I caught my first little league game of the season and it may be my last. I was a little disappointed that the larger bases and pitch clock haven’t made their way to Northbrook, Illinois.

A little over an hour ago, I settled in with a hamburger from a local hotdog joint (one famous with the kids and alums from Glenbrook H.S). With everything isn’t the same in every Chicagoland hotdog joint the way you’d expect.

The Greens faced the Purples in what I expect wasn’t for the league championship. I have no idea who the sponsors were because I was more fascinated with the names on the backs of the jerseys. We barely had matching uniforms when I played in high school so this last name on the back kind of threw me for a knuckle curve.

Purple’s starting pitcher is the reason they need a pitch clock. He was a jumpy as Johnny Beisbol without the control or command. The Greens managed a couple runs in the top of the first on some questionable fielding by the Purples. Their uniforms were not purple, but rather a deep blue with red pinstripes, the OpArt effect resulted in a deep purple.

Despite the sponsorships, different jerseys and the fancy scoreboard, not much has changed in little league baseball. I have no idea how old these tykes were, but they were swinging some nice aluminum bats.

I definitely wouldn’t ask for roster advice from either local ML team’s general managers or managers as they’re having their own day to day issues. What I do know about this age group is that your first baseman better be your best infielder. He’s going to have to catch everything thrown within 4 feet of first base. Make sure that at least one of your outfielders can catch most everything hit his way. Guessing where the opposing batters are going to hit is dang near impossible, but the likelihood it will go to the sure-handed one isn’t high. Whether it’s 1976, 1998, 2005, or 2023, your right fielder is going to be playing with bugs of some sort and every ball hit in that direction is going to be an adventure.

I hate to admit that my interest waned pretty quickly. Last season, the PA announcer kept me interested with his goofy nicknames for the little sluggers. Beer might have improved the experience.