SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Those padded green outfield walls at the Little League World Series have been pushed back.
Yet there's no question what wide-eyed Little Leaguers still dream about.
"It looks big, but nothing we can't hit it out of," Austin Mastela, a 12-year-old outfielder for the squad from Lemont, Ill., said nonchalantly as he stared at Lamade Stadium's pristine diamond from a grassy hill above right field.
It's now 225 feet to the fences from home plate, 20 feet farther than last year. Little League officials have said the changes were made to generate more doubles and triples, rather than to cut down on home runs.
From a picnic table overlooking the field, 13-year-old Takehiro Imai of the Kawaguchi City, Japan, team fidgeted in his seat and looked eager to take a swing.
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Imai hit a homer in the regional tournament. "And I want to hit one here," Imai said through an interpreter.
During the last 20 years, 571 homers have been hit at Little League's spotlight event — about one every 26 at-bats. During the same period, 502 doubles have been hit, one every 29 at-bats, and 36 triples, one every 406 at-bats.
"I think everyone, when they first heard about it said, 'Oh, they're trying to cut down on the number of home runs that are hit,' " Little League president Stephen Keener said. "No, if we wanted to do that, we would have to move the fences back maybe 40 or 50 feet."
Finely manicured green hedges form a row about 10-15 feet behind the outfield wall, at the base of the grassy hill. It's there that many fans often can be spotted scrambling for home run balls.
The change might place more of a premium on outfield defense. In the days before the start of the tournament today, teams practiced jumping the 4-foot outfield wall to try to rob potential home runs. Infielders practiced receiving cutoff throws deeper into the outfield.
"This was simply to open up the outfield, have more opportunities for extra-base hits and more exciting play," Keener said. "We're hoping it will just add a little more conventional baseball to the game."
Below the world series level, homers have become an increasing part of the game, some managers say.
There are a number of theories about why that may be. They notice kids are bigger physically than a generation ago. Kids also have more opportunity to hone their skills, playing on multiple teams and being able to hit batting practice all year around at indoor cages.
Joe Burns, manager of the squad from Surrey, British Columbia, said his local league moved the fences back 8 feet to 207 to try to cut down on the number of homers. He said the change still didn't help.
"When I played Little League, you just showed up and played," Burns said. "There was no practice."
At the highest Little League levels, most teams are comprised of all-stars pulled from various local teams. So, invariably, the best hitters are on those squads.
The deeper fences coincide with another rule change. Players cannot turn 13 before May 1, 2006, which was moved up from the previous cutoff date of August 1. That potentially means more 13-year-olds playing in this year's series.
Keener said the change was made to better align it with the actual Little League season, which usually starts in March.
● Teams that begin play today in South Williamsport, Pa.
POOL A — MID-ATLANTIC, Staten Island, N.Y.; GREAT LAKES, Lemont, Ill.; WEST, Phoenix; SOUTHEAST, Columbus, Ga.
POOL B — NEW ENGLAND, Portsmouth, N.H.; NORTHWEST, Beaverton, Ore.; MIDWEST, Columbia, Mo.; SOUTHWEST, Lake Charles, La.
POOL C — PACIFIC, Saipan, CMNI; LATIN AMERICA, Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela; CANADA, Surrey, British Columbia; TRANSATLANTIC, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
POOL D — MEXICO, Mastamoras, Taumalipas; ASIA, Kawaguchi City, Japan; EMEA (EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST and AFRICA), Moscow, Russia; CARIBBEAN, Willemstad, Curacao.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
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