Lake Oswego Jr Baseball Organization

Dear Lake Oswego Families,

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between Lake Oswego Little League, Pacer Youth Baseball, and Lake Oswego Junior Baseball. This collaboration aims to enhance the youth baseball experience in our community through increased access to facilities, elevated levels of play, and reduced cost to families. We understand the importance of providing diverse options for your child’s development and enjoyment of baseball, and this partnership’s highest priority is keeping as many kids playing baseball for as long as possible.

Background: The City of Lake Oswego has three distinct youth baseball programs that serve Kindergarten through 8th grade:

a. Lake Oswego Little League (K-6th)

b. Lake Oswego Junior Baseball (7th-8th)

c. Pacer Youth Baseball (K-8th)

Historically, these programs were unified before 2003. However, over time, they have developed into separate entities providing overlapping services.

Scope of Partnership: Beginning this Fall (Fall Ball) and continuing through the Spring, the following changes will go into effect.

1. Lake Oswego Junior Baseball and Pacer Junior Baseball (a division under Pacer Youth Baseball) will combine into one chartered group for the 7th and 8th graders. The newly combined group will be rebranded to represent the entire community regardless of high school affiliation and will be operated by a Board that will govern Cal Ripken, JBO, and Babe Ruth divisions. The rebranding is underway and will be rolled out prior to the 2025 season.

 

1. Beginning in the Spring of 2025, all players in Kindergarten through 4th grade will consolidate into Lake Oswego Little League. This consolidation will streamline resources and provide a consistent and unified experience for our youngest players. We are assessing whether a Cal Ripken option will be provided for 3rd and 4th graders during the 2025 Spring and Summer seasons, with the intention of providing the best options for our community as possible.

 

1. Players from 5th through 6th grade will have options across both Cal Ripken and Little League. Within Little League, this age group plays on field with 60’ bases, 46’ pitching mound, and no leadoffs. Within Cal Ripken, this age group plays on a larger field; 70’ bases, 50’ pitching mound, and slightly different rules of play, i.e. leadoffs and balks. The Cal Ripken option will provide both a select team model (playing together Spring thru Summer with tryouts in the Fall of 2024) as well as a community rec model (no cuts) playing against Cal Ripken teams from the surrounding area in Spring. Some families and players may desire the Cal Ripken structure, and, for that reason, we will maintain a formal Cal Ripken community league in parallel to Little League. For many players, the larger field size may not be the best option and Little League would continue to be the best choice.

 

Fall Baseball Registration: We have opened Fall baseball registration under the new combined groupings listed above.

Junior Baseball (7th and 8th grade): Register here: https://paceryouthbaseball.org/home

Majors (5th – 6th grade)

• Register here if you want to play in 70-foot bases and 50-foot pitching mound: https://paceryouthbaseball.org/home
• Register here if you want to play on 60-foot bases and 46-foot pitching mound: https://www.lolittleleague.org/

Minors (3rd – 4th grade): Register here: https://www.lolittleleague.org/

	Little League	Cal Ripken	Junior Baseball	Notes
K – 4th Grade	X			All players, regardless of what school they attend, will register for Little League.
5th– 6th grade	X	X		Little League and Cal Ripken will both provide community baseball opportunities for all of Lake Oswego at this age group.  Cal Ripken will also offer a select team option for those looking for a tournament-focused experience. Cal Ripken players will play on a larger field at this age group (70-foot bases and 50-foot pitching compared to Little Leagues (60-foot bases and 46-foot pitching). Regardless of where a family lives in Lake Oswego, either option is available.
7th – 8th grade (JBO)		X	X	Beginning in 7th grade, one Junior Baseball Organization will be formed to service all of Lake Oswego.  This is a no-cuts organization where players will be placed on teams based on skill level (American, Federal, National). Teams have the ability to compete for a State Championship
7th – 8th grade (Babe Ruth		X	X	Babe Ruth will also be an available option under the Cal Ripken charter, Babe Ruth allows for independent scheduling and is eligible to enter tournament competitions and has the ability to compete for a State and National Championship

 

FAQs about Growing Baseball in Lake Oswego

 

Q: What is happening with baseball in Lake Oswego?

A: Lake Oswego Little League, Pacer Youth Baseball (including JBO, Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth) and Lake Oswego JBO are forging closer relationships with two goals

1. Create more opportunities for kids to play baseball at various levels
2. Foster a strong community of baseball players, fans and families.

Q:  Are LOLL, PYB, and LOJBO organizations merging?

A: Yes and No. No for all divisions below 7th and 8th grade (JBO and Babe Ruth). The youth organizations are forging closer relationships to ensure kids can access a range of baseball options. Some programs will overlap, while other options will remain the same. By forging better relationships, we strengthen baseball in the community overall, ensure kids with competitive aspirations have options and alternatives to clubs, offer community-based baseball, and realize efficiencies in operations. However, LOJBO and Lakeridge JBO will be merging into a single organization that governs the 7th and 8th grade divisions.

Q: What efficiencies are you looking to gain?

A: We will have better access to field reservations. Combining orders will give us more buying power on uniforms and equipment such as balls, tees. We can create more training opportunities for coaches who want to hone their craft. We can invest more training into the pool of umpires.

Q: Where should kids sign up for Fall Ball?

Pacer Youth Baseball will offer competitive fall ball for kids entering 5-8th grade in the 2024/2025 school year. Generally, kids should sign up for the league they will enter in Spring 2025.

Guidelines

Rising 5th Graders – Cal Ripken Majors (70’ bases, 50’ pitching)

Rising 6th graders – Cal Ripken Majors (70’ bases, 50’ pitching)

Rising 7th graders – JBO (90’ bases, 60’6” pitching)

Rising 8th graders – JBO

Pacer Youth Baseball will also offer non-competitive, recreational, fall ball for kids entering 1st-6th grade that want to play, but need more development in a non-competitive environment (one per week for 60-90 minutes).

LOLL will offer fall ball for kids entering 2-6th grade in the 2024/2025 school year. 

Rising 2nd graders – Pacific League (AA) Sandlot style

Rising 3rd graders – Pacific League if new to baseball. National League if have played previously

Rising 4th graders – National League. Consider the American League if you have a more advanced skill level.

Rising 5th graders – American League. Consider the National League if you are new to baseball.

Rising 6th graders – American League. Consider the National League if you are new to baseball.

Q: Why are you doing this now? 

A: This is a recognition that by combining energy, we can offer kids various levels of community baseball.

Q: My kid goes to LOJH and does not want to wear Pacer Blue | My kid goes to Lakeridge middle school and doesn’t want to wear Laker Navy. 

A: We are offering baseball options. By making the pool bigger, we can have more teams playing baseball. Within Little League’s District 4, we compete against leagues with twice as many kids. They pull kids from multiple schools. By combining our energy, we can offer more baseball and more competitive teams.

Q: Why not just merge all organizations together?

A: By not merging, the organizations can maintain their unique identities and attributes, and staying separate allows for choice and options. Additionally, these are three separate 501.3c’s and merging budgets, boards and reserves would take additional planning and organization to complete.

Q: What are the differences between the different leagues? How am I supposed to decide where is best for my kid? 

A: There are differences between Little League and Cal Ripken. The governing organizations each work to ensure player safety, and each approaches growth differently.

Key differences: Little League’s pitching mound is 46’ and bases are 60’. LL does not allow leadoffs. Balks are not called. Instead, LL calls an illegal pitch as there is no lead-off. AAA has run mercy rules

Rules at the 3rd/4th grade level in Cal Ripken are the same as Little League. However, at the 5th/6th grade level, Cal Ripken pitches from 50’ and bases are 70’. Leadoffs are allowed and balks are called. Cal Ripken Spring rec ball has a 5 run/inning limit and mercy rules. Summer Cal Ripken tournaments do not have a run per inning limit but do have mercy rules after the 3rd inning.

There are pros and cons to each model. You need to choose what you think is right for your kid at their stage of their baseball development.

Q: Is this a reaction to declining enrollment for both organizations? 

Enrollment patterns changed during COVID because private clubs had different rules than nonprofits. Club has also grown in popularity for the perception it is “where competitors go.” In Little League, district-wide, the kids who were locked out by Covid and are 11 and 12 now haven’t come back in the same numbers. However, there is definite growth in the younger age brackets. By combining the energy of our organizations, we give kids and families options, including the option of fielding highly competitive teams.

In conversations with our respective communities, there is enthusiasm for this synergy. While the club has its place, it’s not community-based and is cost-prohibitive for many families. We are focused on providing a range of options.

Q: Will you merge your boards? 

A: Not at this time. Like Oswego Little League will maintain its board. Pacer Youth Baseball will also maintain its board. LO JBO is winding down its operations and those kids will find a home on the newly formed and branded JBO and Babe Ruth teams. Members of our board will continue to collaborate, find synergy, and offer more baseball to more kids in LO 

Q; What is the situation with Lake Oswego JBO?

In the past, LO JBO fielded an average of two teams, and Lakeridge JBO also typically fields two to three teams. By combining these organizations, which already play for the same league with the same rules, we will bring those organizations together under one umbrella. We are hoping to field four teams and be able to field teams at three different levels of JBO, including Federal, National, and American leagues. We hope to offer traditional Little League participants a clear path to the next level by forging a better relationship.

Q: Where is Lake Oswego JBO going?

A: The kids who played Lake Oswego JBO are should register via the Pacer Youth Baseball site as the Lake Oswego JBO organizers will be winding down their operations. Running a league is a large undertaking. The key volunteers of LO JBO’s kids have long aged out of JBO and while they continue to love baseball, they have other life commitments now.

Q: If I coached for Pacer Youth Baseball can I sign up to coach for LOLL and vice versa?

A: yes.

Q: Why is this happening now? 

A: Leaders of all three of the organizations have been having conversations and have shared goals to

1. Grow baseball in Lake Oswego
2. Foster the growth of the baseball community. 

Q: If my kid played LOLL in the past, could he play PYB now? If my kid played PYB in the past, could he play LOLL now?

A: Kids in Lake Oswego have always had the option to play for either organization. The boundaries of each organization include the whole city of LO. Little League includes Dunthrope. LOLL will offer programs for kids in grades K-6. Pacer Youth Baseball will offer programs for kids in grades 5-8, and is assessing whether a program for grades 3 and 4 will be offered for Spring/Summer 2025.

Q: Are you changing the name of either organization? 

A: We have a long-term goal to rebrand, but are not tackling that at this moment. In the very short term, our goal is to get fall ball up and running. For Spring 2025, we will offer a range of competitive offerings for kids like Oswego. Branding and organizational  name will be tackled down the road.

Q: Is this Lake Oswego Little League / Pacer Youth Ball response to club ball?

A: Club ball has grown. Every family will make the decision they need to based on their individual. Club ball is cost-prohibitive for some kids with competitive aspirations. If we can field teams from a city of 40,000 versus limiting the population to have to say, we believe we can make an attractive offering for kids who want to play competitively.

Q: What will this do to fees? 

Our goal is to avoid massive fee increases. Fees have gone up for both organizations as everything has gotten more expensive, from the balls we purchased for the leagues to the uniforms to the field rentals. By channeling our resources together, we aim to gain efficiencies through bulk ordering and a more favorable tier field of reservations.