Little League baseball in Yuma?

Yuma Boys Baseball League has been around, in one form or another, since 1952.

In that time, other national leagues have come and gone in town - most notably the now-defunct Country Boys Baseball League. Even Little League had a couple cameo appearances in town before folding, according to current YBBL president Mike Parker.

YBBL has always been focused on teaching. Unlike the national circuits, YBBL ends with a city championship - no regional, sectional, national or world tournaments.

"From the start, it's been an instructional league," Parker said. "It started as that, and we're trying to stay in that. For those young kids that have never played before, we try to teach it."

But a group of parents who want more competition for their children are trying to restart Little League in Yuma. One of the parents at the forefront of this movement is Donna West.

"There are a lot of parents that would like a more competitive league," West said. "There are parents that would like their kids to go a little further than right here in town."

Bringing a Little League to Yuma is now the No. 1 goal of West and her group. They have not so much as named officers or done anything other than request chartering paperwork from Little League, deciding to wait until after the YBBL season ends in late June before moving forward.

Loving Little League

With so many options for national, affiliated leagues such as Cal Ripken Baseball, Khoury League, United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Baseball and Pony League, for West - who moved to Yuma from a town in California that had a Little League program - there really wasn't much of a debate.

"Little League is well known," West said. "They have programs to teach the children. They have programs as far as coaches go, as far as the children go, they have umpire clinics. There's a lot of benefits. To most people, when they go somewhere, they can't believe there's not a Little League. They think there's a Little League everywhere."

West said she didn't look into the other leagues. She wanted to go straight to the most well-known.

"That's what a lot of people are asking for," West said. "You have to go with the consensus. You can't go against people. You need them to support you. People are asking for it; they've been asking for it for years. It was just a matter of someone dropping the ball. This time, the ball is not going to be dropped."

So West acquired the paperwork from the Little League corporate office in Williamsport, Pa., and has begun the legwork to get the league started for next spring.

David Parrish, who has coached in YBBL for seven years, is a big proponent of Little League, mainly for its postseason play opportunities.

"We offer a chance to say, 'Hey, you know what? We have a chance to go up and play Havasu. We can play Parker, we can go to San Luis and say 'Hey, you know what? We are better than them and we're going to state,' " Parrish said.

Guidance from a veteran

Once West and her group became serious about bringing Little League back to Yuma, they sought the advice of Charlie Martinez. Martinez, a disabled Vietnam veteran, graduated from Yuma High in 1967. After he was wounded in combat, he spent 28 years in San Diego involved with Little League. He was everything from a T-Ball coach to a district administrator and even served on the guidance committee for the western region, which encompasses 13 states. He has been back in Yuma for just more than a year.

Last year, Martinez was contacted by a separate group trying to bring Little League to Yuma, but that fell through.

Martinez said this group contacted him merely to ask some questions, and he would only spend his time answering them if he felt the group was serious.

"I'm not going to meet with a couple of people who are dissatisfied with one organization," Martinez said. "It's like anything you ever do - there's 10 percent in any group that's dissatisfied with the status quo. When people get upset with a program, they talk. We'll see how many people are serious about wanting change.

"I sure as heck don't want to run a league for anybody," he added. "I'm too old. But if someone wants to learn - that's the good thing about Little League. They offer board of directors classes and training. They'll even come down here."

Getting off the Ground

Dan Velte, Little League director of league development, said he received a request from West to start a Little League in Yuma.

But Velte also said the organization gets between 500 and 700 requests a year. Many of those, however, come around the time the Little League World Series is broadcast on ESPN and are not-so-serious requests from individual parents trying to get their children to Williamsport.

He said between 200 and 300 new leagues are formed each year in the United States, and many of those new leagues don't stem from requests - they split off from existing leagues or are created in other manners.

Velte said equipment is a concern for a new league. YBBL does not use a mound, but Little League does. Martinez said that portable mounds are available through Little League and very affordable.

He added that it can take anywhere from two weeks to a couple months for a league to be chartered with Little League.

Velte echoed Martinez's statement that the league tries to make the transition or formation of a new league as smooth as possible.

"Identifying people and facilities is the most difficult part when your starting from scratch," Velte said. "The great thing about the Little League program is that we walk them through step-by-step on how to affiliate. ... We want to take the guess work out of everything."

An existing Option

Many parents looking for a league with a postseason aspect are unaware that one already exists a short drive to the south.

After having an independent youth league of its own, Somerton decided to affiliate with Cal Ripken Baseball, which is the feeder system into the Babe Ruth League.

Last season was the first year for Somerton in the Ripken program. The 11- to 12-year-old team took second at state last year, and expect to compete for a state title and chance to advance further this year, especially with the return of Manuel Camacho - who was named to the Ripken hall of Fame with his exceptional play last year. The tournament is in July.

League president Enrique Porchas said their first instinct was also to join Little League. But after some research, he saw Ripken was a better fit.

"Everybody was looking at the Little League because they see them on TV and stuff," Porchas said. "But we didn't really consider that because for Arizona chapters, there's only one in Chandler and one is in Scottsdale. Babe Ruth is all over the state, and Cal Ripken is getting all over. When we go to the state tournament, there's only one or two counties that don't participate."

The league is still small - four teams in each of three age groups - and is open to anybody, not just Somerton residents. Porchas said Yuma and San Luis residents pay the same fees as Somerton residents.

"It has a better structure than just making up your own rules," Porchas said. "Going as when parents complain, you change them. But now we stick to this format, and this is how we're going to play it."

Porchas said thanks to the Ripken insurance policy - which is inexpensive and effective year round - Somerton is going to have a league in the fall for the first time later this year.

Bringin' in the Benjamins

With the YBBL board mostly content to remain a city league - Parker said it wasn't a consensus not to affiliate, but as a whole the board is happy independent - some Little League proponents say Yuma is missing out on an opportunity.

According to Martinez, Little League rotates where they hold their various tournaments. And with a major district, state or sectional tourney in Yuma, that would bring a lot of travelers, and their money, to town.

"The city is trying to push this ice-skating rink," said Martinez in reference to the multi-million dollar arena its considering. "Look at all the money you'd be bringing in to help support the youth of the community."

Parrish also agreed, saying that having a postseason tournament could be a boon to the city.

Contrast and Compare

But Parrish's biggest argument in the case for a Little League in Yuma is from a competition standpoint.

"I think (YBBL is) absolutely a recreational league," Parrish said. "I think there's no advancement for the children. Once they get to the playoffs or the all-stars, they're done. They can't leave Yuma with what they've gained.

"Competitive nature - that's life," he said. "You wouldn't have your job if you weren't competitive. I wouldn't have my job if I wasn't competitive. If we're not competitive in life, we fall by the wayside."

Parker said that Yuma is big enough for two leagues and has proven that in the past. And since they've been around for so long, they are going to stay true to their goal of teaching children baseball and not worry about postseason tournaments, major league uniforms, or whatever else Little League can offer.

"We like what we're doing," Parker said. "We think it's good for the kids. Opinions vary with everybody. No one is stopping them from going to those leagues, but YBBL was started for those kids trying to learn. That's my understanding what we're going to stay with."

West said that she too believes the leagues can live side by side.

"Little League is coming to Yuma," West said. "We're not tying to kick YBBL out of Yuma. That's not what we're intending to do."

She said from her point of view Little League has much more to offer than YBBL, which is why she is spearheading the movement in the first place.

"If a kid goes out and sees someone play baseball with a major league uniform on, they have opening day, and closing day, and Little League day, and we have Diamondbacks day and all these different things; you're not going to tell me that a child who plays X amount of games here in Yuma and has no opening day, has no closing day, has none of that stuff to help promote their league to do nothing for them, you're not going to tell me that they're going 'I want to go do that one,'" West said.

"If a parent holds them back, that's the parent's fault," she added. "They don't want to change, and we're leaving them be. Personally, when I think when kids and parents see what it's all about, I don't see how they can possibly go. But Yuma's a big town and they might have more support than I think."

Martinez said he doesn't know too much about YBBL, but still knows, thanks to his brother Frank, its is a good organization.

"I know my brother was on the board of directors years ago," Martinez said. "I had asked him about Little League years ago, and he said Yuma's happy with the YBBL. That's all that counts. ... It's a damn good program, and I know that because if it wasn't, my brother wouldn't have been a part of it. I know my brother, and he's not going to support something if he's not happy with it."

And just as West, Parrish, Parker and everyone else said, Martinez said there's really only one thing that matters in the end - and it's not postseason play or anything else.

"I'm not saying one organization is better than another," Martinez said. "I like the fact it is geared toward the kids. It's all about the kids. ... If you're not doing it for the kids, you shouldn't be doing it."