Jackie Robinson West Baseball accused of cheating

DNAinfo.com ^ | 16 DEC 14 | Mark Konkol

[YeahBuddy]

The Jackie Robinson West sluggers from Chicago’s struggling South Side became national celebrities this summer when they hit and pitched their way to the Little League World Series and took home the U.S title.

But now the adults who put together the team — parents, coaches and league administrators — face allegations they violated Little League residency rules by stacking the lineup with All-Star ringers from the suburbs to create a “super team” that became champs. http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141216/morgan-park/jackie-robinson-west-broke-residency-rules-suburban-league-claims

[roofgoat]

500 got dangerous when playing with a league ball and guys cut in front of you on flys. If they misjudged, the guy behind him might kiss a fly ball.

[roofgoat]

100% the same for us in the 70s early 80s Tabasco. Damn those were great times.

Remember the rubber coated hard balls?

[Hot Tabasco]

I would bet those kids who played stickball

From what I recall, "Stickball" was played in the back alleys of cities such as Chicago and New York due to the unavailability of baseball playgrounds.......

As a side note, while I was raised in northern Michigan, I spent the summers of the 1950's with my grand parents in Detroit.

At that time, my grandfather was a Detroit police officer and on his bedroom cabinet he had a baseball signed by all the Detroit Tigers in a plastic case. Well, me and my buddies needed a baseball so I took that baseball out to the park and we played with it. My grandfather never said a word but in retrospect, he should have whipped my butt.......

[Hot Tabasco]

He can hit and he says that the ex college guys have a devil of a time using wood instead of their former hyper expensive new tech bats

That's the slam on college baseball players, they're using composite bats which artificially elevate their batting performances.........They need to go back to wood and that will separate the player wannabe's from the will be's..........

[tomkat]

"Batters Up .. Don't Cheat"

For anyone interested, the (long-ish) article raises lots of questions, the 'answers' to which sound unneccesarily evasive for 'folks' with nothing to hide.

To lead off the dodginess, there's this gem from the coach:

“Nothing was done that should not have been done,” he said. “The thing is until anyone really sits down and reads Little League’s rules … it doesn’t make sense to entertain questions. It sounds like they don’t have a clue. It sounds like there’s a little hate going on and that comes with the territory.”

Show of hands from anyone not expecting that card to be played early on ?
And it gets 'better':

Patrick Wilson, Vice President of Operations and International Tournament Director for the Williamsport, Penn.-based Little League International .. said Little League checked Jackie Robinson West paperwork to verify that the players “live in Chicago or go to school in Chicago” and asked for additional information to verify residency. Little League officials, however, did not ask Jackie Robinson West parents to sign affidavits — legal binding documents signed under oath — to verify residency or school attendance as required according to Little League’s rules
..
Wilson declined to elaborate on details of the investigation but said, “We checked the documentation and the addresses that the Evergreen Park folks sent from Lynwood, South Holland and Dolton.” He said that the organization looked at documents provided by Jackie Robinson “to support the residency and school enrollment requirements.”
..
Wilson said privacy concerns prevented him from disclosing information about specific player documentation and that it is Little League policy not to disclose individual league boundary maps.
..
District 4 administrator, Michael Kelley, who is the gatekeeper charged with certifying Jackie Robinson West’s tournament eligibility documents, including the league boundary map, declined to be interviewed.

             

[roofgoat]

I’m a 50 year old dinosaur, and don’t follow bat technology because all I have ever used is wood. I played in a Men’s Softball league a few years ago.

I can still hit a league baseball but I was not used to slow softball pitching with arc. Anyway, I finally got the hang of it but I was blown away how some guys were hitting their balls out of the park or deep.

I thought to myself that I’m stronger and a better hitter than the guys we were playing against, but they were creaming the ball.

I found out at the end of the season by a guy on another team that almost all the teams have these $200 or $300 softball bats that just allow you to murder the ball. He said the old 20 year old aluminum bats our church team was using were ancient.

I also learned how bats in our little league are “goosed”. My son played a team this summer and their kids were hitting real well. Turns out their coach is a travelling team coach and his kids were ALL using a larger diameter bat.

Had no idea there was such a thing. I bought my son a new old stock wood Don Mattingly 29” Louisville bat off ebay recently to compliment his Easton Aluminum normal diameter bat. I would be the happiest dad in the world if I can get him to hit ropes with his wood next year.

[Hot Tabasco]

My "baseball" career came to an abrupt end half way thru the first year following little league which called the "Babe Ruth" league.

Unlike today where there is a steady progression of leagues based on ages, in my small town there there was only Little League then the "Babe Ruth" league which encompassed the 13 year olds thru 18 year olds.........As a 13 year old 90 lb., 4'9 kid with glasses, there was no way I was able to compete in that league with 18 year old guys and so I turned in my uniform and quit.

It wasn't until I was in the Army that I joined my unit's fast pitch softball team that I played organized ball again.......After the Army, I've been playing slow pitch softball ever since...

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I remember a LL World Series player from Korea who hit a 370 ft home run. The announcer”did you see the beard on that kid? “

The star pitcher of the Philadelphia entry didn’t have 5 o’clock shadow - but then, girls don’t, do they? All suspicions of skulduggery aside, just the fact that girls typically mature physically in their early teens implies that there is something a bit “off” about playing a 13yo girl in a “children’s” league.

[YeahBuddy]

Lob league, fast pitch wiffle, ‘500’ and an old Chicago classic, Four corner lob. This was during the 70’s and 80’s for me.

Almost every corner in the city had a sewer cap on all four corners (4 bases)and we would play lob with a tennis ball or wiffle. Of course, hitting it to ‘right’was an automatic out and it was always’pitchers hand’. If you were a lefty batter (very rare) the pitcher would pitch from the 3rd base line.

Someone commented earlier about stickball. I never saw anyone play stickball in the city, we played 16” softball instead, and that was only for the older guys (post 16rs of age)

I still play softball today and have had 3 broken fingers, 1 broken knuckle and surgery for a finger tendon. I guess Chicagoans are just gluttons for punishment. (you can tell we are by electing the same idiot democrat families for years!)

As the amount of replies to my original post suggests, nothing brings Americans together like baseball. I am really enjoying all of your replies and it has brought back great memories of a simpler time.

[Hot Tabasco]

we played 16” softball instead

I've heard of it but have never played it. I don't think that's played anywhere in Michigan but is rather only a Chicago or New Jersey (I heard they play 16" there) phenomenon

[henkster]

We had a “Babe Ruth” League for 13-15 year olds. We saw the same disparity; there were 15 year olds who were over 6’ and weighed 200+ who could throw in the 80s, and had a passable duece. The average 13 year old was never going to hit them. So the year my son was 12 we (the Board) decided to separate the 13 year olds into their own league (what a coincidence). For 13 year olds on a 90 foot diamond it was an adjustment to make the long throw from 3rd and it was rare to have a catcher who could make the throw to 2nd. But the kids adjusted and the numbers of kids who kept playing went up dramatically.

[Rome2000]

The way it works is that the kids on the team that goes to the LLWS on the American side has to be picked from all of the teams in that league and then participate in the tournament.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-08-14/news/kendall-little-league-cheaters/

They CAN’T have played TOGETHER as a team all season long.

The International teams I’m not sure about.

I am not up on what is being said about this league, but if they followed the Miami model, they would be in violation.

[roofgoat]

Buddy, I’m from Chicago/NW burbs too.

Stickball is a NY thing. I too never saw anyone play it in Chicago or the burbs.

In St Louis, they play (or played) corkball. Thin wood bat and a “corkball”

[Rome2000]

This is NOT about overage kids.

This is about putting together a team of LEGAL AGE super all stars from all over the place and then putting them into an established program for the express purpose of winning the LLWS.

[roofgoat]

OH, and to all here, for pickup baseball games, was it hard to get a catcher(s)?

We had “some” catcher’s equipment. It was hard to get anyone to want to play due to foul tips, in the dirts etc.

Picking teams, we always tried to get the younger kid -Pete “the Greek” - because he was fearless behind the plate.

He also made a great hockey goalie when we played on a frozen pond with a real puck and the goalie had a catchers mask, that’s it.

[MeshugeMikey]

I was KIDDING..I do that a LOT '

[YeahBuddy]

We never had a catcher for pick-up games. We would play ‘fast pitch’ with a rubber ball and the target would be an “x” in a box painted on a wall in a parking lot(strikezone)

If we played lob, we would catch the pitch with one hand and throw it back to the pitcher if we didn’t swing.

[Rome2000]

Team Miami had “kids” from all over the country and Latin America.

If all of these kids on JRW were from the Chicago area and didn’t play together as a team for a whole season before the LLWS tournament, then they should be OK.

I managed a team that had to play Team Miami twice.

We all agreed to have a good time, lose via the 10 run rule ASAP, and not even bother to swing, everybody to stay way off the plate lest one of these guys get wild.

Our team enjoyed the games more than the ringers.

[Rome2000]

Cool, add 120 dogs to the mix.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/03/22156917-kim-jong-uns-executed-uncle-was-eaten-alive-by-120-hungry-dogs-report?lite

[MeshugeMikey]

lil kim boy is a real piece of work isnt he!!