River Valley Baseball is pleased to present its 2023 PAL Ball program, the second phase of its baseball training league. “PAL” is an acronym for the term, “Pre-Atom League”.  BAA’s PAL Ball is organized for six and seven year-old boys and girls ages six to eight, as a transitional program between T-Ball and baseball or softball.  Participating players should not attain the age of eight (9 for girls) prior to May 1st in the year of participation.*  Games will play Monday through Thursday at BMAC.  Game duration will be seven innings or one hour and ten minutes “hard-time”.  Under hard-time rules, the game will be called by the umpire when the designated time has elapsed, regardless of the out or inning.  Each player will receive a team-matched t-shirt and cap which they may keep at season’s end.  No standings are kept in this instructional league and every child will receive a participation trophy.

 

In T-Ball, your son or daughter should have been taught a proper batting stance and a sound, shoulders-down approach to the baseball. (Unfortunately, many coaches and parents build poor swing habits by setting the tee too high.) Even Major Leaguers go back to the batting tee to reinforce good swing mechanics – so don’t throw yours away! It’s a good idea to set up hitting stations at practice, with the batting tee being one of the stations prior to live pitching.

 

Now your son or daughter will see live pitches in his or her games. BAA’s PAL Ball program features a pitching machine rather than coach pitch. This is done in order to standardize the speed and location of the pitches thrown to the batters and to thereby ensure that he or she will see a greater number of good pitches to hit. This will increase game action, as batters put more balls in play and defenses have more fielding chances. That’s not only good for the young player’s development, it is more enjoyable for moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas.

 

So get ready for a lot of fun and excitement. We are sure that you will thoroughly enjoy your season of PAL Ball here at Bridgeton Athletic Association. It is important for all to remember that we adults must model good sportsmanship, respect for the great game of baseball and patience with these little guys and gals as they learn the difficult fundamentals of our national pastime.

 

NOTE:  Placement of players from the player pool is diligently pursued, but not guaranteed.