed and power by increasing strength and guiding their hands to work properly when swinging, thus creating improved technique.

The Hitting Jack-It System™ was developed to allow players to improve their hitting at ALL levels – in every league from “little” to big, and those in between. We want young players to keep on playing onto the next level, and to maintain the level of fun they had when they were kids—just like the great fun enjoyed by Nick Pratto and his Ocean View Little League teammates in 2011.

Remember, those talented California players are Little League Baseball World Series champs due to a batter who ended a tight pitchers’ duel by getting around on a pitch and hitting the ball into the outfield for a fantastic win.

But why should those young men stop there?

To keep on playing and hitting, we tell them: “Swing the System!”