Wilson Premier Youth Baseball was established in 1960 provides a place for all young people between 5 and 16 to play baseball, develop friendships and have fun.
Our 501(c)(3) league serves kids in Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Franklin, West Allis, Cudahy, St. Francis, Greenfield, Greendale, West Milwaukee, South Milwaukee, Hales Corners, Caledonia, Racine, New Berlin and Muskego. Because we are not part of the National Little League, we do not have geographic restrictions and serve 20+ zip codes annually.
NEW BAT STANDARD FOR 2019 IS HERE
NEW FOR 2021. All players must provide their own batting helmet for safety and liability reasons. WPYB does have helmets for sale for parents. Please contact Steve Estes for more information.
FAQ's
1. What is the registration fee for the league?
Our annual non-refundable, registration fee is $100 per player with a family rate, based on three or more kids. There are ways for parents to earn free registration via extra fundraising or sponsorship development. Please note that there is an early bird special (reduced fee) for all registrations completed before October 1 of the previous year. For 2024 this would relate to registrations completed before October 1, 2023
2. Why is the registration fee non-refundable?
Once a player registers with the league we start a long process of completing the registration and preparing for the season. The league must add the player to our database, assign the player to a team, print out all the forms that are required for the league, order hats, jerseys and other equipment for the player(s), and make certain that the parent gets the requested amount of fundraising material. If a player decides to quit, this voluntary work by a board member still had to be done. Furthermore, once candy is ordered and a player quits, the league has to either absorb the cost of the candy or attempt to sell it themselves.
3. When does registration start for 2024?
Registration for 2024 IS CLOSED. 2025 Registration opens in June of 2024.
Please email wpyb1960@gmail if you have questions. More registration information here.
4. Is there any fundraising involved?
Yes, due to costs of field maintenance and improvements, county permits, umpires, equipment and uniforms, WPYB has requirements for fundraising. We offer different options for parents and players to fundraise. Fundraising money is due to the league (checks only) in late May. Additionally for those who don't wish to fundraise we offer a seasonal buyout of $300.
5. Do I need to volunteer?
Yes, our league is run by volunteers. Our Board of Directors, our managers, coaches and concession stand workers are all volunteers. Parents are able to choose a shift through an online reservation system. If a family has more than one participant, the expectation is that a parent would volunteer for each player. Most of these shifts are in the concession stand but we do offer a variety of volunteer options for parents.
6. Are there tryouts for players?
No, WPYB believes that all kids should play and has required minimums in regards to innings in the field and number of at bats per game. Every kid who signs up and completes the fundraising requirements will play.
6a. Can I request a specific team?
We follow this Player Placement Policy when placing players. All decisions regarding player placement are done in the best interest of the entire league.
7. What are the age levels at WPYB?
A players age is determined by their age on May 1st.
Rookie League (Ages 5-7) Coach pitch instructional league. Typical roster size is 12.
American League (Ages 8-10) Typical roster size is 13
- 3 inning minimum with a continuous batting order
- 46 foot pitching mound, 60 foot bases with traditional "little league" rules.
National League (Ages 11-12) Typical roster size is 12.
- 3 inning minimum with an at bat
- 50 foot pitching mound, 70 foot bases with "real baseball" rules.
Pony League (Ages 13-16) Typical roster size is 13.
- 2 inning minimum with an at bat
- 60 foot 6 inch pitching mound, 90 foot bases.
- High school players eligible AFTER their high school season.
8. What are players/parent expected to provide equipment wise?
WPYB will provide every player with an MLB replica hat, jersey top and baseball pants. The jersey and pants are returned at the end of the season. The player is expected to provide the team color socks, baseball cleats and any long sleeved undershirt they choose to wear. The league provides every team with certified catching gear.
Players should plan on providing their own helmet (new for 2021), own mitt and a bat. Most teams have plenty of extra bats for players if a parent chooses not to purchase one. WPYB does have used batting helmets for sale and parents should inquire with Steve Estes. All helmets must be NOCSAE standard.
9.Can high school baseball players participate at WPYB?
Yes, high school players up to age 16 (based on a May 1 birthdate) can play after their spring high school season. Most high school players will get in at least 15 league games in addition to playoffs. This is a great chance for 15 and 16 year old high school players to get "extra innings" after their spring season!
10. How long does the season last?
At WPYB our teams start practices in late March or early April. Games start in early to mid May for all leagues. The season concludes with the playoffs at the end of July.
10a. On what days are games played?
The National League and Rookie League play on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The American League plays on Mondays and Wednesdays. The Pony League plays games Monday-Thursday. Most weeks teams will play two games. Makeup for rain outs are usually held on Fridays or Saturdays of that same week, if possible. There is one Saturday game for every team, the first Saturday after Memorial Day. Games start at either 5:20 pm or 7:35pm with a 7 inning or two hour time limit.
10b. Where are the games played?
Our American, National and Rookie Leagues play at both Wilson Park and our Ballpark Facility. 90% of all RL, AL and NL games are at the Ballpark!
Our Pony League plays all its games at Wilson Park.
11. If I have a concern during the season, whom do I contact?
We ask that all parents follow the Parent Concern Policy. This gives the steps that need to be taken when concerns arise before or during the season. Please note that simply calling or emailing the President before following these steps will not result in your concern being handled any quicker. We appreciate if all parents following the steps that are spelled out in this policy.
12. How many practices will my son or daughter have?
Managers are required to hold at least one practice a week until the season starts, many will hold two or more. Once games start, we ask our managers to continue to schedule one practice per week for the remainder of the season. Practices are held on various days, times and at locations determined by the individual managers.
13. Is WPYB a Milwaukee County run baseball league?
No, WPYB is a non-profit organization run by a voluntary Board of Directors. We maintain our own fields in addition to using the Milwaukee County owned fields at Wilson Park. WPYB invests thousands of dollars annually into the improvements at Wilson Park in addition to maintaining our own facility.
14. Why aren't the bathrooms at Wilson Park unlocked during game?
WPYB has no control over the bathrooms near the picnic shelters at Wilson Park. The County is responsible for locking and unlocking these. Milwaukee County has control over these facilities. WPYB does have the portable toilets by concessions cleaned once per week.
15. Why are the fields at Wilson Park less appealing that those at the Ballpark?
WPYB has minimal control over the upkeep of the Milwaukee County owned fields at the park. Because it is a public park, WPYB cannot control who uses the field when the league isn't. Therefore our annual improvements tend to not last as long as the improvements at our Ballpark facility. The league does do twice annual fertilizing of all the fields. Additionally we have started to help with the upkeep and maintenance of the fields between May and August and will continue to in the future!
Because of our collaboration with the Parks Dept., we believe that the work done on Wilson fields results in some of the best baseball fields in the Milwaukee County Park System. Our Pony field is the best cared for and in better shape than other Pony sized field.
After the 2016 season, we completely redid #3 and #4, including raising the "dip" in left field of #4. Additionally we had extensive work done to #1 and #2 in September of 2018 and redid the infield of Wilson 1 in 2021 and 2023.
We continually update and improve all our fields, both at the Ballpark and Wilson Park. WPYB pays for this work because we feel our players deserve decent facilities.
16. Who runs the concessions stands at both locations?
WPYB's concessions are run by 100% volunteers and every person working there is a member of our league. The two locations do have "Lead Officials" who manage the volunteers on a nightly basis and are ultimately responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly.
17. What if I don't have the time or desire to volunteer?
WPYB encourages everyone to volunteer as the Board believes it allows parents to feel a sense of ownership in the league and allows interaction between parents. The expectation is that EVERY parent would volunteer three hours of their time during the season. We feel that this is not a huge expectation for members.
18. Why do the concession stands run out of hamburgers before the late games start?
WPYB Lead Officials and concessions volunteers do their best to make enough "hot food" to satisfy the fans on a particular night. Because the lead officials try to not have left over food (much of which cannot be reused in the future) there are nights when they will run out of hot food items earlier than expected. We do make every effort to have enough on hand each night.
19. Why is my 7 year old playing a game that starts at 7:30pm?
Because WPYB has a finite number of fields and has a large number of teams, games must be played at two times to avoid playing 7 days a week. All leagues have games at 5:20pm and also a late game. The Rookie's late games start at 7:30, the AL, NL and Pony at 7:35. The Pony start late games in May, while the other leagues wait until early June. The Rookie league will not play late games on weeknights until the middle of June.
If we got away from late games, kids would play less games. At WPYB we believe that a majority of our participants like the current number of games played. We believe that WPYB offers more games for players than other local youth baseball leagues.
20. What are "Text Alerts"?
When you register and activate your cell phone with league lineup, you give WPYB the capability to send out alerts via texts or emails. We use this feature to alert parents of rain outs and other important WPYB events. Please note that you only need to register once, but if you change cell providers then you will need to "update" your cell phone with the new provider information.
Additionally the league often has concession stand giveaways during game nights sent out to those signed up for text alerts!
21. Why was my team's rained out makeup game scheduled on a different field?
WPYB tries to play all the games unless the field presents a safety hazard to our players. This will mean that some games, especially early in season, might be played in less than ideal conditions. But we call games when the safety of players is compromised due to poor field conditions.
When we have to reschedule games there are a multitude of factors to work through.
We need to reserve the fields with the county if the games are at Wilson. We need to reschedule umpires (for most games) and volunteers and we need to reschedule lead officials. Additionally we have a policy that no teams besides Pony, will play on back to back nights or doubleheaders for the safety of our young pitchers. With all these factors, there has to be some recognition that a game might be rescheduled on a Friday or Saturday or moved to a late game during the week on a different field. We cannot push games back as future rainouts can occur.
PLEASE NOTE: GAMES WILL ALWAYS BE MADE UP ON THE NEXT AVAILABLE DATE. THIS WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BE THE FRIDAY OR SATURDAY OF THAT WEEK UNLESS THERE ARE OTHER EVENTS SCHEDULED OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.
We apologize for any inconvenience this might present to parents and players, but it is the nature of running a baseball league.
22. Does WPYB sponsor tournament teams?
WPYB sponsors weekend tournament teams from U9 through U14.
Contact our Tournament Team Director, Carmelo Patti at wpangels@yahoo.com with questions.
WPYB relies on volunteerism, in fact all our board members are strictly volunteers and put in upwards of 20 hours a week on average. This is something that the board has investigated in the past and if we didn't assign assistant coaches volunteer shifts, we would be woefully short of volunteers over the course of the season (many teams have three or four assistant coaches). We appreciate the time and effort that assistant coaches give to the kids. We don't require our managers to volunteer and are always looking for new managers.
24. There is little for younger siblings of players to do at the Ballpark, why isn't there some type of playground equipment there?
The board has discussed this idea many times over the last decade. After meeting with a lawyer it was determined that the liability risk is far too great. Additionally the Ballpark is not monitored 12 months a year as it is during the season (April-August) and there would be potential for the league being liable for injury for individuals entering the property during that time as well.
25. Why can't the league offer healthier items like salads and veggies at the concession stand?
We have found that the cost to purchase and then offer these items for sale would be too great. Furthermore to ask our lead officials to spend time preparing these items at their homes would be asking far too much of them. With limited time our lead officials have they can only prepare so much food and while it would be great to offer such items, at this time it is not feasible. We will look into this in the future.
