Cal Ripken the Man the League

Pleasant Hill Babe Ruth baseball and tee ball is a division of Willamette Valley Babe Ruth and part of the National Babe Ruth League. T-ball through age 12 division players wear a patch on the left arm of their jersey that says, “Cal Ripken Baseball – Babe Ruth League.” Cal Ripken is the division of Babe Ruth that we play in up until the time we play in the 13-14 year old division of Babe Ruth.

Cal Ripken is not just the “Iron Man of Baseball” The Babe Ruth League named what was once called the “Bambino division” to the Cal Ripken League (12 and under Babe Ruth Baseball division) in recognition of this great baseball player and fine man. Cal Ripken is a man that has dedicated himself to helping youth including youth baseball players.

In past seasons Willamette Valley Babe Ruth has sent teams to the Cal Ripken world series. The World Series is one of several opportunities that occur each year where youth baseball players from around the globe have the opportunity to meet and speak in person with Cal Ripken and some experience the excitement of youth baseball at the World Series level.

Most of us are unable to attend a Babe Ruth Cal Ripken World Series or travel to another part of the country to meet Cal Ripken and his brother Bill Ripken. In this video we have brought the Opening Ceremony of a Cal Ripken World Series so that you may feel the excitement of this event and know a bit more about the players, the league, the man and his family.

Learning Self Control as a Youth Baseball Pitcher – Jeff Suppan Major League Pitcher


In this Pleasant Hill Babe Ruth featured video Jeff Suppan a 14 year Major League veteran player and pitcher gives tips to youth baseball players on establishing goals to achieve success in self control. Jeff shares that as a pitcher his success became greater as he started thinking on a level encouraged by his coaches to 1- Throw a first pitch strike, 2- Get ahead and 3- Put away the hitter. He goes on to explain the importance of loosing the fear of giving up a hit or walking a player and learning small successes for the big picture.

~Coach Jake Alba, Coaching Simplified~

Youth Baseball Arm Conditioning and Throwing Technique


Pro baseball and champion youth baseball players practice both technique and conditioning of the throwing arm. At Pleasant Hill Babe Ruth our youth baseball players have the opportunity to learn these techniques thanks to our many fine coaches and people such as Jim Vatcher who won the honors of top arm in the Pacific Coast League as he worked his way up from AAA to MLB and now shares many of these techniques in this video.

Today Jim Vatcher works for Jaeger Sports in Los Angeles a company that is dedicated to keeping your throwing arm strong. Jim puts on clinics around the world and shares many of these techniques in this video for the youth of Pleasant Hill Babe Ruth and youth baseball players worldwide. Enjoy the video as you learn the basic fundamentals of developing a great throwing arm.

These great tips are ones that can be used from tee ball to the pros. This video has been produced and furnished to Pleasant Hill Babe Ruth by Coach Jake Alba of Coaches Simplified.

Frank Robinson a Baseball Legend – Words of Encouragement


Frank Robinson inspires youth baseball players, parents and coaches alike. Mr. Robinson is a baseball great that played Major League Baseball for 21 years, played with 2 teams that won the World Series, voted Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player. Frank Robinson served as a professional baseball coach for 16 years and he is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. What more could a baseball player ask for? That was not enough for Frank Robinson for he wanted to inspire youth athletes. Right here at the Pleasant Hill Babe Ruth website you may view the inspirational videos of Frank Robinson.

These videos are provided to Pleasant Hill Babe Ruth by Coach Jake Alba of Coaching Simplified who is also working hard to inspire youth. We know you will enjoy each of these videos so watch them all. Please don’t be shy about commenting for by doing so we can continue to provide the type of videos you like.

Words of Wisdom For Youth – Frank Robinson


Baseball Hall of Fame winner Frank Robinson played professional baseball for 20 years including two as a player on World Series winning teams. In this video Frank Robinson offers coaches his words of wisdom for increasing the spirit of youth athletes.