5 Great Baseball Players Discovered During Little League World Series
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If you love baseball, then you’ve heard of Mo’ne Davis. This 13-year-old female phenom is the first girl ever to pitch a shutout and grab a win in a Little League World Series game. Her win, and her 70-mph fastball, landed her on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She also got to toss the first pitch at a Phillies game in her hometown of Philadelphia. Some are heralding Davis as a gender pioneer and suggesting that she could play in Major League Baseball someday.
Few LLWS players of any gender earn a berth in the majors. Hopefully, Davis will have a great time playing in the LLWS, earn a sports scholarship to pay for her education, and go on to have a career outside of baseball. A few LLWS players, however, do make the pros. Here’s a look at some who’ve gone from local Little League hero to major league star.
Jason Varitek
Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek took two trips to the Major League World Series in 2004 and 2007. Before winning it all in the big leagues, however, Varitek played not only in the LLWS but also in the College World Series championship game. In the LLWS, he played for the Altamonte Springs National Little League team as a first baseman, shortstop, and catcher. Varitek grabbed three walks and one hit and scored one run before his team lost to South Korea. During his Major League career, long after the LLWS, Varitek earned a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger Award, and three trips to the All-Star game. He also caught a record four no-hitters, more than any other MLB catcher.
Gary Sheffield
Anyone who likes to place baseball bets online or with a bookmaker remembers Gary Sheffield, who played for eight teams during his major league career. Sheffield was a nine-time All-Star and five-time winner of the Silver Slugger award before retiring in 2011. However, his career started long before he hit the majors. Sheffield went to the LLWS with the Belmont Heights Little League All-Stars from Tampa, Florida. His team lost to Taiwan, but Sheffield, who not only demonstrated great hitting but also great pitching skills—Doc Gooden is his uncle—finally captured a real World Series trophy with the Marlins in 1997.
Wilson Alvarez
Wilson Alvarez’s trip to the LLWS was nothing to write home to Venezuela about. Despite his Little League team’s first round loss, Alvarez went on to have a 13-year career in the majors. During his second Major League start for the Chicago White Sox in 1992, Alvarez pitched a no-hitter. He made the All-Star team in 1994 and, in 1998, pitched the first pitch ever for the newly formed Tampa Bay Devil Rays. When he retired in 2005, Alvarez had 1,330 career strikeouts and a 3.96 career ERA.
Todd Frazier
Todd Frazier, who currently plays third base for the Cincinnati Reds, has held nearly every position on the field in his baseball career. In the 1998 LLWS, Frazier hit 4-4, including a leadoff homerun, and was the winning pitcher in the championship game. He focused his attention on playing shortstop until 2009, when Reds AAA team the Louisville Bats converted Frazier into an outfielder. Although he starts at third now, he’s played first base and left field for the Reds. He made the All-Star team for the first time in 2014 and made the finals of the Home Run Derby, where he lost to Yoenis Cespedes.
Boog Powell
Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Baltimore Orioles dominated the World Series. With them was Boog Powell, the 1970 American League MVP, who propelled them to championship wins in 1966 and 1970. Before he became an Oriole, Powell went to the LLWS in 1954 with the Lakeland Little League team. Long before there were pitch limits on Little League players, Powell pitched 11 games in two weeks. Partly because of Boog’s exhaustion, Lakeland lost to Schenectady in the quarterfinals. Maybe that LLWS loss made Boog’s two World Series trophies all the sweeter.
To the Future
The LLWS, one of the few pure, good things left in the sports world, might launch a few more MLB careers. Only time will tell whether Mo’ne Davis or the girls who follow after her can break the gender barrier.
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Mike, I think it is a good thing that little leaguers do not know the odds against them become professionals because it is good for the young to dream. I coached in the Dizzy Dean League for my son from the time he was 5 until he was 15. I still miss those days. Now I get to go watch my grand kids.
The big question is what happens if Miss Davis wants to join the big leagues?
Timmy, I think, just guessing of course, that if Miss Davis shows up with the ability to throw a 95 mph fastball, has a sharp slider, and a good curve for strikes, someone will find a way to sign her. I have never heard of a gender clause in the majors. She would be perfect for the American League with their DH rule. Even if she can only last a couple of innings she would make a good closer.