How to Sign Up for Cal Ripken Youth League Baseball

The Program's Namesake

Cal Ripken, baseball's Iron Man, played a spectacular 21 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles, achieving not only the 400 home run and 3,000 hit milestones but setting an all-time record for playing in 2,632 consecutive games (the "Streak"). When he retired from playing, he decided that the best thing he could do was to promote youth sports according to the Ripken philosophy of fun and good sportsmanship, and the Babe Ruth League decided to honor his commitment by changing the name of its largest division, that of 4-12 year-olds, from Bambino to Cal Ripken Baseball. Now every August the Cal Ripken World Series with 15 teams of 11 and 12 year olds from all over the world is played at the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy in Cal's hometown of Aberdeen, Maryland.

Instructions

1. Check the Cal Ripken Division of the Babe Ruth League website. This will give you a good overview of the game and how it is played.

2. Decide on your child's level based on her age and experience. If she is 11 or 12 years old and is an experienced baseball player, she should sign up for the Major 60 or 70 levels. If she is 9 or 10, the Minor level is recommended. The Rookie level, which utilizes a pitching machine, is best for 7 and 8 year olds, along with less-experienced 9-year-olds. If she is 4, 5, or 6 years old, she may enjoy an introduction to the game in the form of T-Ball.

3. Locate your nearest Cal Ripken baseball team at the correct level. This is trickier than it sounds, as the official website has no team locator. You may need to keep an eye out for signs posted around the community at the start of baseball season in early spring, or you can look in the local paper, check community listservs, or do some googling to scrounge up contact information for a coach.

4. Contact the commissioner for your area if you are having no luck locating a team on your own. You can find a map showing the different regions and their commissioners, with email addresses so you can contact them to inquire about the teams in their areas. As they are required to maintain rosters of all active teams, they should be able to help you locate the one closest to where you live.

5. Call or email the coach of your local league once you've been able to locate him. Find out about when practices start, where they are held, and what level of skill and commitment is required of your child. Arrange to visit with the coach so your child can be signed up.

6. Have your child added to the team roster, which is then submitted to league headquarters. Now get ready to play ball!

Resources

• Cal Ripken Division of the Babe Ruth League