There are two main organizations in Portland for organized baseball for boys and girls ages 5-12. They are Little League and Junior Baseball Organization (JBO). In West Linn and maybe a few other places they play Cal Ripken baseball for the 12U age group.
Little League is a national organization that was founded in 1939 and has been in Oregon since at least the early '50's. Each league has strict geographic boundaries. L.L. Majors (11-12 yrs old) and above, baseball and softball, have allstar teams that play in a District tourny and can advance to State, Region and L.L. World series tournaments. In L.L. most girls(but not all) switch to softball at ages 8-9.
The levels at this stage usually are:
Tee Ball-For boys and girls 5-6 years old (with an option for 7- and/or 8-year-olds) who want to learn the fundamentals of hitting and fielding. In Tee Ball, players hit a ball off a batting tee. Rules of the game may be varied to accommodate the need for teaching. The primary goals of Tee Ball are to instruct children in the fundamentals of baseball/softball and to allow them to experience the value of teamwork.
Farm-Ages 7-9, usually machine pitch...with the option for player pitch. For players just starting out or coming fresh from Tee Ball.
Minors-Ages 8-12, Player Pitch. For players with less experience or skill.
Majors-Ages 9-12. For the more experienced and skilled players.
Allstars-Allstar teams are formed at the end of the season. There is a 9-10 Allstar team that will compete in the District Tournament with a chance to advance as far as the Oregon State Tournament. There is an 11-12 Allstar team that can advance all the way to the Little League World Series in Williamsport PA.
Junior Baseball Organization formally Junior Baseball of Oregon, got its start around 1948 when Frank Bashor got together a six-team league of 11-12 year olds from the Metropolitan area. Sellwood JR Baseball plays JBO and was founded in 1991. There are some playing rules difference between the two organizations but the biggest difference, in my opinion, is that JBO splits players into age groups AND skill levels. Also in JBO the teams enter tournaments as a team, there are no allstar teams. Sellwood JR Baseball does have some Softball teams also.
Sellwood Baseball offers boys and girls ages 5-8 the opportunity to play Tee Ball and Farm Ball with their friends and schoolmates at local fields (Berkeley Park, Duniway, Llewellyn, Sellwood Park, and Westmoreland Park).
Players ages 9+ play in what they call "County Ball". They split them up by age, Midget(9-10), Junior(11-12)and Senior(13-14). They are also split by skill level within those categories. The skill levels are termed National, American and Federal.
Links to local Leagues Here
2011 Youth League Champions Here
2010 Youth League Champions Here
