Choosing Between Open and Elite Division

How to Pick the Correct Baseball Tournament Division

There’s nothing worse than spending weeks practicing, getting your equipment prepared, booking a hotel, and traveling to a tournament just to get blown out. A team consisting of a few kids from a small town gets matched up vs a juggernaut of future of pro prospects and ends up getting blown out. Competitive balance is a tough thing to achieve in travel ball tournaments so many organizations have established different division levels. Learn how to choose the difference between open and elite divisions.

Open Division

The open division is the safe choice if you’re not sure which division to choose. The open division is the category that about 75% of teams fall under. This division consists of local recreational league teams full of players that joined based on their proximity to the team or were drafted out of a league pool. Other more established organizations that play in a few tournaments each season and/or have been around for a year or more are also typically considered to be open division teams.

Elite Division

The elite division is considered to be the best of the best. This division typically is filled with teams that rank in the top 25% of travel teams across the country. Players on these teams often have to go through tryouts or apply for these teams. Teams in the elite division also are normally part of major organizations that have several different teams at each age level. These are the organizations “A” teams. Most of the players on these teams are going to play on their high school’s team and at the next level for a college program. These teams are experienced and have been together for years, typically playing 50-100+ tournament games a year.

Picking the correct tournament division will allow your team to have a much better tournament experience. They'll be involved in competitive pool/bracket play games and have a chance to win their tournament division. Choosing the wrong division can lead to frustrating blowouts, preventing your team from improving.

Finding a Baseball Tournament

Not all baseball tournaments are created equally. If you are new to youth travel baseball all of the different tournament options can be overwhelming. There are local tournaments, statewide tournaments, and even national tournaments. So how do you choose the right tournament for your baseball team/organization?

What is included?

Each tournament has different pros and cons. Even if a tournament appears to have everything you need, you might be located 9 hours from your base of operations. There are some things that every coach should look for in a tournament though.

Field or Complex

Field location and quality are a major factor. You want your kids to have a good game experience so make sure that the tournament field is in good condition.This will prevent players from becoming injured and ensure the games are good quality. No one wants to play in a mud pit!

Tournament Fees

Fees are another thing coaches need to consider. Almost every tournament has additional fees you have to worry about (not the Cap Classic Series!). Some tournaments require coaches to pay umpires at the plate, others require gate fees, or tournament ball fees. These fees are not always explicitly stated so it’s good for coaches to carry a hundred dollars or so in cash on them just in case.

Other tournaments giveaway “bonus items” to try to attract teams to their tournament. This includes things like bats, trophies, and even hats (Cap Classic!). Although these items aren’t necessary for the tournament to take place, they do entice coaches to sign up and are a nice addition. A good thing about tournaments like these are they can save teams money on bats, hats, etc which gives them money to sign up for another tournament or give parents a refund.

MLB Teams Using Openers

Quality Start History

Baseball is one of the world’s oldest games. With reports of baseball as early as the late 1700s/early 1800s, baseball is much older than the other major sports in America. In 1985, the term “Quality Start” was first introduced. This term was later adopted as an official stat by Major League Baseball and is given to a pitcher that starts a game and pitches at least 6 innings while giving up 3 or less earned runs. Ever since, professional teams have been scouting and signing starting pitchers with the goal of them earning as many quality starts as possible.

Photo by Jose Francisco Morales on Unsplash

Strategy Change

Baseball teams have used the same strategy for starting pitchers for years. That is until the Tampa Bay Rays changed everything last year (2017-18). The “opener” strategy relies on starting a pitcher for 1 to 3 innings then moving on to another pitcher with no goal of earning a Quality Start. On May 19th, the Rays started career relief pitcher Sergio Romo against the Angels, who went on to throw 1 inning, and haven’t looked back. After the debut of the opener strategy, the Rays went on to assign 50 starts to 8 relief pitchers who pitched between 1 and 3 innings. On July 23rd, they fully committed to the opener strategy by putting CY Young award winning starting pitcher Blake Snell on the Disabled List and traded fellow starts Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Archer. After trying a strategy like nothing baseballs ever seen before, the Rays finished the season with a record of 90-72 and nearly made the playoffs.

Baseballs Reaction

So what now? How does baseball react? Some teams have jumped on board with the idea. The A’s, Blue Jays, Orioles, Pirates, and Twins among other teams have all mentioned considering the idea for this upcoming season. Others aren’t as open to the idea. Starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner has stated that if his San Francisco Giants use the opener strategy then he’s “going to walk”. What are your thoughts on this strategy? Would you want your favorite team to use an opener or are you more a baseball traditionalist? Let us know!  

Universal Use of the Designated Hitter in Baseball

Major League Baseball

The use of the DH (Designated Hitter) is probably the most controversial topic among baseball inner circles. The two sides to this argument are equally passionate about their stance on the DH. Right now, the DH is used in all minor league levels (except Double-A and Triple-A), almost all international leagues, and the MLB’s American League. Double-A, Triple-A, and the Central League of Japan all use the MLB’s National League rule of allowing pitchers to bat.

Amateur Baseball

In amateur baseball, the NCAA states that teams must use a DH for a pitcher however, many teams opt to use the pitcher as the DH as well. In Little League Baseball, a DH is not allowed however each individual youth league is different. So as you can tell there is no consistency with the DH rule which can make it pretty confusing.

Image by Keith Johnston from Pixabay 

For the DH

People in favor of the DH think it’s a no brainer. Why would you have a pitcher with little to no hitting ability bat instead of a capable hitter? This gives teams the best shot of putting runs on the board and allows pitchers to focus on what they do best. However, it eliminates some hitters jobs with less pinch hitting and substitution opportunities in the pros. If only adding the DH to the National League was that simple.

Against the DH

Other baseball purists feel that the DH cheapens the game. Forcing pitchers to hit increases the amount strategy required to win a game. If you’re in the middle of a pitchers battle, are you going to let your pitcher bat or play the odds and let a pinch hitter bat? Or, with runners on, are you going to have your pitcher bunt and sacrifice an out to move up the runners or swing away and risk gaining nothing? Requiring pitchers to bat adds a few different elements to the game. Plus, there’s nothing better than watching a pitcher come up with a big hit. Unless of course you are the other team’s pitcher.

Each side of the argument has its pros and cons so there’s no real right answer. WIth strong proponents on each side it doesn’t look like a change will happen anytime soon. What would you do if you were making the decision?