Transition to Cal Ripken beneficial for Alpena
It’s the time of the year where youth baseball players have either finished playing or are gearing up for the stretch run that comes after state and regional tournaments.
The youth baseball season in Alpena has come to an end after the 12U all-stars were eliminated from a regional tournament in Jeffersontown, Kentucky over the weekend. Alpena earned the opportunity to play at the regional level by winning a state championship two weeks ago in its hometown, along with two other teams across different age groups. The 12U team was the only group that went on to play at the regional level and it did for the third consecutive year.
This year marked the sixth anniversary of Alpena making the switch from Little League to Cal Ripken Baseball. Over the past six years, the transition has been an interesting topic of debate as the tournament style play of Cal Ripken is much different than what people were used to seeing when children played Little League Baseball.
The decision to make the change came in 2011 during Alpena’s final season under Little League and in 2012 the new era of the quickly growing Cal Ripken Baseball began in Alpena.
As with any decision that involves any sort of change, there are pros and cons that follow the decision that was made and Alpena’s choice to transition from Little League to Cal Ripken was no exception.
Gone are the days of the classic rivalries between the Alpena City League all-star team and the Huron Shores all-star team where the teams were divided based on where a player lived. Tryouts were intense with these being the only two all-star teams available in the 9-10 and 11-12 year-old age groups while Alpena was under Little League.
2005 marked the first year Alpena Little League got rid of its boundary rules and instead combined both the City League and Huron Shores teams to create Alpena Huron Shores Little League (AHSLL). Despite an end of some exciting rivalries, this was a change that was long overdue.
After years of the City League all-stars and Huron Shores all-stars going at it, the two teams combined to form the AHSLL and though it made the tryouts even more intense, the teams became more talented and captured many district championships.
One of the major differences that has taken some a little while to get used to since Alpena made the switch to Cal Ripken was the tournament process.
When Alpena was under the Little League format and before the City and Huron Shores merger, there was one Alpena team and one Huron Shores team that made up a 9-10 team and 11-12 team in both age groups.
Teams were chosen by managers and the tournament process consisted of four teams making up a bracket in pool play with the top two teams advancing. After pool play, teams would then need to play single elimination district games consisting of a quarterfinal, semifinal and final that was made up of four more teams vying for a district championship with the opportunity to advance to the state tournament.
I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to play on many all-star teams during Little League and experience the grind that it was to make it out of pool play and win several district championships and get an opportunity to play at the state level.
Each year was different, when it looked as if we had little to no chance, we came out on top and other times when our team looked poised for a state run, we came up short. That’s just how competitive Little League baseball was.
When Alpena made this transition, there was a lot of buzz around the town after seeing several teams from different age groups across Alpena win state championships. Of course there’s some debate on whether or not these teams truly earned their championships or if they were just fortunate enough to play weaker competition. The thought of having players handed a spot on an all-star team, rather than working hard for it or taking an easy path to a state title when Alpena teams used to scratch and claw just to get a shot to play in a state tournament, may have crossed some minds.
Times have changed and so has youth baseball in Alpena since making the transition to Cal Ripken, but it’s something we should embrace.
Cal Ripken Baseball is intended to keep baseball fun, especially in the early stages of youth baseball. Alpena has multiple all-star teams throughout different age groups including 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U and 12U.
For example, Alpena hosted the 2017 Cal Ripken Michigan State Baseball Tournament at the Huron Shores Complex. Seven Alpena teams across the five different age brackets participated. Multiple all-star teams from Alpena competed in the same age group and three Alpena teams captured state championships.
Things are different now. In some age groups there are multiple all-star teams and the tournament format is different, but Alpena’s transition from Little League to Cal Ripken has opened doors for many youth baseball players. It continues to give kids the opportunity to be a part of a team and play at a state level and possibly open some eyes to regional talent.
Of course many kids have dreams of winning championships and everyone plays to win games, but it is important to understand at these age groups the importance of building players into a team, while allowing them to experience competitive atmospheres that many did not get to experience prior to this transition. That should be the ultimate goal.
Will this lead to future success at higher levels? It remains to be seen, but due to the circumstances in which Alpena left Little League, the transition to Cal Ripken may have been a good decision and one Alpena should continue to embrace in a city that needs baseball to grow.