This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Birmingham Little League Prepares for All-Star Weekend

A look at the organization that's taught area young players how to play baseball for over 60 years.

Every weekend during the spring, the sounds of bats cracking and kids cheering echo across Birmingham’s various city parks. And yet these players, coaches and parents are participating in more than just Birmingham Little League — they’re taking part in one of Michigan’s oldest organizations devoted to youth baseball.

“We’re not just a sports organization that’s just around to be a place for parents to drop off their kids,” said Dave Palmeri, league commissioner. “We provide the avenue for them to learn to love a sport and hopefully continue on in various different outlets that are available for them, whether it be a travel team or in high school.”

Turning 60 years old this year, the Birmingham Little League's season is in full swing. This weekend players across all age groups will compete in the All-Star Game festivities, a change for all players to show their stuff.

Find out what's happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A history of change

Palmeri began coaching in the Little League in 1997, joining the board of directors a year later. Palmeri said he and a few other parents were frustrated with the structure of the league, which he said was struggling at the time. Registration for the league was only around 350 kids per year.

“We didn’t like how things were being run, (so) we decided to do something about it,” Palmeri said. “(We began to) change the organization to something that was going to be a little more successful for the kids.”

Find out what's happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Palmeri and the board began introducing rule changes aimed at increasing competitiveness and to make the games quicker. In just six years, registration jumped up to 670 kids.

Not bad for an organization that’s 60 years old.

“We are one of the oldest Little Leagues in Michigan,” Palmeri said. “Certainly the oldest youth sports organizations in Birmingham.”

Despite the league’s history, though, Palmeri didn’t let tradition stand in his way. Commissioner now since 2000, one of his biggest changes has been the All-Star Games. Once held at the end of the season with only a few players from each team, the games are now held in the middle of the season so that everyone has a chance to shine.

“We wanted to market our league as something as the best value in the town,” he said. “We have different awards like the Golden Bat, Golden Shoe and Golden Arm, so every kid has the opportunity to win something instead of just a select few.”

Something for everyone

The Birmingham Little League has four divisions: Coach Pitch, which includes seven- and eight-year-olds; Minors for nine-year-olds; Association for 10-year-olds; and Majors for 11- and 12-year-olds. This year, Palmeri said the league has 35 teams with around 12-14 players per team and 500 kids.

This is lower than previous years, he noted, because the league recently eliminated a division this season for 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds. The numbers for the division had decreased in recent years, while the cost for that age bracket is higher than the others. Uniforms are more expensive and the league had to hire umpires for those games. 

Next year, he said the total number should go back up with the addition of a new kindergarten division.

Palmeri said, parents looking to sign their kids up for Little League should know skill and experience in placing someone in a specific division.

“Ages sometimes don’t matter — they’re guidelines, nothing is 100 percent set in stone,” he said. “We track each player with coaching evaluations at the end of the year and we really try to put them in a position of success so they’ll get the most out of the league.”

Every year, the Birmingham Little League begins in March with player evaluations and continues through June, when the league holds playoffs. The league fee is $150 with a maximum family cost of $300.

The All Star games start at 10 a.m. on Saturday at . For more information on the league and registration info check out the league’s website bll.clubspaces.com. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Birmingham