Amateur baseball is baseball in which the players either are not paid for playing, or (as in Town Team Baseball) receive only a modest stipend or employment arranged by the team's boosters. Amateur baseball is played in the United States by players of all ages, from young children to adults.
Leagues for various skill levels and age groups exist throughout the US. In ascending order of age participation, here are a few examples:
Youth baseball is played by elementary-school-age and high-school-age children of both genders. Of the various leagues listed below, Little League baseball is the most widespread. The Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, draws participants from around the world and is televised in the US on ESPN.
The first annual National Youth Baseball Championships (NYBC) tournament was held in August 2008 for players in two divisions: 10U and 12U. [5] [6] The purpose of the tournament is to recognize one team as the "National Youth Baseball Champion." [5] [6] The tournament organizer is the Major Youth Baseball Alliance, LLC, which was formed by eight major national youth baseball organizations, whose programs have more than eight million participants. [5] [6] The eight organizations are: AABC (American Amateur Baseball Congress), AAU (Amateur Athletic Union of the United States), Babe Ruth Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, NABF (National Amateur Baseball Federation), Pony Baseball, Super Series Baseball of America, and USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association). [5] [6]
From 1998 (or earlier) through 2010 (or later), there has been an annual, national all-stars tournament each June — the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars; its predecessor was the National Amateur All-Star Baseball Tournament (NAABT). The tournament features the top 16- to 18-year-old players from various baseball organizations, including the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), American Legion, Babe Ruth Baseball, Dixie Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF), PONY baseball, Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI), and at-large teams from USA Baseball (the governing body of amateur baseball). [20]
School baseball is played throughout the United States. High schools often have freshman, junior-varsity, and varsity teams. Some middle schools offer baseball programs.
In the 2014-15 season, 486,567 boys and 1,203 girls played baseball at the National Federation of State High School Associations. [21]
American Legion Baseball is popular with junior-high- and senior-high-school students from ages 13 to 19. American Legion also provides regional, state, and national playoffs.
College baseball is sanctioned by the NCAA, NAIA, and NCBA.
College baseball players, especially professional prospects, often also play in collegiate summer baseball leagues during the off-season. In these leagues, their lodging and meals are provided by their host team, but no money changes hands.
Many collegiate summer baseball leagues are affiliated to the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation or the National Baseball Congress. The MLB Draft League debuted in 2021.
Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr., nicknamed "the Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire 21-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his position's most productive offensive players, Ripken compiled 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in during his career, and he won two Gold Glove Awards for his defense. He was a 19-time All-Star and was twice named American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP). Ripken holds the record for consecutive games played (2,632), having surpassed Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. In 2007, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 98.53% of votes, the sixth-highest election percentage ever.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a baseball stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s. It was completed in 1992 to replace Memorial Stadium. The stadium is in downtown Baltimore, a few blocks west of the Inner Harbor in the Camden Yards Sports Complex.
USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Olympic, Premier12, and Pan American Games teams ; the USA Baseball collegiate national team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U, and 12U national teams; and the USA Baseball women's national team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. In addition, USA Baseball selects players for the 14U, 16U, and 17U national team-development programs. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives through its Sport Development department, including Play Ball and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country and is responsible for creating the USABat standard.
Professional baseball leagues, amateur-baseball organizations, sportswriting associations, and other groups confer awards on various baseball teams, players, managers, coaches, executives, broadcasters, writers, and other baseball-related people for excellence in achievement, sportsmanship, and community involvement.
The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the New York–Penn League from 1977 to 2020, and of the High-A East in 2021.
William Oliver Ripken, nicknamed Billy the Kid, is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987–1998 for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians (1995), and Detroit Tigers (1998). During his career, he batted and threw right-handed. He is the younger brother of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. He currently serves as a radio host for XM Satellite Radio and a studio analyst for MLB Network.
Peter George Angelos is an American trial lawyer and baseball executive from Baltimore, Maryland. Angelos is the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a team in the American League of Major League Baseball.
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) is a volunteer, sports governing body and a nonprofit organization[2][3] based in Viera, Florida. Originally USSSA stood for United States Slowpitch Softball Association. However, in 1998, USSSA rebranded the name to United States Specialty Sports Association, because it expanded into other sports, including youth girls fastpitch, boys baseball, youth basketball, martial arts and more. USSSA governs 13 sports across the US, Puerto Rico, various US Military bases and Canada, and has a membership of over 3.7 million. In 2017, it generated $25.3 million in revenues.
The Cardinal Gibbons School, also referred to as Cardinal Gibbons, CG, and most commonly as Gibbons, was a Roman Catholic high school and middle school for boys in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. A private institution for grades 6–12, Gibbons drew its enrollment from the neighborhoods of southwest Baltimore City and the counties surrounding the Baltimore metropolitan area, with some as far away as Harford County, Carroll County, and Frederick County.
The Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league located in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, metropolitan areas. The CRCBL is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB).
The Bethesda Big Train is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bethesda, Maryland. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL), and derives its name from the nickname of Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson, who was a Bethesda resident for ten years. The Big Train plays its home games at Shirley Povich Field. As of August 2023, more than 210 Big Train alumni have played professional baseball, including 22 in the major leagues.
Youse's Maryland Orioles are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Linthicum, Maryland. Most of its players are drawn from the college ranks. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRSCBL). The Maryland Orioles play their weekday home games at Bachman Park and weekend games at Calvert Hall High School. Since its founding in 1952, the team has sent at least 48 players to the Major Leagues, including Hall of Famers Al Kaline and Reggie Jackson.
Wayne Richard Krenchicki was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. He played all or parts of eight seasons in the majors from 1979 until 1986. He was a past manager of the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League. He played college baseball at the University of Miami.
Composite baseball bats, opposed to aluminum or wood baseball bats, incorporate a reinforced carbon fiber polymer, or composite, into the bat's construction. This composite material can make up all or part of the bat. Bats made entirely of this polymer are referred to as composite bats. Bats which only incorporate a portion of polymer are referred to as composite hybrids.
The American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) is an amateur baseball organization in the United States for players from sub-teens through adults. Founded in 1935, it coordinates its programs with USA Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association. AABC has eight (8) age-range divisions in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada. There are also five (5) single-age divisions: 9's, 11's, 13's, 15's, and 17's. In some leagues, however, all divisions are age-range and none are single-age.
The Babe Ruth League is an international youth baseball and softball league based in Hamilton, New Jersey, US named after George Herman "Babe" Ruth.
Baseball in Germany started in 1936, with the first official baseball game being played at the 1936 Olympics. After World War II, baseball was popularized by American soldiers who were stationed in Germany. Today, baseball is a minor sport in Germany, although the country is still home to one of Europe's biggest baseball communities, with around 30,000 active players. The national governing body is the Deutscher Baseball und Softball Verband, and the highest baseball league is the 1. Baseball Bundesliga. Max Kepler is currently the only German-developed player in Major League Baseball.
Chase Davis is an American professional baseball outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
... at Gameday Baseball's First Tennessee Fields in Memphis.
... at Gameday Baseball's First Tennessee Fields in Memphis.
... at Mark Neel Field in Memphis, Tenn.
... in Cordova, Tenn.
... at Mark Neel Field in Memphis, Tenn.
... at Campbell Clinic Field in Memphis, Tenn.