Japan again won the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania this past weekend, and yesterday played a demonstration game against a United States team from Hawaii. The Japanese won that one 4 – 1.
The United States Little League again refused to play in international competition in Williamsport, thus once again forfeiting the chance to participate in the genuine World Series played by the teams from several other countries.
As long as the United States insists that its team be guaranteed a spot in the so-called Championship game, the LLWS cannot be considered a legitimate world competition. The winner of the Little League World Series will always be the winner of the international round robin. The United States can never lay claim to the title under the current rules, and thus has won no titles as long as those rules have been in effect.
Which is to say, in the simplest language, the organizers of the Little League World Series have rigged the tournament to favor the United States. It’s difficult to conclude anything other than that the organizers are cheats. Although it is possible to conclude that they believe the only way a United States team can win is if the tournament is rigged. And of course it might be possible to conclude that the organizers rig the tournament to rake in television dollars because they fear that if a U.S. team isn’t in the Championship game nobody will watch.
Yup. It’s rigged. Got to be. Which is too bad, because the organizers have cheapened the game, insulted all the kids and given them an example of poor ethical behavior, and in particular the organizers have demeaned the American teams by guaranteeing them a spot in the final which they did not fully earn.
Now if they want to call it the Williamsport Series, or the Pennsylvania Series, or even the United States Series, they could get away with their shenanigans.
But don’t insult the world by calling it the Little League World Series. It’s only going to be a World Series when a single United States team has to fight through the international round robin, just like all the other teams from around the world, to earn a spot in the final.
Grumpy Lion 
The Doctrine American Exceptionalism dictates that Americans
competingparticipating in international events can’t endure situations in which they’re not assured of total domination. Just think about how badly our country would be affected if our team of 12-year-old athletes lost a baseball game to another country’s team of 12-year-old athletes! Millions of American youths would suffer self-esteem crises and seek solace in drugs, crime and sex… American society would crumble overnight. That cannot be allowed!And Americans wonder why the rest of the world thinks we’re arrogant, ignorant, selfish assholes. 😦
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They’re already seeking… something… in drugs, crime, and sex. Probably because they’re bored out of their skulls in school studying how to pass standardized tests which they’re told will determine the course of their entire lives. The country doesn’t actually have children anymore: it has products to be processed.
And anyway American society is crumbling. Poor bastard kids will have to live in the ruins and pick up the pieces. But at least then maybe they can play some real baseball, the good old fashioned neighborhood sandlot kind, the interesting kind.
Hey, maybe we should just eliminate Little League, get the grups out of the game…
Yes, I’m feeling grim today, hence my black mood. Stupid hurricane is coming here.
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My first thought was the same as Chappy’s: “American Exceptionalism.”
When I was a kid in Louisiana, we used to play baseball a lot. On Saturday mornings, local kids would start gathering at the baseball diamond enough showed up for a game. We rarely had enough for full teams, but we had a great time. One day an “I’m going to coach my son into the Majors” father showed up and started trying to organize us.
Most of us found other ways to spend our Saturdays.
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