Twenty-two years ago, 12 boys from Saugus American provided the North Shore with a thrilling summer, sending an all-star team to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
It is still the only time a league from District 16 has made it to Williamsport. Not only that, there isn’t even a Saugus American anymore. The league merged with Saugus National in 2020.
And that is one of the biggest issues facing not only District 16, but the organization in general. Little League, a signature symbol of Americana since its founding in 1939, is shrinking. In its heyday, the district had 15 teams, seven of them in Lynn alone.
Now, after the 2010 absorption of three teams from neighboring District 15, there are 10 leagues participating in this year’s all-star tournament, only three from Lynn: Wyoma, West Lynn, East Lynn, Saugus, Swampscott, Peabody, Peabody West, Salem, Winthrop and Lynnfield.
Thus far, Wyoma, Peabody West and Peabody are still in the winners’ bracket while Swampscott, West Lynn and Saugus are in the losers’ bracket. The system has never changed in more than 40 years. It’s double elimination, and the team coming into the final from the losers’ bracket has to win twice.
Play in the tournament will continue through Wednesday, then pick up again after the July 4 weekend.
The question, beyond the progress of the tournaments, is how come the organization seems to be shrinking?
“Two things,” said Joe Baglieri, the district administrator since Alice O’Neil stepped down in 2010. “The numbers have declined. But also, there is a lack of volunteers.
“We have leagues in this district with plenty of kids who want to play, but we don’t have the volunteers.
“Today’s world is all about me,” Baglieri said.
One reason for the problem, he said, is adults are afraid to step up because they don’t know the game as well as they think they should.
“People don’t know the game,” he said. “But we have a manuel for people to go by. We start out with T-Ball, and a lot of fun drills for kids to make it more interesting. It’s getting so that we have leagues with people coaching three and four teams. The attitude is, ‘I don’t want to do it. Let someone else do it.’
“They’re afraid to step up because they might not know the sport, or know how to teach it.”
People often wonder why the all-star tournament starts so early. It’s because all the leagues are tied to Williamsport’s calendar, and the World Series starts in August, with national TV commitments tied into it.
Teams that win the district tournaments must then go on to state sectionals, a state tournament (which, this year, is double elimination instead of the usual round robin), U.S. regionals (Massachusetts plays in Bristol, Conn.) and, finally, the World Series.
Interestingly enough, the paucity of leagues in the district have led to an abundance of fields. For example, West Lynn uses the fields in both Barry and Gallagher Parks (with Barry equipped for night games); East Lynn uses Keaney and Kiley; Wyoma uses Reinfuss and Gowdy.
Walter Flynn Field, which is in the middle of a refurbishment, has been lent out to a traveling team, Baglieri said.
Saugus now has the use of Grabowski and the park next to the Elks.
Despite some of the problems Little League has encountered, Baglieri sees a place for the organization in 2025.
“It gives kids a chance to get out of the house, get fresh air, meet people, and participate,” he said. “There is nothing nicer than being at a park.”
At the same time, he said, the rewards of volunteering are many.
“There’s a little self-reward,” he said. “If you help a little kid, I guarantee you’ll feel good inside.
“Little League is about mentoring kids,” he said. “It’s teaching life lessons. Kids learn that everyone has to lose sometimes. How do you handle that? Life is not as perfect as people want sports to be.”
