Batting, Outs, and Strikes

A youth baseball game usually consists of 6 innings. In each inning, each team will pitch and field while the other team bats. When the batting team gets 3 outs, the other team bats.

 Outs

A offensive player is out when any of the following occur:

• They get 3 strikes.
• They hit a ball that is caught before the ball hits the ground.
• The ball is thrown to the first-baseman and the first-baseman touches the base with his/her foot while the ball is in his/her glove or hand.
• Any member of the fielding team tags a runner off a base with the ball or the glove containing the ball before therunner gets safely to a base.
• The base runner is forced out before arriving at the next base. (A player is forced to run when all bases behind him are occupied and the ball is hit by the batter.  The batter must run to first forcing the other to advance a base.)

 Strikes and Fouls

A batter may get a strike in 3 different ways:

• A swing and a miss at a ball.
• A ball thrown into the strike zone that is not swung at but called a strike by the umpire.
• A ball hit “foul”. (The ball’s hit outside the fair lines of the field)

 How to choose the proper baseball glove size for your child?

Little Leaguers should use smaller, not larger gloves. Resist the temptation to let your child use that old, well broken-in glove you used in high school or for Slo-pitch. Larger gloves may seem easier to use when you are just playing catch, but in a game it is different. In games, everything happens much faster, and your child will be trying to catch and field balls in all sorts of different positions.

 Below is a chart of recommended glove sizes. If your child is particularly large or small for his or her age, adjust the sizes accordingly, but we recommend a maximum of 11 ¼ ” in Little League.  The absolute biggest we would recommend would be 11 ½” for the bigger and stronger child.  But even then an 11 ¼” would be sufficient.  The table below probably covers 80% of the players in a given division.

 La Ronde Little League proudly invests in top of the line baseball bats every season for our house league and All-Star program.  If you choose to buy your child his/her own baseball bat, we highly recommend that the bat be shared with teammates come game time to avoid any problems on the bench. 

 When choosing a baseball bat, there are a number of factors that must be taken into consideration, including level of play, size of the batter, cost and comfort. Aluminum / composite baseball bats are the bats used at the Little League level.  Little League bats must be 32” or less and have barrels no more than 2 ¼ in diameter. The bat must also be made of an approved material, but need not actually say “approved by Little League” on the bat.

 The table below probably covers 80% of the players in a given division but some kids are bigger/smaller than others; some are stronger for their size; some have already developed good technique.  The percentage of tall/strong kids that can properly swing a 32” bat is very minimal.  A bigger bat doesn’t mean a better swing/hit therefore your 12 year old should use a 31” bat unless the coaches advise otherwise.