Fewer kids across the country are playing Little League baseball.
There is no question that fewer kids across the country are playing baseball. For example, in my town (population 26,000), we used to have two separate Little Leagues, which combined for over 60 teams from ages 7 through 12. Today, we’ve contracted to one league, and there’s even talk about combining the 11s and 12s for next year because of the dearth of players.
And to rub salt in the wound, an auxiliary baseball field by me was recently turned into a gleaming soccer field with turf and lights!
The Myth that Baseball is Dying
To start with, being in decline doesn’t mean you’re dying. Other sports would kill for baseball’s participation numbers.
According to one study, about 25 million kids played baseball in 2018. In comparison, fewer than one million kids played lacrosse and only about 400,00 played youth hockey. In another study, baseball was the number two sport in the country, behind basketball. Also, there are signs that participation actually increased for baseball the past few years.
In addition, over 70 percent of MLB players are American. The New York Mets just sold for $2.4 billion. The sport is fine!
The reason people fret about baseball is that it’s no longer what it once was. Baseball has been part of American culture in ways no other sport has approached. Legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns made an 18.5 hour documentary on baseball. Notably, his World War II documentary was only 14 hours!
For American kids, especially immigrant boys, playing baseball used to be part of the Americanization process. In the movie Brooklyn (2015), about a young Irish woman immigrating to America, we see how crucially important baseball is to her Italian love interest, when he initially hides his adoration for the Brooklyn Dodgers out of fear she’ll find it disloyal (see below).
Reasons Why Fewer Kids Are Playing Little League Baseball
Notwithstanding the cultural changes and attitude shifts with regard to baseball, there are many practical reasons (though arguably tied to the cultural changes) why fewer kids are playing, including:
- Spring is not just for baseball anymore. Soccer and basketball and other sports used to not run leagues during the spring, because spring was for baseball. Now some of the best athletes in our town don’t sign up for spring baseball, because they’re playing these other sports. And before you cry foul, note baseball’s doing it, too, with fall leagues and winter training programs.
- Kids are becoming one-sport athletes. Whether we like it or not, kids are specializing in a single sport, which they play year-round. So a “basketball” or “soccer” kid doesn’t also play baseball anymore.
- Fewer kids are playing sports at all. Our kids are more sedentary than in years past. One study found that the average kid spends less than three years playing sports and quits by the age of 11!
- Demographic shifts. The demographics of my town have changed. Twenty years ago, my town was almost exclusively Italian, Jewish, and Irish (all baseball loving). Today, a good 35 percent of the town is Asian. Some Asian kids play Little League, but the first-generation kids don’t generally embrace the sport. On a related note, I recently talked to a guy who ran the rec baseball league in a mid-sized city, which was also experiencing a rapid decline in baseball participation. He blamed it on the fact that Puerto Ricans were leaving and being replaced by soccer-loving families from Central America.
- Coaching woes. Unlike in the past, some parents who volunteer to coach Little League today often don’t have the time or inclination to hold regular practices and teach the kids the fundamentals. And then we have coaches who, while well-intentioned, don’t know a thing about baseball and are barely getting by on YouTube skills clips. Also, if the coach of a Little League team is also coaching a travel team, he’ll often ignore his rec kids and just practice with his travel team. In terms of development, we are the direct opposite of other baseball countries (think Japan and the DR), who have their best coaches training the younger ages. See Why the Japanese Dominate Little League Baseball .
- Rigid Little Leagues. The Little League in my town is run by a crusty old guy. I joined the board of directors, and soon realized that the regular board members had no power and the president ran the show, from picking the coaches for our summer all-star teams to deciding what specific candies were sold at the snack bars. He is not an outlier, either, and most of the Little Leagues by me have similar power structures. When people make complaints about an incompetent coach, for example, it’s seen as an attack on the very structure of the Little League itself and nothing is done. Also, despite the changing demographics in my town, there are no Asians on the board, or meaningful overtures to those communities.
Other Reasons for Declining Little League Participation
I’ve also heard the following softer excuses for the decline in baseball participation:
- Today’s kids run from failure. As we all know, failure is an essential ingredient in baseball, even for the best kids. Also, in baseball, you fail in the spotlight. When you’re up and you strikeout, for example, you can’t hide. A dad recently made the case to me that this is the reason kids are leaving baseball for other sports where failure is more diffused among the team as a whole.
- Baseball is too hard. People make the argument that kids today prefer sports where they can rely on natural athletic ability, as compared to baseball where even top athletes need to work on specialized skills to succeed.
- Baseball is too slow. We’ve all heard this argument before. Young people, because of technology, lack of parental discipline, etc., don’t want to wait for anything, and gravitate toward instant gratification and constant action.
Little League Baseball May be Dying
In my town, for each year of kids, we have about:
- 10 good baseball players
- 10 decent players
- 35 god awful players
The Little League coaching is either horrible or non-existent. The good kids (and some of the bad ones) take pricey private lessons. Out of the 20 good and decent players, more than half of them play club in addition to Little League; they generally only do Little League so as to be eligible for districts in the summer.
When the club kids play in the regular Little League games, they don’t take it seriously, act too cool for school, and you can often see them making fun of the kids who don’t know how to play. It can get ugly.
There’s a rule that’s hardly ever followed that you can’t miss a Little League game for a club game or a club practice. Yet when the president of the Little League gets wind of someone missing Little League for club, the father is chewed out and threatened (even though there are board members who have their kids go to club over Little League).
Losing the Late Bloomers
I asked a trusted friend who also has coached baseball for years if the decline of the Little Leagues was really going to hurt the quality of the sport in the country, since elite baseball was being played all over at the club level.
“It’s the late bloomers that you’re going to lose,” he said, explaining how some horrible 10 year olds grow up to be elite players in high school and beyond.
Without proper coaching and a place to play, these kids are going to either quit the sport or never reach their potential.
What Comes Next for Youth Baseball
Our Little Leagues find themselves in a brave new world. For generations, they’ve been the top dog with virtual monopoly power, and as a result their product has suffered. They also don’t have the know-how or desire to compete for the dwindling number of potential athletes. Plus, the competition is fierce, both from the frisky other sports (who have been fighting for survival this whole time), as well as the savvy baseball club teams looking to poach their players.
I recently saw an advertisement from a nearby baseball facility for an upcoming developmental “rec league” with professional coaches for ages 8-12, putting them in direct competition with our town Little League.
To me, this feels like the future: a place for the non-club kids to play without being ridiculed and where they’ll actually receive some coaching. The “good” kids can then play exclusively for club teams where they’ll compete with like players.
As Bradley Cooper crooned, maybe it’s time to let the old ways die.
For more about Little League, see When a Frisky Baseball Training Facility Comes to Town and Why the Japanese Dominate Little League Baseball.
Let us know in the comments your thoughts on your local Little League.
For information about the emotional side of baseball, see:
- How to Manage Your Kid’s Baseball Tantrums and Meltdowns
- Anger Management and Youth Baseball: How to Calm Down
- How to Stop Being a Crazy Baseball Dad
- 5 Ways Youth Baseball Teams Cheat, and How to Respond
- How to Be a Good Baseball Dad in the Backyard
- How to Deal with Umpires in Youth Baseball
- Is It Now Fashionable to Hate On Baseball Dads?
For information on hitting, see:
- How to Get Out of a Hitting Slump
- 4 Best Baseball Batting Aids (No. 3 is Free)
- 4 Hitting Drills You Need to Do Before Every Game
- 4 Old School Baseball Drills You Need to Be Using
For information on pitching, see:
- What You Need to Know About Little League Elbow
- 4 Ways To Increase Your Kid’s Pitching Velocity
- Why I Don’t Let My Son Pitch in Little League
- Pitching and Head Injuries: What You Need to Know
- How to Make Sure Your Kid Isn’t Overpitched in Baseball
To find out about baseball bargains on Amazon, check out 5 Baseball Deals on Amazon You Should Buy Right Now.
I agree 1000% with what you mentioned. Personal experience – I would say that the way some little leagues are run is the greatest issue. As you mentioned our town has a guy running the league for over 20yrs, total lack of transparency on how teams are select, coaches even on how teams are seeded for playoffs, the list goes on & on.As a result of the leadership, coaching suffers – either parent that are too overwhelmed due to lack of experience or other duties & they get no assistance from the league. Baseball is hard on the kids due to the many opportunities for failures but that is the nature of the game & I believe a true reflection of life. I also see new teams being formed competing with local leagues but it’s because the the league failure to adapt.
1. Travel Baseball 2. LL Rules have become outdated 12yo pitching from 46′ throwing 72mph is too close. 50’70’ field is much more applicable to todays larger kids.
We have the old guy as President. We are fairly certain that he rigged the last two elections. He makes up rules on the fly, takes actions without board knowledge or approval, runs off volunteers and players in droves. Everything is this way because “this is how we have always done it.” In 10 years we have went from 600+ kids to 250. In the last 4 years from 450 down to 250. He says every league is shrinking, but that isn’t true. Other nearby rec leagues are actually growing, but because they have good leadership. Our teeball program is 40% of the kids. We lose them between 8-10 years old. As soon as things get competitive and the president starts sticking his fingers in situations, people leave. We have a world class facility, lights, bleachers, whole deal. He is impossible to deal with and he has a small group of goons that gang up on anyone who speaks against him. It’s terrible. I am on the board and it’s impossible to get anything done. Sad.
I’m fortunate to be a part of a thriving little league that embraces community baseball. In the last 5 years, the Board really made a pivot toward making sure that we were doing the best we could to help the players develop, as well as having a positive experience. Some things that helped were coaching clinics both with Positive Coaching Alliance and by a travel coach to help lead engaging practices. We run Sandlots in the Summer. We have a two dozen or so players that play both Little League and Travel. We’ve become a both and LL where players are having a great experience, and we are also playing pretty competitively when it comes to Districts. Little League allows my son to play with his buddies, while Travel allows him to really push himself more. So I’m a big proponent for Little League, but you do need a Board and a volunteer body to help make it happen.
I am the president of a Little League here in our city there was 3 Little League organizations at one time we are now the lone surviver.We go from ages 4 to 16 I’ve been with this league for 20 years we have some great people who work hard to put our program on keeping up on our fields for our kids …I personally see baseball numbers declining but we hang in there the name Little League means a lot to me .Travel teams are hurting us AAU is hurting us people pay so much money to have there kids play where our registration fees are very cheap. I will be around waiting for my lefty grandson to join .I’d like to see Little League stay active.
I have a different perspective based upon my experiences. For the sake of making a qualified evaluation of what I have seen happen in youth sports…I played 3 sports in HS, played college baseball, 30+years as a HS Teacher (still going) and Coach, 30 years in HS baseball, 22 as Head Coach. 10 years HS Asst. Basketball Coach, and 28 years HS Football Asst. Coach. In addition, coached my own kids through LL, Babe Ruth, American Legion, etc… I have seen it all!
What I have seen is devastating to youth sports. Some of you will disagree and that is okay. Parents have been given a behemoth lie by the select sports-travel-development-call it what you want movement. We use to play to develop the entire athlete, a town, a community, etc… All kids played for the sake of growing up and experiencing competition. It was good! We have seen a shift from community teams to select with an emphasis on self. What can sports do for me? How will the program benefit my individual needs? Why do I have to play with these lesser athletes? I need to play on a team with other superstars so I look better. Which program or coach will get me what I need? Today we pay so called experts so that our kids can “develop and be seen.” For the record, I am stunned by the guys in my area who are “select” coaches or working at academies or clubs. They have figured out how to make money and promote themselves with the promise of promoting your kid. Most of these coaches can’t fulfill what they promise. Some are extremely unqualified as well. Today many kids are playing single sports year round in hopes of the promise that there will be a payoff after high school. Travel, elite, showcase, select, etc… The fear is that if my kid doesn’t take this route, he/she will be left behind. Let me be honest…you are being lied to and adults are taking your money. There are no more opportunities today for college opportunities than there were 30 years ago. Scholarships have not changed. In fact, it’s now more difficult because it’s become so competitive. I have several friends who coach at the college level and several at the division 1 level. They laugh at what youth sports have become. They will flat state that nothing has changed. It’s all about things you can’t teach but are born with. You can rush for 1000 yards per season, but if you don’t have the size, 40 time, or athletic ability it won’t matter. There will be hundreds of showcases and combines that will take your money. The reality is that there will only be a handful at best that reach the dream. They are elite athletes who are the best in every sport they play not because of development but because of God given gifts that they were born with. Yet, the select coach will promise them to increase their velo, launch angle, exit speed, etc… It doesn’t change the fact that college will recruit a very small number of elite athletes. Elite means elite! I have been very privileged as a high school coach. 1 NFL player (a genetic freak of nature), 8 to 10 college baseball players (most local community college players) but 3 Div 1 players, and a couple draft picks. One almost made it. Most were born with a gift and you knew it at an early age. Development and select sports were not part of the equation for them. Funny enough, they all played in the local leagues until there Senior years of high school. They didn’t need specialization, didn’t need an elite team to get noticed. They played the sport in season too. 3 sport athletes! Yet, I have seen the shift. If I do these things I will get noticed. Most troubling is the financial burden that families are sacrificing for this college fallacy. Double mortgages, debt, hotels every weekend, dragging your kids from town to town. It’s nuts! Even for those with some elite gifts, it’s still tough. I see families spending 30 to 40k funding their child’s dream. Some were even legit, but done playing at 19 or 20 years because it’s that competitive. Sorry to make this a long rant…but we need to use sports as they were intended. They were meant for development as human beings and for the spirit of participation and competition. My two cents…Play Little League, play in your local league, play all sports! What we had 20 years ago was good and noble. We didn’t need travel teams. Instead, take your kids on vacation, go camping, fishing, to the lake, etc… Invest that money in Young Life Camp, a family trip, or another worthwhile activity. Let kids be kids and use athletics to raise healthy functioning adults.
So, yes play Little League because it’s good for kids (all kids in you community). Play in all of your local leagues and in all sports. Become a rounded athlete in multiple sports because your dream may not turn out the way you think. Your great great baseball player might end up being a wrestler, football player, great track athlete, etc…Become an athlete and not focused on 1 sport. Stop spending all of your money in hopes of achieving what may not happen anyway. It’s out of control and a lie.
This was not meant to be offensive, but to offer perspective.
Well said. Thank you for adding your perspective.
Such a good point. I’m also a high school teacher/coach for decades. In addition to coaching my own kids, I coach a sport that has literally zero college programs across the country – girls badminton. There is no chance of earning a college scholarship ever. Still, we have had 4 seperate private clubs/training facilities open in the last 5 years inside 15 miles. As a result, the overall level of competition in my state has jumped dramatically, however it has jumped for the people who can afford hundreds of dollars of membership fees and private coaching a year… Now that my own children are getting more deeply involved in sports, I can say it is even worse for baseball and softball. As a matter of fact, the school where I coach and many other local schools didn’t even have enough girls go out to have 3 levels of softball this year so there is no freshman team. Softball and baseball are starting to price themselves out of the market. It sad for the community and it’s sad for the kids. Not to mention the number of exceptional athletes who don’t even get a chance to participate. Youth sports is becoming an arms race to nowhere….
Absolutely on point!
Thanks for an excellent, thoughtful article.
Here’s another factor — It used to be that many kids got interested in little league because they watched professional baseball. They went with their dads to the games, or they watched them on TV.
But today, how many dads can afford to take their kids to a game that costs $100 or even $200? (tickets, parking, and way over-priced food included).
And how many kids watch baseball on TV? It’s no longer on free TV, and often the pay packages show you only out-of-market teams!
Bottom line — Many kids are no longer socialized into baseball as fans. And if you’re not fan, why on earth would you play?