Travel Baseball Tournament Organizers and Tournaments in Michigan
Michigan USSSA
USSSA Baseball tournament organizer for Michigan.
Articles For Those New to Travel Baseball
What is Travel Baseball?
Clarkstown Baseball Association provides a cut and dry overview of what travel or elite baseball is and the differences between it and "Recreational" baseball.
Choosing a Youth Travel Baseball Team
This is a great introductory article for those new to the travel baseball scene that can help you narrow down what you are looking for.
Picking the Right Travel Baseball Team
By John Pinkman
Taking a look at Coaches, Mission, costs, size of team and much more.
Overuse Injuries in Youth Baseball
Pitchers aren't the only ones with overuse injuries in baseball. Check out the latest data and prevention tactics.
Pros and Cons of Parent Coaches and Being One Yourself
Parent coaches in travel baseball, good thing or bad thing? Is it a good fit for you?
Youth Sports: Maintaining Reasonable Expectations
What are the chances your kid will play college baseball or softball? Professional baseball or softball? You should read this article.
Where the Elite Kids Shouldn't Meet
By Tim Keown, ESPN Writer
A raw and honest look into Travel / Elite Baseball
Sites, Organizations and Articles We Like
American Legion Baseball
Teams from 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. Regional tournaments, State tournaments and a World Series make this one of the most popular baseball organizations around.
Dixie Youth Baseball
They play great baseball and players have an opportunity to play in tournaments and a league World Series. Find a team or start a franchise.
Babe Ruth League Youth Baseball
Great organization and great baseball. This is another option for youth baseball players to continue developing their skills. Start or find a charter here.
Travel Ball Select
Travel Ball News, Forums, Scores, Travel Ball TV and other cool stuff.
Game Changer
Sign your team up, keep stats during the game, track other teams. It's great!
Little League News
College Baseball News
MLB News and Rumors from Yard Barker
In 2013, a Michigan-born baseball player graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. He's Jason Grilli, and he's been in the big league a long time now. He's scarcely the only player from Michigan to make the majors. Baseball Almanac lists 24 active players.
A second generation pro ball player, Jason Grilli was born in 1976 in Royal Oak. His father coached him in Little League.
Grilli played at Baker High School. He turned down a 24th round draft pick as a teen, opting instead to attend Seton University. He was named as a Freshman All-American and later an All-Big East selection.
Grilli was selected in the first round of the 1997 draft when he was 20. He played for the Shreveport Captains and Fresno Grizzlies. His MLB debut came in 2000.
J.J. Putz was born in 1977 in Trenton, Michigan. He played baseball at Trenton High School, winning a state championship in 1994. Putz was selected as Michigan's "Mr. Baseball" in 1995. He turned down a third round draft pick, and it was on to the University of Michigan!
Following his junior year, Putz was drafted in the 18th round. Again, he turned it down. He was a 6th round draft pick in 1999. His MLB debut came in August of 2003 when he was 26.
2014 finds him in his prime, doing well in Fantasy rankings.
Jason Motte was born in 1982 in Port Huron. He did some pitching in his Little League days, but it would be years before he would again take on that role (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/iona-college-star-jason-motte-playing-major-role-world-series-st-louis-cardinals-article-1.964452).
Motte played catcher at Valley Central High School (http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111019/SPORTS/110190336/-1/SPORTS06). He was still a catcher when he was on the Iona College team, though he reportedly threw a 94 mph pitch one day when he was just playing around.
Motte was a 19th round draft pick in 2003. He was converted to pitcher while working his way through minor league teams under the banner of the Cardinals. He played in the majors for the first time in September of 2008 when he was 26. Prior to this, he was with the Memphis Redbirds.
Motte used the time he spent recovering from Tommy John surgery to develop his charity work in the cancer arena (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/cancer-caught-looking-motte-mlb-players-go-for-the-strikeout-033014). One thing he is known for: the backwards K “strikeout cancer” T-shirts that now come in the colors of each MLB team.
J.J. Putz recalls the pleasure of being on a college team at the moment they made the Big Ten: "…Seeing the faces on all the guys and knowing how hard we worked to get to that point, that was definitely a memory that I'll remember (http://michigandaily.com/sports/qa-jj-putz-discusses-michigan-his-mlb-career)." Many youth will get to experience moments like this, even if they don't make it as far as Putz. They can benefit from having people who support their dreams.
Grilli recalls how important it was to grow up with someone who supported his baseball passion: his father. "Now I know more so what sacrifices he made in order for me to be in this position," he has said. "Being my Little League coach, he'd come sometimes in a suit and tie... It was special, having a father that cared so much, having something in common (http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060614).”
But, as Motte knows well, there is more to life than baseball – even for the pros. He was instrumental in finding a player representative on each team for “K Cancer”. One is Jason Grilli.
"On the field I might be trying to strike you out or you might be trying to hit a ball 750 feet off of me," Motte told Fox Sports, "...We may be opponents on the field but off the field we can all come together for one common thing (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/cancer-caught-looking-motte-mlb-players-go-for-the-strikeout-033014)."
Teams are coming soon!
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