OT: Little League baseball pitcher...stats are unbelievable

[Blakeon18]

Meet Gavin Weir, the Little League World Series ace drawing Chris Sale comparisons with no-hitters | Sporting News

www.sportingnews.com

I saw a bit of this kid pitching for South Dakota yesterday. They are undefeated and, I gather, have a very good chance of playing in the final game on Sunday...with Gavin able to pitch.
The comparison to Chris Sale is mentioned in the linked article....his 'leftyness' and motion. When Sale is in a groove he works very quickly...which makes the game enjoyable.
On first glance yesterday Gavin makes Chris look like a slowpoke...gets the catcher's toss/brief brief look towards the plate and lets it fly...fun to watch.

BTW: The Texas team....still alive...has a girl catcher who looks smooth behind the plate....Ella Bruning.
BTW #2: Dang! My bad...the article says that he cannot pitch on Sunday due to throwing 83 pitches on Wednesday....needs 4 days rest due to Little League rules. The game was tight...just 1-0...so I'm guessing that was the reason the manager didn't pull him a bit earlier than the compete he accomplished. Uhhh...I guess he hits home runs too so he'll be in the line-up should they make it to Sunday....just not on the mound.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Impressive kid. If his arm stays healthy he has a great future.

 

[Sonny44]

I believe there are statistics out the of how many LL star pitchers make it MLB.
I think very few.

 

[SVCBeercats]

I believe there are statistics out the of how many LL star pitchers make it MLB.
I think very few.

50 graduates of the Little League Baseball World Series have gone on to play in MLB. Which were pitchers will be your task.
* Denotes player participated in the Little League and Major League World Series
** Denotes player participated in the Little League World Series, College World Series, and Major League World Series

Wilson Alvarez​

LLBWS: ‘82 (Coquivacoa LL, Maracaibo, Venezuela)
MLB: ‘89-05 (Texas, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, LA Dodgers)​

Jim Barbieri *​

LLBWS: ’53, ‘54 (National LL, Schenectady, N.Y.)
MLB: ‘66 (Los Angeles)

Jason Bay​

LLBWS: ‘90 (Trail LL, Trail, B.C.)
MLB: ‘03-’13 (San Diego, Pittsburgh, Boston, N.Y. Mets, Seattle)

Cody Bellinger *​

LLBWS: ‘07 (Chandler National LL, Chandler, Ariz.)
MLB: ‘17-pres. (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Derek Bell *​

LLBWS: ‘80-81 (Belmont Heights LL, Tampa, Fla.)
MLB: ‘91-01 (Toronto, San Diego, Houston, N.Y. Mets, Pittsburgh)

Christian Bethancourt​

LLBWS: ‘04 (Curundu LL, Panama City, Panama)
MLB: ‘13-17 (Atlanta, San Diego)

Larvell Blanks​

LLBWS: ‘62 (Val Verde County LL, Del Rio, Texas)
MLB: ‘72-80 (Atlanta, Cleveland, Texas)

Sean Burroughs​

LLBWS: ‘92-93 (Long Beach LL, Long Beach Calif.)
MLB: ‘02-06, ‘11-’12. (San Diego, Tampa Bay, Arizona, Minnesota)

Kevin Cash​

LLBWS: ‘89 (Northside LL, Tampa, Fla.)
MLB: ‘02-05, ‘07-’10. (Toronto, Tampa Bay, Boston, N.Y. Yankees, Houston)

Gavin Cecchini​

LLBWS: ‘06 (South Lake Charles LL, Lake Charles, La.)
MLB: ‘16-pres. (N.Y. Mets)

Chin-Fe-Chen​

LLBWS: ‘90 (San-Hua LL, Tainan County, Chinese Taipei)
MLB: ‘02-05 (Los Angeles)

Jeff Clement​

LLBWS: ‘96 (Marshalltown National LL, Marshalltown, Iowa)
MLB: ‘07-10, ’12 (Seattle, Pittsburgh)

Billy Connors​

LLBWS: ‘54 (National LL, Schenectady, N.Y.)
MLB: ‘66-68 (Chicago Cubs, N.Y. Mets)

Michael Conforto**​

LLBWS: ‘04 (Redmond North LL, Redmond, Wash.)
College: Oregon State (’13)
MLB: ‘15-pres. (N.Y. Mets)

Brian Esposito​

LLBWS: ’91 (South Shore American LL, Staten Island, N.Y.)
MLB: ’07, ’10 (St. Louis, Houston)

Stephen Fife​

LLBWS: ’99 (South Central Boise LL, Boise, Idaho)
MLB: ’12-’15 (L.A. Dodgers)

Jeff Frazier​

LLBWS: ‘95 (Toms River American LL, Toms River, N.J.)
MLB: ‘10 (Detroit)

Todd Frazier​

LLBWS: ‘98 (Toms River American LL, Toms River, N.J.)
MLB: ‘11-pres. (Cincinnati, N.Y. Yankees, N.Y. Mets, Texas)

Jace Fry​

LLBWS: ‘06 (Murrayhill LL, Beaverton, Ore.)
MLB: ‘19-pres. (Chicago White Sox)

Randal Grichuk​

LLBWS: ‘03, ’04 (Lamar National LL, Richmond, Texas)
MLB: ‘14-pres. (St. Louis, Toronto)

Ben Hayes​

LLBWS: ‘70 (Weisbaden (Germany) LL)
MLB: ‘82-83 (Cincinnati)

Charlie Hayes *​

LLBWS: ‘77 (Hub City LL, Hattiesburg, Miss.)
MLB: ‘88-01 (San Francisco, Philadelphia, N.Y. Yankees, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Houston)

Ken Hubbs​

LLBWS: ‘54 (Lions Club LL, Colton, Calif.)
MLB: ‘61-63 (Chicago Cubs)

Erik A. Johnson​

LLBWS: ‘78 (San Ramon Valley LL, Danville, Calif.)
MLB: ‘93-94 (San Francisco)

Scott Kingery​

LLBWS: ‘06 (Ahwatukee American LL, Phoenix, Ariz.)
MLB: ‘18-pres. (Philadelphia)

Keith Lampard​

LLBWS: ‘58 (Rose City LL, Portland, Ore.)
MLB: ‘69-70 (Houston)

Adam Loewen​

LLBWS: ‘96 (Kennedy-Surrey LL, Surrey, B.C.)
MLB: ‘06-’08, ’15-16 (Baltimore, Philadelphia, Arizona)

Carney Lansford *​

LLBWS: ‘69 (Briarwood LL, Santa Clara, Calif.)
MLB: ‘78-92 (California, Boston, Oakland)

Vance Lovelace​

LLBWS: ‘75 (Belmont Heights LL, Tampa, Fla.)
MLB: ‘88-90 (California, Seattle)

Lance Lynn *​

LLBWS: ‘99 (Brownsburg LL, Brownsburg, Ind.)
MLB: ‘11-pres. (St. Louis, Minnesota, N.Y. Yankees, Texas)

Jason Marquis *​

LLBWS: ‘91 (South Shore American, Staten Island, N.Y.)
MLB: ‘00-13, ’15. (Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Colorado, Washington, Arizona, Minnesota, San Diego, Cincinnati)

Lloyd McClendon​

LLBWS: ‘71 (Anderson LL, Gary, Ind.)
MLB: ‘87-94 (Cincinnati, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh)

Lastings Milledge​

LLBWS: ‘97 (Manatee G.T. Brey East LL, Bradenton, Fla.)
MLB: ‘06-11 (N.Y. Mets, Washington, Pittsburgh, Chicago White Sox)

Bobby Mitchell​

LLBWS: ‘67 (Northridge City LL, Northridge, Calif.)
MLB: ‘80-83 (Los Angeles, Minnesota)

Max Moroff​

LLBWS: ‘05 (Maitland LL, Maitland, Fla.)
MLB: ‘16-pres. (Pittsburgh, Cleveland)

Jim Pankovits​

LLBWS: ‘68 (Tuckahoe LL, Richmond, Va.)
MLB: ‘84-90 (Houston, Boston)

Francisco Peña​

LLBWS: ‘01 (Rolando Paulino LL, Bronx, N.Y.)
MLB: ‘14-18 (Kansas City, Baltimore, St. Louis)

Yusmeiro Petit *​

LLBWS: ‘94 (Coquivacoa LL, Maracaibo, Venezuela)
MLB: ‘06-pres. (Florida, Arizona, San Francisco, Washington, Anaheim, Oakland)

Marc Pisciotta​

LLBWS: ‘83 (East Marietta National, Marietta, Ga.)
MLB: ‘97-99 (Chicago Cubs, Kansas City)

Boog Powell *​

LLBWS: ‘54 (Orange LL, Lakeland, Fla.)
MLB: ‘61-77 (Baltimore, Cleveland, Los Angeles)

Jurickson Profar​

LLBWS: ‘04 (Pabao LL, Willemstad, Curacao)
MLB: ‘12-13, ’16-pres. (Texas; Oakland)

Guillermo Quiroz​

LLBWS: ‘94 (Coquivacoa LL, Maracaibo, Venezuela)
MLB: ‘04-10 (Toronto, Seattle, Texas, Baltimore)

Colby Rasmus​

LLBWS: ‘99 (Phenix City National, Phenix City, Ala.)
MLB: ‘09-18 (St. Louis, Toronto, Houston, Tampa Bay, Baltimore)

Brady Rodgers​

LLBWS: ’03 (Lamar LL, Richmond, Texas)
MLB: ’16-pres. (Houston)

Michael Saunders​

LLBWS: ‘99 (Gordon Head LL, Victoria, British Columbia)
MLB: ‘09-17 (Seattle, Toronto, Philadelphia, Kansas City)

Jonathan Schoop​

LLBWS: ‘04 (Pabao LL, Willemstad, Curacao)
MLB: ‘13-pres. (Baltimore, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Detroit)

Gary Sheffield *​

LLBWS: ‘80 (Belmont Heights LL, Tampa, Fla.)
MLB: ‘88-09 (Milwaukee, San Diego, Florida, Los Angeles, Atlanta, N.Y. Yankees, Detroit, N.Y. Mets)

Andrew Stevenson​

LLBWS: ’05 (Lafayette LL, Lafayette, La.)
MLB: ‘17-pres. (Washington)

Carl Taylor​

LLBWS: ‘54 (Orange LL, Lakeland, Fla.)
MLB: ‘68-73 (Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Kansas City)

Ruben Tejada​

LLBWS: ‘01 (Activo 20-30 LL, Santiago, Panama)
MLB: ‘10-pres. (N.Y. Mets, St. Louis, San Francisco, Baltimore, Toronto)

Clete Thomas​

LLBWS: ‘96 (R. L. Turner LL, Panama City, Fla.)
MLB: ‘08-09, ‘12-13 (Detroit, Minnesota)

Hector Torres​

LLBWS: ‘58 (Industrial LL, Monterrey, Mexico)
MLB: ‘68-77 (Houston, Chicago Cubs, Montreal, San Diego, Toronto)

Devon Travis​

LLBWS: ‘03 (East Boynton Beach LL, Boynton Beach, Fla.)
MLB: ‘15-pres. (Toronto)

George Tsamis​

LLBWS: ‘79 (Campbell LL, Campbell, Calif.)
MLB: ‘93 (Minnesota)

Jason Varitek **​

LLBWS: ‘84 (Almonte Springs National LL, Almonte Springs, Fla.)
College: Georgia Tech (‘94)
MLB: ‘97-11 (Boston)

Dave Veres​

LLBWS: ‘78 (Torrejon Air Base, Madrid, Spain)
MLB: ‘94-03 (Houston, Montreal, Colorado, St. Louis, Chicago Cubs)

Ed Vosberg **​

LLBWS: ‘73 (Cactus LL, Tucson, Ariz.)
College: Arizona (‘80)
MLB: ‘86,90, ‘94-97, ‘99-02 (San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Philadelphia, Montreal)

Dan Wilson​

LLBWS: ‘81 (Barrington LL, Barrington, Ill.)
MLB: ‘92-05 (Cincinnati, Seattle)

Rick Wise *​

LLBWS: ‘58 (Rose City LL, Portland, Ore.)
MLB: ‘64-82 (Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston, Cleveland, San Diego)

 

[Blakeon18]

Toward the end of the initial post...I meant 'complete game'.

The umpires have a very wide strike zone...very wide. That would skew any pitcher's stats to some degree.
Anything close to a strike is a strike. One of the announcers said that was intentional ...to encourage hitters to swing and not just wait for walks. So they did...on anything close.

 

[Ozimoto]

This is to some extent a consequence of the differences in growth and strength of kids in this age group. At this stage this kid is bigger and stronger than a lot of the other kids in the LLWS. The trick is to keep this dominance going once he hits high school when the other kids catch up. Hopefully he stays healthy and continues to build his skill set as he gets older.

 

[uconnfan68]

I believe there are statistics out the of how many LL star pitchers make it MLB.
I think very few.

Not MLB, but Chris Drury from Trumbull, CT, was NHL.

 

[HCCForever]

This is to some extent a consequence of the differences in growth and strength of kids in this age group. At this stage this kid is bigger and stronger than a lot of the other kids in the LLWS. The trick is to keep this dominance going once he hits high school when the other kids catch up. Hopefully he stays healthy and continues to build his skill set as he gets older.

That is the trick. I watched a 30 for 30 about Cody Webster. He played for Kirkland WA in the early eighties and pitched and slugged his team to the LL Championship. I believe he played college baseball for a year or so. As he said, when he was 12 years old he was better than most but that wasn't the case when he got older. He also suffered shoulder injuries while playing HS football.

 

[uconnfan68]

That is the trick. I watched a 30 for 30 about Cody Webster. He played for Kirkland WA in the early eighties and pitched and slugged his team to the LL Championship. I believe he played college baseball for a year or so. As he said, when he was 12 years old he was better than most but that wasn't the case when he got older. He also suffered shoulder injuries while playing HS football.

Even when I played, there were a couple big kids that never got much bigger than they were at 12. Wider, but not taller.

 

[stamfordhusky]

This is to some extent a consequence of the differences in growth and strength of kids in this age group. At this stage this kid is bigger and stronger than a lot of the other kids in the LLWS. The trick is to keep this dominance going once he hits high school when the other kids catch up. Hopefully he stays healthy and continues to build his skill set as he gets older.

yes. Very much so. For example the Connecticut champion, Manchester, had kids who are as big as 5-11 145 pounds and also 5-9 175 pounds. And they also have kids as small as 4-8 78 pounds and 4-10 110 pounds. Big difference.

 

[Huskee11]

Toward the end of the initial post...I meant 'complete game'.

The umpires have a very wide strike zone...very wide. That would skew any pitcher's stats to some degree.
Anything close to a strike is a strike. One of the announcers said that was intentional ...to encourage hitters to swing and not just wait for walks. So they did...on anything close.

I got the book "The Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams in 1969 and read it cover to cover many times. I religiously followed the advice he provided in that book.

His first and most important rule was "get a good ball to hit". He walked a lot since he was not willing to give into the pitcher and swing at pitches that were balls or borderline strikes. With two strikes, his approach obviously changed somewhat (and is described in the book) but he would still not swing at pitches out of the zone.

I know that you want kids to be aggressive at the plate but you should also want them to learn the strike zone and to become disciplined hitters. Expanding the strike zone does not help at all in that regard. BTW, doesn`t a 12 year old throwing 75+ mph from 45 feet have enough of an advantage as it is?

Many years ago when an umpire said at the beginning of a game that he was going to have "a big strike zone tonight", a guy I coached with challenged him on it - asking him, what does that mean? Is this a strike? How about this? This far outside? More? Less? The umpire was dumbfounded. He could not articulate what the expanded strike zone he crowed about would actually be. How can a kid learn the strike zone when the umpire can`t even say what it is?

 

[uconnfan68]

I got the book "The Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams in 1969 and read it cover to cover many times. I religiously followed the advice he provided in that book.

His first and most important rule was "get a good ball to hit". He walked a lot since he was not willing to give into the pitcher and swing at pitches that were balls or borderline strikes. With two strikes, his approach obviously changed somewhat (and is described in the book) but he would still not swing at pitches out of the zone.

I know that you want kids to be aggressive at the plate but you should also want them to learn the strike zone and to become disciplined hitters. Expanding the strike zone does not help at all in that regard. BTW, doesn`t a 12 year old throwing 75+ mph from 45 feet have enough of an advantage as it is?

Many years ago when an umpire said at the beginning of a game that he was going to have "a big strike zone tonight", a guy I coached with challenged him on it - asking him, what does that mean? Is this a strike? How about this? This far outside? More? Less? The umpire was dumbfounded. He could not articulate what the expanded strike zone he crowed about would actually be. How can a kid learn the strike zone when the umpire can`t even say what it is?

Umps are paid by the game, not by the hour… they love fast games.