After months of high-school baseball, it’s time for a different group of kids to take the diamond. Come Friday, District 16 Little League action returns.
On top of coaching since 1992, District administrator Joe Baglieri has held his position since 2010. After reflecting on last season – one featuring some rain issues – Baglieri said he’s ready for another summer.
“I don’t expect any problems. It should go fairly smooth,” said Baglieri, a Lynnfield native. “Things change, so it keeps it interesting.”
Changes indeed, with the biggest revolving around the batting order. Games will now feature continuous batting orders with three substitutions.
“You have to carry 12 players minimum. If you have 12, 12 have to bat in order,” Baglieri said. “That’s a major change from before. You batted nine, fielded nine, and then you got your replacements in or whatever. Now, they bat right through it.”
Baglieri added how the starpower of teams may not play as big a role anymore.
“Your top-four or five [batters] won’t be getting up three or four times in a game anymore,” Baglieri said. “Throughout Little League, not just here.”
Due to the continuous order, special pinch runners are also gone.
“Because you’re batting continuously, you don’t have anybody not in the lineup anymore,” Baglieri said. “They are allowing a courtesy runner for pitcher and catcher with two outs – just to keep the game moving.”
Throughout the years, Little League registrations have been on the decline – not just in-state, but across the country.
“Registrations have really dropped off,” Baglieri said. “I thought they were coming back a little last year, but they didn’t seem to this year.”
When asked why, Baglieri said “it’s a combination of a lot of things,” such as less players, coaches, and volunteers.
“[If] people want community sports, then the community has to step up and volunteer,” Baglieri said.
As for the competition, Peabody West won the 12-year-old age group last season, while Lynnfield took the 10s and 11s.
“Peabody West usually has a pretty good program… They’ve dropped in numbers, also,” Baglieri said. “It could be a battle.”
“The 12-year-old Lynnfield team I would expect to be pretty good since they won the 11s,” Baglieri said. “So, we’ll see. I’m not holding any predictions because you never know. There’s always a sleeper team.”
That 12-year-old sleeper team could be revealed Sunday as Lynnfield and Wyoma square off at Pine Hill (4).
Baglieri’s role as DA is to communicate with the leagues, inform people of what’s coming next, and “keep what happens at their fields within Little League regulations.”
Come this weekend, Baglieri and company will be ready for another summer of memories.
“I expect someone different to be there this year,” Baglieri said of the championships. “It’s going to change a little bit.”