Website Manager

Mason Baseball Softball Club (MBSC)

Mason Baseball Softball Club (MBSC)

News Detail

7

Feb, 2021

8U Baseball: Kid Pitch or Machine Pitch?

Kids that will are 7 or 8 on April 30th, 2021 may sign up to try out for a kid pitch team or to play on a machine pitch team.  For the 2021 season the Mason Baseball Softball Club hopes to have at least one and maybe more 8U Kid Pitch teams.  In an effort to help you select the best league for your child, we offer the following FAQ:

What is the difference between machine pitch and kid pitch?

  • The Rules
    • Many of the rules between the two leagues are the same.  The big, obvious difference is the presence of an actual (kid) pitcher in the kid pitch league.  There are no walks allowed in either league.  In machine pitch the batter is out after six pitches, whether they’ve put the ball in play or not.  In kid pitch, a pitcher will pitch to a batter until the batter puts the ball in play, strikes out, or throws four balls.  After four balls the coach will come in and pitch to the batter for the remainder of the at bat, resulting either in a strike out or a ball put into play.

 

  • Competitiveness
    • The kid pitch leagues are a definite step up from machine pitch in terms of competitiveness.  In the kid pitch league your child would be playing against other kids his age from nearby communities.  There are league standings, with trophies awarded for the teams finishing in 1st and 2nd place at the end of the season. 

 

  • Game nights
    • Machine pitch games will be held on the same nights week-in and week-out.  There will be a less consistent schedule for the kid pitch games, however, because games involve other communities with their own set of field availability.  Kid pitch teams will play more games than machine pitch teams, including one or more weekend tournaments during the season.

 

  • Travel
    • The kid pitch league is a travel league. In prior seasons the kid pitch division has included teams from St John's, Bath, East Lansing, Okemos, Williamston, Eaton Rapids, Leslie, and Waverly, and parents with kids on those teams should expect road weeknight games to those and/or other communities this season.  This year’s machine pitch league is primarily based in Mason, although Dansville and Leslie have expressed potential interest in being a part of our machine pitch league, and some travel to those communities may occur.

 

  • Cost
    • Registration for the kid pitch league is more expensive than the machine pitch league.  On top of the higher registration fee cost, kid pitch teams may take part in some weekend tournaments at an additional cost beyond the registration fee.  The tournament decisions will be made by the coaches and parents of players after teams are formed.

 

  • Requests
    • Requests made for a specific coach or teammate at the kid pitch level will generally not be considered.  At machine pitch there will be every attempt to accommodate all reasonable requests.

                                                               

How will the kid pitch teams be selected if there are more kids interested in playing kid pitch than there are spots available on the one or more teams?

  • Depending on how many players sign up to play kid pitch, the club may hold a MANDATORY evaluation session.  Late registrations will not be accepted for 8U kid pitch team consideration.  Mason Baseball Softball Club board members present at these sessions will work to select the teams.  Please know that the coaches and board members at the Mason Baseball Softball Club want every child to have a great, fun experience playing baseball, and do not look forward to potentially sending anyone to the machine pitch league if they want to play kid pitch. However, if the numbers are not favorable, we will send some kids back to machine pitch instead of having one kid pitch team with 17 kids on it.

 

Can my child do both?

  • Unfortunately no, as the schedules for these two teams are highly likely to cause a conflict at some point between games and practices, leaving one team short-handed.

 

Will I get a refund on the extra registration cost if my child isn't placed on a kid pitch team? 

  • Kids not placed on a kid pitch team will be added to the machine pitch registration and a refund to cover the difference will be paid to those families. 

 

Can I try the kid pitch team and then drop down to machine pitch if my child doesn’t like it?  Or can I sign up for machine pitch and move my child to kid pitch if we feel he’s ready after the first few practices?

  • Unfortunately not.  Teams will be created in both leagues based on the registrations.  Moving kids across leagues after practices start will cause logistical problems ranging from number of kids on each team all the way down to uniforms that are ordered as soon as the teams are formed.

 

Which league should I sign my child up for?

  • We don’t know either!  We can tell you that the kid pitch league is a step up in intensity and competitiveness from the machine pitch league.  Your child would play against a higher level of competition in the form of teams from our surrounding communities.  Schedules here are likely to include some weekend practices too.  Also know that, although there are rare occasions, most of the children that played tee ball last year would benefit more by playing a year of baseball at the machine pitch level before jumping into kid pitch. 

 

If you’re still on the fence, talk to us!  Each child develops at their own pace, but we can give you an idea of what to expect skill-wise from each of these teams.  You can reach out to us on Facebook or via email at [email protected]

Good luck this upcoming season!

Contact

Mason Baseball Softball Club
PO Box 261 
Mason, Michigan 48854

Email: [email protected]

Copyright © 2024 Mason Baseball Softball Club  |  Privacy Statement |  Terms Of Use |  License Agreement |  Children's Privacy Policy  Log In