The Big Step is the Draft

A few leagues draft players as young as age 6 but many draft the 8-10 division (sometimes called “Minors”) and ALL Leagues have to “Draft” the Majors and above divisions. The “Draft” is done when players are selected on to a team. This is supposed to be done in secret, with no details of the draft provided other than who was selected to a team. This process is managed by a Board Member called the “Player Agent”. The Player Agent’s job is to make sure the draft is fair, and the Player Agent is there as a representive of the player. Not the league, not the Manager, not the Board, but the Player’s interests are in the hands of the Player Agent. The Player Agent Role in a league may be divided up by different Board Members so there is one for Baseball  and another for Softball. That’s completely OK. But the Player Agent’s job is to know EVERY Player and help them get into a situation where they can have the best Little League experience possible.

Next is the style of the draft. There are “Three Styles” in the Little League manual for draft selection type. One we nicknamed “Fresh Draft”, another is “Legacy Draft”, and the third is “Blind Draft”.  All are allowed in the rule book. In the “Fresh Pick” style all teams each year are disbanded, and redrafted with no players on the roster when the draft starts. That means each team gets shuffled each year. This has some really good points to this method.

The Legacy Draft is also a good way to do things. It allows players from “Last year’s team” to be brought forward to the new year and they are placed on the roster automatically. These players are placed at the BOTTOM of the roster thus forcing the manager to have their first few rounds where they pick players but then the later rounds they cannot because that pick slot is full with last year’s player. This builds “legacy” teams, and allows managers to coach the same kids that they worked with the year before and provides some consistency in their player development.

The “Blind Draft” is exactly that… all the players are randomly just picked from a hat.

On Draft Day (or night) all the managers for the division (as an example “Majors”) are gathered in one room with their tryout evaluations and a master roster of players. In some leagues, they let the manager with the worst record from the previous year go first, in others, it’s a coin toss, or pick a number out of a hat to determine who gets first pick. Then each manager selects a name to their team that they want.

There are Specific Rules for picking players!

The Player Agent and Board are responsible for enforcing the Draft Rules. Here are SOME of the Draft Rules (As delineated in the Little League Rule Book) :

1. There may be only 8 – 12 year olds on a Major’s team (unless it’s All-Stars). If a Legacy team has 8 already from the previous year, any remaining openings in the roster must be filled with players younger than 12 unless none exist in the league. Thus a manager of a Legacy team must take his first picks with 11 year olds if they already have 8 – 12 year olds on a team.
2. No one may take 2 picks in a row. You may only pick one player per round, and no one may take 2 players in a row during a single round, unless all slots for other managers have been filled.
3. Coaches and Managers Children are protected until later rounds. If a Manager or coach has a player in the draft that is their child, those players are taken in specific rounds by age. A 12 year old goes in the 3^rd round, an 11 year old in the 4^th, and 9-10 year old in the 5^th. If the Manager does not select their child (!) by these rounds they become available for any manager to draft.
4. Sibling, and Relatives picks. In many cases siblings either enter the draft as younger players to a Legacy team, or as similarly skilled siblings. There are specific rules for placement in the draft of these types of picks. First, the Manager must notify the Player Agent IN WRITING 48 hours prior to the draft they intend to pick siblings. This includes Manager’s children. Once the first sibling is picked, the Manager must pick the sibling in the next round or they become eliigible for anyone to pick. Cousins, step-siblings, etc are included in this rule. Also the first sibling identified by the manager to the Player Agent MUST be picked in the first three rounds to be able to get the second sibling. The Board may also step in on this rule as well. If the Board determines the skill level of the second sibling is to be considered, they MAY REQUIRE the sibling be picked in an earlier round. This will be determined in the 48 hour period between when the manager notifies the Player Agent they intend to select siblings in an upcoming draft.
5. Manadatory Majors Draft. Any player who is league age 12 must be drafted to the Majors division, with the exception of a safety or experience exemption (which is provided by the Board). A 12 year MUST try out, and MUST be drafted on to a MAJORS team unless for safety reason they play down a division.
6. Restricted Attendance. Only  the Player Agent, the Manager of the team, and the President of the league are allowed into the draft. Coaches, parents, players, and other Board members are not allowed in the Draft Meeting Room. All materials and pick order must be destroyed once the draft is complete as are all managers/coaches notes on the draft and evaluations. The draft is actually  supposed to be confidential.
7. A Bonus pick is allowed. At the Fourth Round ONLY and in Legacy drafts, a 4^th round extra pick is allowed for teams that need to “catch up” to legacy teams that have lots of players. This is so that better parity is achieved among newer or teams with fewer numbers as compared to legacy teams that may have more returning players. This is the ONLY case where two sequential picks by the same team in the same round are allowed.
8. Team Player Rosters. Each team should have at least 12 players on it with a maximum of 15 per team. They should be even across the league. For example if your league has 8 majors teams, there should be 12 on each team. If one team has 10, then players should be moved from another team to get it to 11. Other strategies include playing players “up” or move up a division if they can safely play in the older division. Teams with less than 12 on them technically have to have approval from the Board.

If you care to look the Little League Draft rules up online, there are plenty of examples of how leagues do it. Why does Little League do this? After more than 85 years of running the largest youth sports program in the world, Little League International has learned that by created lots of teams with parity in playing skills, the entire league or program improves. It’s human nature to try to put all the best players on a single team and beat the snot out of all the other teams in the division. But that doesn’t help. It only creates a transient “super team” that may be good for a year or two, but when that manager, team or coach moves on, then the league slumps. If players are spread around, and the teams made “even”, then more players get to play, the experience is better, and as it is said, “A rising tide floats all boats”. By lesser skilled players playing with better skilled players, everyone improves. Kids share tips, tricks, and when left to their own devices, they encourage and teach one another.

Thus, the Little League draft is trying to foster better playing experiences for everyone.