Little League - Why not League Names?

[WJMorris3]

One of the purest forms of sport left to us is here, in the form of the Little League World Series. The uniforms could use some work, though.

Why is it that Little League chooses to put the region's name on the jerseys? I figure it would be just as easy to give out uniforms with the league's name on them. To this end, I have quickly thrown together what these might have looked like if Little League did it by league name and not by region name.

[BB61]

Because they only have one week between the time that the teams are decided and the beginning of the LLWS. This way, it's generic, plus at least they have something representitive of the region that they won.

[NHL1016]

its cheaper and they are made earlier

[oakland ehs]

i'd like to see the teams wearing their own jerseys. i know if i went all the way there with one team, i'd want to keep the same uniform, otherwise its kind of not the same.

although a lot of these teams are all-star teams so it's not the same anyways...

[cableguy]

something that has bothered me for years regarding this topic...

why don't the teams wear the uniforms they wear durring the season? I have always wonderded about this.

[CZzyzx41]

Yeah why have all these other jerseys made? Why not just let them wear the jerseys that they've been wearing all along?

[Eye]

Yeah why have all these other jerseys made? Why not just let them wear the jerseys that they've been wearing all along?

Agreed, but I have a better question. Why televise this stupid s***?

[lucky]

Because, in addition to the time and money issues already mentioned, what if half the teams' normal jerseys are red?

[I Am A Flaming Douche Bag]

Because, in addition to the time and money issues already mentioned, what if half the teams' normal jerseys are red?

Exactly. Most teams probably have the same colours so this way you can actually tell the difference between my teams. My team when I was younger went into the tournament to quality for Canada and most teams were red and blue....

[goforbroke]

Also, I belive they are supposed to re-use the jerseys from year-to-year. I don't think the kids are allowed to keep them. Although latly it seems that they have new jerseys every year, in case they DID want to re-use them, they couldn't make a Lake Oswego jersey

[jkrdevil]

Furthermore the different league have different budgets. If the teams went with their regular uniforms there would be some teams with nice uniforms and other teams with what would amounts to a t-shirt. Doing it this way allows all teams that reach the World Series to have a nice almost professional uniform. It's a reward for getting there.

[winghaz]

The players wear their own uniforms in the American Legion Baseball World Series. If it's good enough for the Legion World Series, it's good enough for the Little League World Series.

Besides, unless the uniforms are really shoddy, this just makes sense.

[VitaminD]

The way they do it makes so much sense it'd be foolish not to.

1. It can be done well in advance.

2. It gives the finals an air of uniformity.

3. It eliminates any discrepancies between teams with high-quality uniforms and teams that don't - everyone looks like they're playing on Little League's biggest stage.

4. Most Little League teams competing for the LLWS are made up of each league's all-stars. As such, there is an overwhelming predilection (at least in the US) for their all-star teams to wear some combo of red, white and blue. The chances of teams wearing clashing colors is nearly 100%.

5. We never had home/away or primary/clash uniforms for our Little League tournament games, and we were a fairly well-off district financially.

6. Winning your region far trumps winning your local divison or simply being on a team. Not only are you the champion of [insert local Little League name here], you're champion for a part of the country/the world.

7. Where the hell is Coon Rapids? Lubbock is easy. So is Walpole (especially if you're from the Northeast). But where is Coon Rapids? The state or region makes it easier.

8. Many Little Leagues aren't necessarily named for the team's hometown. We got knocked out of the New Jersey state tournament by Nottingham... which has not existed on a New Jersey map since before the Civil War. I still have no idea where those kids were from, since there are multiple Hamilton Townships in New Jersey. So if Nottingham went to the LLWS, they'd be wearing the name of a town that hasn't existed for 150 years. WTF?