CoachDeck

Fairness in Little League tournaments

Yes, we understand that there is a time concern and that adding more games makes the schedule more difficult. But in the Little League regional tournaments, and in the Little League World Series, two teams can finish with the same number of losses and having split the head-to-head match-ups, but one is crowned champion. Today, the team from Arizona plays Northern California in an elimination game. If Arizona wins, then tomorrow they play Hawaii, who they lost to earlier in the tournament 6-5, for the right to go to the Little League World Series. Shouldn't Arizona have to beat them twice for it to be completely fair? It is true that there is somewhat of a disadvantage for coming out of the loser's bracket since more pitching needs to be used but that still doesn't seem to be enough. If both teams have one loss and have beaten each other once, how can you determine a champion?. And it is the same format on the biggest stage in Williamsport. Many of the tournaments leading up to the regionals do require a team coming out of the losers bracket to win twice, so there are clearly some who feel this is the only fair way to determine a winner. Maybe Little League needs to re-think this and add a few extra games.

Leave a comment: