Grafton High School, Wisconsin, baseball team. Batter at the plate.
Youth baseball is played by elementary-school-age and high-school-age children of both genders. Of the various leagues listed below, Little League baseball is the most widespread. The Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, draws participants from around the world and is televised in the US on ESPN.
American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) is for players above junior-baseball age. It provides progressive and continuous organized competition from pre-teens to adults. National tournament play is organized by leagues, with successful teams advancing to higher levels of tournament play, instead of the "all-star" procedure used by Little League Baseball.
The first annual National Youth Baseball Championships (NYBC) tournament was held in August 2008 for players in two divisions: 10U and 12U.[5][6] The purpose of the tournament is to recognize one team as the "National Youth Baseball Champion."[5][6] The tournament organizer is the Major Youth Baseball Alliance, LLC, which was formed by eight major national youth baseball organizations, whose programs have more than eight million participants.[5][6] The eight organizations are: AABC (American Amateur Baseball Congress), AAU (Amateur Athletic Union of the United States), Babe Ruth Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, NABF (National Amateur Baseball Federation), Pony Baseball, Super Series Baseball of America, and USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association).[5][6]
From 1998 (or earlier) through 2010 (or later), there has been an annual, national all-stars tournament each June — the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars; its predecessor was the National Amateur All-Star Baseball Tournament (NAABT). The tournament features the top 16- to 18-year-old players from various baseball organizations, including the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), American Legion, Babe Ruth Baseball, Dixie Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF), PONY baseball, Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI), and at-large teams from USA Baseball (the governing body of amateur baseball).[20]
American Legion Baseball is popular with junior-high- and senior-high-school students from ages 13 to 19. American Legion also provides regional, state, and national playoffs.
College baseball players, especially professional prospects, often also play in collegiate summer baseball leagues during the off-season. In these leagues, their lodging and meals are provided by their host team, but no money changes hands.
The National Adult Baseball Association (NABA) and the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL) are the two largest organizations, sponsoring leagues and tournaments for a variety of age groups (e.g. 18+, 28+, 38+, 48+, 55+, etc.). Both leagues play regular-season games, playoffs and host tournaments on both a regional and national level. The NABA has 25,000 players, and the MSBL has 45,000 players.
^The Cal Ripken World Series tournament includes sixteen teams: 10 from the United States (by way of their respective tournaments) and 6 from outside the U.S. (by way of invitation from the Babe Ruth League). The U.S. champion and the International champion meet in the final game, for the world title. AtRipken Baseball official websiteArchived 2011-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, go to "Amateur Baseball" and click on "Cal Ripken World Series". Retrieved 2011-09-05.
^Cal Ripken, Jr.Archived 2011-08-28 at the Wayback Machine. Babe Ruth League official website. Retrieved 2011-09-05. "... the Cal Ripken World Series ... includes 15 teams of 11 and 12 year olds from all over the world and crowns the champion of the Cal Ripken Division of Babe Ruth League, Inc."
^In 1999, the Babe Ruth League changed its largest division's name to "Cal Ripken Baseball" (from "Bambino"). History: About Ripken BaseballArchived 2011-09-01 at the Wayback Machine. Ripken Baseball official website. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
