Big League Baseball Changes
2017-01-12
Big League Changes
BIG LEAGUE BASEBALL CHANGES
Attention all Big League age players (17,18,19yrs).
As some of you may have heard earlier this year, the Big League division is no longer available through Little League International. This decision came from the board of directors for Little League International District 3 is committed to providing a safe and fun opportunity for all kids to continue their love of the game, therefore all the District 3 associations got together and forged an alliance with Baseball Alberta.
What does that mean for BRLL players?
You can still register with BRLL, who will then transfer your registration to the Baseball Alberta. BRLL will create teams as usual and we will play against the same teams as prior years. We will supply umpires and use our own uniforms. The big difference is that Baseball Alberta will cover the insurance for all players and create the schedule and they will also look at some weekend out of town games for a chance to play other teams.
What is different with Baseball Alberta?
There are a few things that differ from Baseball Alberta but most of the rules are the same as LLI. Baseball Alberta has agreed to let us continue to run our league as we have in the past with a couple of exceptions.
- Baseball Alberta is strict on the age determination for players. They run on a calendar year chart (Jan 1 – Dec 31) so this will affect a few players as they do not accept 20yr old players at all however, we will be able to register these players with District 3 this year. But be advised, if we play in the playoffs with the rest of the province, 20yr olds are NOT permitted to play. For example if you are 19yrs and on Dec 31, 2017 you turn 20yrs old you are considered 20yrs old for the whole year.
- Teams that play in the provincial playoffs (if we choose to attend) can only field a total of 2 – 19yr old players.
- Baseball Alberta charges a fee to play; however BRLL will cover their fees. You only need to pay for BRLL registration. As this is new territory for all involved, we do expect some growing pains, however we are confident in the future of baseball for the Big League division. There will be more information to come as we finalize the details.