Little League Baseball

Team Work: What is it?

U.S. President Bill Clinton wrote with reference to the activities of Little League Baseball that "Contests like yours provide an exciting opportunity to strengthen our faith in ourselves and our understanding of the value of teamwork." However, teamwork is not related only to sports, but goes above and beyond them.

Athens to Atlanta in 100 years

It is believed that the Olympic Games originated as early as 1370 B.C. The earliest recorded Olympic Game was held in 776 B.C. In 393 A.D. the Games were banned by order of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, "the Great", and not held again until April 6, 1896 in Athens. The Games have been held every 4 years since. This year's Summer Games will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Only five countries have participated in each of the Olympic Games. Take a guess which. You'll find the answer on this page.

Basic Baseball Rules

Baseball is played between two teams: the batting (offensive) team and the fielding (defensive) team. A team consists of nine players. The offensive or batting team try to score as many runs (points) as possible. A run is scored when a player of the batting team has progressed in a counter-clockwise fashion around the three bases and retumed to the become base (the point from which he bats, or hits the ball).

Sumo or Baseball?

When asked what the national sport of Japan is, people usually make one of two replies: Sumo or baseball. Sumo, with its thousand-year history, might have a slight edge, but baseball is now deeply rooted in Japanese society, too! Almost all schools, companies and local communities have their own baseball clubs. Even shopkeepers and their staff often have their own teams.

Baseball is so popular in fact that when the national baseball tournament among high school students is played most Japanese are glued to their televisions and radios for several days ...

Little League Baseball: authorities' comments

"Little League Baseball is one of America's finest exports of good will and a proven vehicle for instilling values and leadership qualities in impressionable children.For this cherished childhood experience to flourish and benefit more than a million boys and girls in Poland, and all of Europe, a permanent training facility for volunteers, coaches, umpires and program administrators is essential.

It's Time to Play Ball!

An awesome mixture of talents and cultures came together at the European Little League stadium in Kutno, Poland during the last week of July. After battling it out in the Semi-finals and finals with Germany, Poland and Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia won the European title, and will compete in the LL World Series championship in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in August. But judging from all the roaring in the stands, dancing at the disco and pillow fights in the dorms, all the teams went home feeling like winners."

Oscar Bielaski - 1st Polish Major Leaguer

At 50 Alexander Bielaski joined the Union forces with the rank of Captain in the regular army. He did so with a deep sense of loyalty to his adopted country, leaving behind him a family of seven.

While the official reports echoed with glowing accounts of Capt. Alexander Bielaski's heroic death on the battlefield of Missouri, on November 7, 1861, stark tragedy stalked the Bielaski home in Washington. The older Bielaski children sought immediate employment.

Toms River, New Jersey USA rolls to 1998

In 1995, Toms River, New Jersey, sent a team to the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, that was loaded with talent and considered one of the favorites to win the Little League Championship that year. However, games are won on the field of play and that particular team failed to advance past the qualifying round, leaving many people in the New Jersey community disappointed.

Making a dream

It all began late one morning... early Spring of this year... the air smelled mixed with just-cut wet grass and freshly-oiled leather baseball glove... the blending sounds of distant songbirds and close-by kid's voices were silenced by a distinctive "CRACK of the bat"... and I woke out of my dream. I didn't know, at that very moment, which was worse... the thought of climbing out of a toasty warm bed... or... the fact that I wasn't going to play baseball today... because there was no baseball where I was... a little border town in North-East Poland.

Finish Baseball?

Not in Finland! Baseball is so popular among the Finns that nearly 10% of the Finnish population are active participants in the game. All schoolchildren learn to play baseball at school. Thousands of boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 19 participate in organized baseball leading to an annual championship. The Finnish National Baseball Association is among the largest sports federations in Finland, with over 60,000 active athletes. At schools throughout the country it is the most popular game among girls.