 The Official Site of South Lexington Youth Baseball | |
| |
 |  |
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
| SLYB Home Member Log-In Sponsors Fund-Raising SLYB News | |
|
SLYB League History
(Click on the above picture for larger view) The South Lexington Youth Baseball organization dates to 1956 when it was founded under the name Southland Little League. In the early 1970s, the Southland organization merged with the Stonewall Independent League under the banner of South Lexington Little League with a 10-team Major League division—the same as today-- and several Minor League teams. Over the years the Minor League has expanded to the current (2011 season) 14 teams and in the 1990s the Rookie League (now 7 and 8-years with 14 teams) and Tee Ball (ages 4, 5 and 6-year-olds with 24 teams) were added to comprise the league's make-up, which in all divisions (Major, Junior Major, Minor, Rookie and Tee Ball) totals 67 teams for the 2011 season. During this 1970s period, South Lexington won several Little League State championships and in 1978 South Lexington’s 12-year-old All-Star team won the South Regional to become one of only four United States teams to qualify for the eight-team Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. South Lexington won two of three games in the World Series to finish third. In the mid-1980s, the league became affiliated with Babe Ruth Baseball, playing in the Bambino Division, now called Cal Ripken. Success on the national and international stage in several age divisions has continued for South Lexington teams in the Ripken Division. Fourteen different South Lexington’s 12-year-old All-Star teams have gone to Ripken (or its Bambino predecessor) World Series. The teams in 1992, 2001 and most recently 2007 won World Series championships and the 1994 and 2011 teams finished as the runner-up in the Series. And, the 2008, 2009 and 2010 teams finished in the Ripken World Series' Final Four. Also, South Lexington's 12-year-olds teams in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1999, and 2000 also participated in Ripken (or Bambino) World Series. Also, the 2004 South Lexington 10-year-old All-Star team (pictured above) finished as runner-up in the 10-year-old World Series in Vincennes, IN. after sweeping to championships in the District, Kentucky State East, and Ohio Valley Regional Tournaments. Most recently, South Lexington's 10-year-old All-Star team also appeared in the 2009 World Series for 10-year-olds in Colorado. After that Southland and Stonewall merger in the early 1970s, SLYB began, just as is the current format, playing with 10 teams in the Major League, which was divided into a five-team American and five-team National division. For nearly 30 years, the league champion was decided in a best of three playoff series between the two division winners. An alteration to this was made beginning with the 2002 season when a tournament was initiated. For the regular season, the same two-division format was maintained and the team with best record in each earns its division championship. The post season tournament is a separate entity and consists of six teams who earn tourney berths off regular season performance. The division winners receive the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament and a first-round bye. The next four teams with the best records qualify for the other tourney spots.Following is some historical information on the regular season and league post-season play. Over the years, team names have changed and the division make-up has been altered and for a few years a blind draw determined each team's division placement. Immediately following are the regular season and playoff/tournament results as we can officially document: Regular Season:Year American Div National Div 1956-1973 not available1974 Rebels Yankees 1975 Rebels Braves1976 White Sox Cardinals 1977 White Sox Cardinals1978 White Sox Wildcats 1979 Rebels Braves1980 White Sox Wildcats 1981 Cardinals Braves1982 Braves Wildcats 1983 Wildcats White Sox1984-2000 not available 2001 Cubs Cardinals2002 Reds Cardinals 2003 Cubs Royals2004 White Sox Royals 2005 Cubs Braves2006 Orioles Cardinals 2007 Orioles Royals2008 Cubs Pirates 2009 Reds Braves2010 Reds Royals 2011 Reds Pirates Playoff/Tournament:Playoff results between the two division winners: Year:1956-1973-not available 1974-Yankees defeated Rebels 2 games to 1.1975-Rebels defeated Braves 2 games to 0. 1976-White Sox defeated Cardinals 2 games to 0.1977-Cardinals defeated White Sox 2 games to 1. 1978-White Sox defeated Wildcats 2 games to 0.1979-Rebels defeated Braves 2 games to 0. 1980-Wildcats defeated White Sox 2 games to 0.1981-Braves defeated Cardinals 2 games to 1. 1982-Wildcats defeated Braves 2 games to 0.1983-Wildcats defeated White Sox 2 games to 1. 1984-2000-not available.2001-Cardinals defeated Cubs 2 games to 0. (A 6-team tournament replaced the playoff format in 2002)Year Winner Runner-Up Score 2002 Cardinals Royals 5-42003 Rebels White Sox 12-7 2004 Royals White Sox 6-12005 Braves Cubs 4-1 2006 Orioles Cardinals 3-2 2007 Orioles Royals 7-1 2008 Cubs Astros 15-12 (10 innings) 2009 Astros A's 10-0 2010 Royals Pirates 14-12 (8 innings) 2011 Cardinals Pirates 11-0 Cal Ripken, Jr., former major league star with the Baltimore Orioles, became affiliated with Babe Ruth Baseball, Inc. in 1999 and Babe Ruth’s 4 to 12 -year-old age division changed its name from Bambino to Ripken that year. In 2007, Ripken baseball began offering two different distances for which its league members could complete, those being at 46/60 foot division (in which South Lexington competes) and 50/70 foot division. A 12-year-old World Series is held annually for each division.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
