 | We are thrilled to announce exciting new changes in Division structures for the 2016 Spring Season! |
 New division alignment...You may have heard that North Park Little League (D33) recently voted to remove their Major Division and replace it with an Intermediate Division. After many conversations with NPLL and other leagues in our district, with district officials, and amongst current and former AGLL Board members, we have carefully considered the options, and are enthusiastic and eager to announce the time is right for us to also replace our Major Division with an Intermediate Division. We have exciting plans for our Minor Division, too. The Little League Intermediate Division (also referred to as 50/70) utilizes a 50 ft pitching distance and 70 ft base paths. Moreover, Intermediate rules permit runners to lead off bases and attempt to steal at any time, as well as other rules aligned with the traditional game of baseball. At the same time, Intermediates has the advantage of a safer playing field (i.e., more distance for pitchers and infield defensive players) for these larger/stronger players, better and more age appropriate development for transition to Juniors, and frankly speaking just a bit more fun for the players and fans alike. Intermediates is open to league age 11 to 13 year olds. We got our toes wet with Intermediates last spring, but out-of-District play made it too difficult to implement. Now, with a neighboring league in our district moving in this direction and having heard other leagues considering teams as well, we can comfortably establish an Intermediate Division for the 2016 season. Our field is ready and we're proud to be at the leading edge of this progression in Little League Baseball. Little League International, in general, is moving this way. As much as we are in favor of Intermediates, we are also very excited about the age/skill appropriate development of our revised Minor or Farm system. There are some compromises to these changes as you would expect, but they are far outweighed by the added benefits in safety and player development. The new Farm system will have three somewhat overlapping divisions, AAA, AA, and A, as shown below.
Bat rules for Intermediates... From the 2015 rulebook: Intermediates does not allow composite [or half-and-half] bats of any kind unless they are BBCOR. Wood is fine. Kids may swing big barrels up to 2-5/8, and can also use traditional narrow 2-1/4 bats as long as they are not composite.Intermediate bat rules should save families lots of money, since the composites tend to be pretty expensive. The game should be safer too, with the wood/BBCOR or non-composite barrels lessening the speed off the bat. Significant bat rule changes coming in 2018... Little League International announced in August that it will be formally adopting USA Baseball's new standard for bat performance testing. The announcement says, "For more than seventy-five years, Little League has used improvements in science, engineering, and technology to take the sport of baseball to higher levels. By utilizing the most current advancements available, manufacturers can now develop bats with a wood-like performance, which is important for the long-term success of the game." Based on the new bat regulations, the composite and half-and-half bats used today will be illegal after 12/31/2017. |
