Little League® is a nonprofit organization that works to teach the principles of sportsmanship, fair play, and teamwork. Concentrating on discipline, character, and courage, Little League is focused on more than just developing athletes: It helps to create upstanding citizens.
Carl Stotz established Little League in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The first league only had three teams and played six innings, but by 1946, there were already twelve leagues throughout the state of Pennsylvania. The following year, 1947, was the first year that the Little League Baseball® World Series was played, and it has continued to be played every August since then.
In 1951, Little League Baseball expanded internationally, and the first permanent leagues to form outside of the United States were on either end of the Panama Canal. Little League Baseball later moved to nearby South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and a second stadium, the Little League Volunteer Stadium, was opened in 2001.
Some key moments in Little League history:
• 1957 The Monterrey, Mexico, team became the first international team to win the World Series.
• 1964 Little League was granted a federal charter.
• 1974 The federal charter was amended to allow girls to join Little League.
• 1982 The Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum opened.
• 1989 Little League introduced the Challenger Division.
• 2001 The World Series expanded from eight to sixteen teams to provide a greater opportunity for children to participate in the World Series.
• 2014 Little League celebrates its 75th anniversary.
HOW DOES A LITTLE LEAGUE® TEAM GET TO THE WORLD SERIES?
In order to play in the Little League Baseball® World Series, a player must first be a part of a regular-season Little League, and then be selected as part of the league’s All-Star team, consisting of players ages 11 to 13 from any of the teams. The All-Star teams compete in district, sectional, and state tournaments to become their state champions. The state champions then compete to represent one of eight different geographic regions of the United States (New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes, Midwest, Northwest, Southwest, and West). All eight of the Regional Tournament winners play in the Little League Baseball World Series.
The eight International Tournament winners (representing Asia-Pacific and Middle East, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa, Mexico, Japan, and Latin America) also come to the Little League Baseball World Series.
The eight U.S. Regional Tournament winners compete in the United States Bracket of the Little League Baseball World Series, and the International Tournament winners compete in the International Bracket.
Over eleven days, the Little League Baseball World Series proceeds until a winning U.S. Championship team and International Championship team are determined. The final World Series Championship Game is played between the U.S. Champions and the International Champions.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Visit the World of Little League, Peter J. McGovern Museum, and Official Store in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania! When you visit, you’ll find pictures, interactive displays, films, and exhibits showing the history and innovations of Little League.
More information is available at
LittleLeagueMuseum.org
HOW CAN I JOIN A LITTLE LEAGUE® TEAM?
If you have access to the Internet, you can see if your community has a local league by going to LittleLeague.org and clicking on “Find a League.” You can also visit one of our regional offices:
US REGIONAL OFFICES:
Western Region Headquarters (AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, and WY)
6707 Little League Drive
San Bernardino, CA 92407
E-MAIL: westregion@LittleLeague.org
Southwestern Region Headquarters (AR, CO, LA, MS, NM, OK, and TX)
3700 South University Parks Drive
Waco, TX 76706
E-MAIL: southwestregion@LittleLeague.org
Central Region Headquarters (IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, and WI)
9802 E. Little League Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46235
E-MAIL: centralregion@LittleLeague.org
Southeastern Region Headquarters (AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VA, and WV)
PO Box 7557
Warner Robins, GA 31095
E-MAIL: southeastregion@LittleLeague.org
Eastern Region Headquarters (CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT)
Bristol, CT 06011
E-MAIL: eastregion@LittleLeague.org
INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL OFFICES:
CANADIAN REGION (serving all of Canada)
Canadian Little League Headquarters
235 Dale Avenue
Ottawa, ONT
Canada K1G OH6
E-MAIL: Canada@LittleLeague.org
ASIA-PACIFIC REGION (serving all of Asia and Australia)
Asia-Pacific Regional Director
C/O Hong Kong Little League
Room 1005, Sports House
1 Stadium Path
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
E-MAIL: bhc368@netvigator.com
EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA REGION (serving all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa)
Little League Europe
A1. Meleg Legi 1
Kutno, 99-300, Poland
E-MAIL: Europe@LittleLeague.org
LATIN AMERICA REGION (serving Mexico and Latin American regions)
Latin America Little League Headquarters
PO Box 10237
Caparra Heights, Puerto Rico 00922-0237
E-MAIL: LatinAmerica@LittleLeague.org
Fill in the blanks with the words below to solve the twelve-letter mystery phrase!
Hints: Match the number of blanks to the number of letters in each word. Be sure the words make sense both horizontally and vertically!
Three Letters:
ACE
BAT
CAP
NAB
Four Letters:
GAME
SAFE
Five Letters:
CATCH
COACH
GLOVE
HOMER
PITCH
SLIDE
THROW
Six Letters:
RUNNER
STRIKE
Eight Letters:
BASE HITS
BASEBALL
CHAMPION
Answer Key:
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
THE LITTLE LEAGUE® PLEDGE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
WHAT IS LITTLE LEAGUE®?
HOW DOES A LITTLE LEAGUE® TEAM GET TO THE WORLD SERIES?
HOW CAN I JOIN A LITTLE LEAGUE® TEAM?
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coinc
idental.
Copyright © 2014 by Matt Christopher Royalties, Inc.
Cover photo © Getty Images/James Boulette
Cover design by Erin McMahon
Cover © 2014 Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
lb-kids.com
mattchristopher.com
Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Matt Christopher® is a registered trademark of Matt Christopher Royalties, Inc.
Little League Baseball, Little League, the medallion and the keystone are registered trademarks and service marks belonging exclusively to Little League Baseball, Incorporated.
© 2014 Little League Baseball, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
Text written by Stephanie True Peters
First ebook edition: July 2014
ISBN 978-0-316-24845-7
E3