Call to the Pen: Examining the Little League World Series

For my Ryno Report this week, I tell you why the Little League World Series is a joke. I know some people love it but after watching two innings of the Puerto Rico-Germany game today, I had more than enough. It was embarrassing to watch. Head on over to Call to the Pen to check out my column.

The Little League World Series is Embarrassing, Breeds Vanity

"Youth sports are supposed to instill respect for the game and for others. But that lesson in reverence for the game has disappeared. These kids are on TV hitting 250-foot home runs with aluminum bats. They’re stars. Who needs respect when you have talent?This attitude is what has caused major league baseball so many problems over the last decade. Players are caught up in personal image and success rather than playing the game the right way. The need to be a star is at the root of the steroid era.Just look at Roger Clemens and where vanity landed him in life.Or Sammy Sosa who has lost all significance after a power surge likely boosted by steroids.The obsession with the strikeout and the home run in baseball made for the superficial era.Ryne Sandberg asked how this all happened in his Hall of Fame induction speech in 2005: “When did it become okay for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?”The answer: Little League."

Catch the rest over at Call to the Pen.