2015 Little League Magazine
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LittleLeague.org ® PRESENTEDPRESENTED BYBY magazine 2 015 INSIDE TWO WORLD-CLASS EYES STADIUMS FULL LLWS COVERAGE ON TIPS FROM THE MLB STARS PRIZE LITTLE LEAGUE® WORLD SERIES CHAMPION TODD FRAZIER HE’S BROUGHT HIS GAME, AND HIS INTENSITY, TO THE NEXT LEVEL INTRODUCING THE UA® DECEPTION MID RIM LittleLeague.org ® ) PITCH, HIT & RUN magazine 2 015 This spring, Little League International and Major League Baseball encourage you to host MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL or participate in an MLB Pitch, Hit & Run (PHR) President, Business & Media Bob Bowman local competition, which provides boys and girls Executive Vice President, Business Noah Garden ages 7–14 the chance to showcase their talents Vice President, Publishing Donald S. Hintze Editorial Director Mike McCormick in the Of cial Skills Competition of Major League Publications Art Director Faith M. Rittenberg Baseball. Local winners in three categories — Senior Production Manager Claire Walsh PITCHING to a strike zone target, HITTING Senior Account Executive, Publishing Chris Rodday for distance and accuracy, and RUNNING Senior Publishing Coordinator Jake Schwartzstein against the clock from second base to home Associate Art Director Mark Calimbas Associate Editor Allison Duffy plate — advance to the Sectional competition Editorial Intern Joe Sparacio in their region. Top players move on to the Team Championships, which are hosted in all 30 Major MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PHOTOS League ballparks. The leading scorers advance Manager Jessica Foster to the PHR National Finals, held during the 2015 Photo Editor Jim McKenna Project Photo Editor Taylor Baucom AROUND THE HORN GOOFING AROUND All-Star Game in Cincinnati! News from Little League to the Baseball mascots are the butts Leagues are scheduling their MLB Pitch, Hit & Run competitions now, so go online to get more information A special thank you to Major League Baseball Corporate Major Leagues. of countless jokes, but they and to register your league to host. Upon your sign-up, you will be forwarded a Local Administrator Kit Sales and Marketing and Major League Baseball have many tricks of their own containing materials needed to conduct the local competition. Those who want to participate can also go Licensing for advertising sales support. INSIDE THE PARK up their sleeves. online to nd a competition in their area. Get involved today by visiting PitchHitRun.com. For Major League Baseball info, visit: MLB.com Compare two world-class stadiums. PLAYING THE GAME: IN 2014, EIGHT PHR NATIONAL FINALISTS Clay Buchholz PLAYED LITTLE LEAGUE; WILL ONE OF YOUR LIVING THE DREAM Tips on pitching like a pro. PLAYERS BE NEXT? Todd Frazier always wanted to be a Major League All-Star. Now, the FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL Little League champ from New Super Bowl champion Russell 539 U.S. Highway 15 Jersey has it all. Wilson wows on the gridiron, but GEAR UP PITCH SMART P.O. Box 3485 By Mark Sheldon it was Little League that sparked Williamsport, PA 17701-0485 his love of sports. Little League programs in the Philippines In an effort to curb (570) 326-1921 WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS recently received $55,000 worth of baseball arm injuries, Major Chairman Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour All of the teams in the BOYS OF SUMMER and softball equipment. Earlier this year, League Baseball President & CEO Stephen D. Keener Little League World Series Big Leaguers remember their Wrigley Little League in Los Angeles also and USA BASEBALL Senior VP of Administration & CFO David B. Houseknecht tournaments are worthy, but playing days as kids. bene tted from a $10,000 equipment unveiled the “Pitch Senior VP of Operations and Program Development only a few earn banners. donation. And thanks to the 2014 Little Smart” arm safety Patrick W. Wilson VP and Treasurer Melissa L. Singer PLAYING THE GAME: League Big Legacy Project, ve other program in November. VP of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships TROUT/KERSHAW POSTER Heather Tarr leagues will receive donations from Pitch In The program attempts Liz DiLullo Brown Sponsored by Subway Tips on the proper batting stance. the Horn Around For Baseball, a not-for-pro t that collects to stop bad habits Senior Communications Executive Wayne Henninger and redistributes new and gently-used youth before they begin, Director of Media Relations Brian McClintock RISING STARS FUN & GAMES baseball/softball equipment to communities ultimately preventing Director of Publicity Chris Downs Harvey Sponsorship and Marketing Manager Dawn Hall Major League Baseball is filled Test your baseball knowledge in need across the world. kids and teenagers with young phenoms who with these puzzles featuring ( Last year, Little League announced from overusing their arms. Much like Little League’s For Little League info, visit: LittleLeague.org contended for, and won, awards Major League stars and Little that, in celebration of its 75th anniversary, arm-safety program, it provides age-speci c guidelines in 2014. League rules. American Honda Motor Corp., the Of cial and pitch counts for players up to 18 years old. “We If you have any questions or comments regarding material in this publication, please send letters to: Vehicle of Little League Baseball and believe this is a long-term step toward keeping pitchers Attention: Editor, Little League Magazine, MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYING THE GAME: FIELD OF DREAMS Softball, provided an additional grant of healthy as they progress through all levels of baseball,” BASEBALL, 75 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 Alex Avila Don’t miss the excitement of the $50,000. The total $100,000 donation, along says Joe Torre, MLB’s Chief Baseball Of cer. © 2015 Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Reproduction in Tips on being the best backstop. 2015 Little League World Series with generous equipment donations from The initiative came on the heels of injuries to some whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed tournament season! Easton Sports, will support seven gifts to of the game’s best pitchers, including Jose Fernandez, in the USA. IN THEIR CLEATS local Little League programs. Jarrod Parker, Matt Moore and Matt Harvey. The © 2015 Little League Baseball, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Olympic softball stars Jennie If you have some gently-used equipment program’s guidelines can be found on PitchSmart.org. Finch and Jessica Mendoza COVER PHOTO BY MARK LIPCZYNSKI FOR MLB PHOTOS; CHRIS FAYTOK/THE that you would like to donate to Pitch In For The site also includes statistics, risk factors, awareness never stopped going for gold. STAR-LEDGER (FRAZIER INSET) Baseball, visit PIFB.org for more information. tips, and published research and videos. SARA RUBINSTEIN/MLB PHOTOS (PITCH, HIT & RUN); ROB FOLDY/GETTY IMAGES (HARVEY) Around the Horn PLAYER MODE SURPRISE! Don’t miss your chance to get in the game with R.B.I. Baseball 15, which boasts Famous Fan Ryan Howard visited with Around the Horn Around a suite of new features and hi-res graphics. Cubs All-Star Anthony Rizzo graces The players who get the opportunity to On Aug. 12, Olympic softball legend the game’s cover, and is the rst Cubs player to be featured on any baseball video compete in any of the nine Little League Jennie Finch surprised players at the the players on Aug. 21 and gave them game in more than a decade. World Series events come away with a Little League Softball World Series in some pointers during their practice “Being on the cover of R.B.I. Baseball 15 is so awesome,” says Rizzo. “You lifetime of memories, but some special Portland, Ore. Dudley brought Finch to sessions. While there was plenty of think about all these things as a kid: [being on] the cover of a game, the cover of visitors made those experiences even Alpenrose Stadium to speak with all the excitement on the eld for the players, a magazine. It’s surreal.” better in 2014, thanks to the support of participants and throw out a ceremonial getting to meet these two standout two Of cial Sponsors of Little League rst pitch. At the Little League Baseball athletes was another highlight of their Baseball and Softball. World Series in Williamsport, Subway tournament experiences. Gamers of all ages can appreciate the Online Play Choose to play in online updated features, including: multiplayer mode in friendly and ranked games. Full Roster Play with complete 25- man Major League rosters for all 30 Gameplay Settings Pick your teams, modifying your batting order competition level from three options: or pitching rotation at any point. Set easy, medium or hard. the active 25-man roster from each franchise’s 40-man roster. Choose from In addition to its new features, more than 1,000 active Big Leaguers. the game also looks great. Every ballpark has been completely Stat Tracking For the rst time ever, redesigned to feel authentic and iPod touch and supported Android track batting and pitching statistics incorporate famous details. smartphones and tablets. Also, get ready in season mode, including viewable R.B.I. Baseball 15 is available for for PC and Mac availability on the Steam team, player and season league purchase as a digital download for the platform. Visit RBIgame.com and follow leaderboards. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, iPad, @RBIGame on Twitter for more info. FAMOUS “BUDDY” BACK TO HIS ROOTS The Jacksonville Jaguars Last August, MLB v chose quarterback Blake owners unanimously ROAD TO WILLIAMSPORT Bortles with the third elected Robert DECKED OUT overall pick in the 2014 D. Manfred as NFL Draft, but the Oviedo, Commissioner Bud Teams at the 2014 Little League Baseball World Winning your district Fla., native’s heart belongs Selig’s successor, and Series wore new, state-of-the-art sublimated tournament affords you to baseball — speci cally baseball’s new leader uniforms, and this year, Russell Athletic will unveil bragging rights among his hometown’s Little wasted no time getting brand new uniforms at all nine LLWS Tournaments.