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Guest Column

Give Little League a try; it's feel-good baseball

By TONY BRUNELLO
Published August 12, 2007

Nothing has been timelier than your series on Little League baseball and softball. As a longtime member of the board of Bay Point Little League, and a true believer in the ethic of Little League, I found your coverage useful at bringing about public awareness of a changing world. What I would like to tell people is simple: If you love baseball, consider coming home to Little League.

Our local leaders in District Five Little League passionately remind us that Little League was created for the average family and player to enjoy the game of baseball. Little League is truly about the kids but, more, it is about our neighborhoods and the people who live next door.

Little League is about community. To give you an example, I need to say a few things about my league. Bay Point Little League, in south St. Petersburg, is believed to be the oldest continuously running league in Florida, and the first integrated Little League in Florida. This heritage matters to us a great deal.

A little over 10 years ago, we were in terrible debt and were about to lose our fields near Bay Point Elementary School. A new league board gathered, erased the nearly $10,000 of debt and, with the help of the entire community, the city of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and our City Council, some of the most beautiful new ballfields were built behind Lakewood High School.

The building of a new park required countless hours and enormous effort by our Bay Point family. We worked for these parks as if they were truly our own. Our league has outfitted two concession stands and brought sponsors to build scoreboards on all the fields. Everything inside the concessions - from freezers and coolers, to cookers, and even cabinets and plumbing - was built, installed and paid for by Bay Point volunteers and sponsors. Our batting cages were built by Bay Point volunteers.

The ball parks belong to everyone in St. Petersburg, but we really do care for them (all year-round) as if they were our own. The question, of course, is why? The simple and honest answer is because we care about our kids and our neighborhood. We believe the heritage of this Little League is important.

Many of the Bay Point volunteers involved over these years no longer have children in the league. These people really believe in something good, and they are among the finest folks I have ever known. They are proud to have built something lasting for the families and children of south St. Petersburg.

Little League is about neighborhood and community. For many years, our District Five volunteers have been working the fields, running the concessions, umpiring games, raising sponsors, and working on their boards all within their local neighborhood community. This volunteerism is what builds social capital and is the real heart of any neighborhood. This is why Little League has those pesky boundaries that Amateur Athletic Union and Dizzy Dean leagues find so annoying.

Little League is about building the common good within the neighborhood, and you see it in the emphasis on a total volunteer organization. Coaching, concessions, maintenance and governance are all done by volunteers and parents. Even the umpires, especially at the district level, train, attend clinics and work together as volunteers.

More important, I can guarantee that the committed Little League umpire (although imperfect) is as reliable and competent as any paid umpire in youth sports I have ever seen. Little League volunteers work tirelessly, often thanklessly, to keep alive an idea that baseball and softball, for your neighborhood, are very good things.

Little League is also about equality. Yes, Little League has competition, but everyone must play. Everyone within the neighborhood boundary is welcome. Although no league or coach is perfect, Little League tries to play fair, and it emphasizes that no team can be "stacked." Rules are in place to try to keep teams even and, at the younger levels, scoring and winning are de-emphasized.

Little League is about every child - girl or boy -who wants to play the game. Our sponsors are called upon to help us provide the resources for "scholarships" because no child can be denied the right to play Little League due to financial need. This means that Little Leagues must raise the funds to pay dues, insurance, maintain fields, provide safe equipment, provide uniforms, pay rental and power fees and be able to offer need-based scholarships.

Our local sponsors at Bay Point Little League are the same people who fix our cars and cook our pizzas. Bay Point sponsors are our veterinarians, doctors and dentists. Thank God for their help, and they live right here in our neighborhood. Little League at its best is a chance to bring local people together on behalf of our kids. These are the ties that bind. Little League can be competitive, and young people can learn the game without being forced to make a lifetime commitment at the age of 9 or 10 years old.

Little League will ask you to be volunteers, but you will play in your local ballpark with the people you see each day in your community. You will leave behind a smaller carbon footprint as you drive less, stay closer to home, and try to organize around homework, music practice and church. Little League will ask you to help build a neighborhood association, and you might even leave behind something good for others to one day come along and enjoy as you did with your children.

Things have changed over the years. In spite of these trends, if you love baseball or softball, you should consider coming out to Little League. You can have the game and competition, but in an environment close to home, among family and neighbors. You might even do something good for the people you see every week at school, the grocery store, church, and at the ballpark.

Tony Brunello lives in St. Petersburg.

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[Last modified August 12, 2007, 01:24:51]