baberuthleague

Catch the Cal Ripken Major/70 National Invitational from Ballparks of America from the Comfort of Your Home

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We’re proud to announce our coverage of the Cal Ripken Major/70 National Invitational at Ballparks of America August 8 - 15, 2020. For the past three years, Ballparks of America has hosted the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series, bringing together Babe Ruth chartered teams from all over the world to compete in Branson, Missouri. It’s been an incredible opportunity for American players and families to make memories, build bonds and play with the best of the best – teams from Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Republic of Korea and Dominican Republic.

Ballparks of America, Branson, MO

Ballparks of America, Branson, MO

But everything changed this year. If one thing is for certain, 2020 is teaching us how to manage a heavy dose of uncertainty. “Everything has been unique about this year,” shares Michael Solanik, Major70 World Series Director. The Covid-19 global pandemic pushed the Babe Ruth Organization to initially cancel international team participation, and eventually to cancel all 17 World Series events planned for the year as their tournament trail came to a halt – each state with its own uncertain phased-approach to resuming play.

Michael Solanik continues, “Some of our leagues (state-by-state) have been fortunate enough to play. Others have had to stop mid-way through their season. And some have not played at all, but are hoping to resume their season later in the summer and fall. We had eight regional qualifiers, a national qualifier, and state champions from Arkansas and Missouri would have qualified as well as the host team from Branson, MO. So knowing we had that core group of teams planning on being there, Ballparks of America suggested we keep the gates open and create a National Invitational tournament so these 12-year-old players wouldn’t lose the opportunity to represent their communities at a national level. We then opened it up to all of our chartered organizations across the country to participate.”

Ten teams will battle it out (6-game minimum; two pools) for the title of National Champion. They come from: Southwest (Florence, AL), Branson (Branson, MO), Missouri (Carthage, MO), SE Denver (Denver, CO), Galesburg (Galesburg, IL), Springfield (Springfield, MO), Parsons (Parsons, KS), New England (Norwalk, CT), Pacific Northwest (Kennewick, WA) and Arkansas (Benton, AR). Players have the option to stay with their team on-site in dormitories for the week at the Ballparks of America complex or in hotels with their parents.

To keep everyone as safe as possible, the Babe Ruth Organization and Ballparks of America (managed by Sports Facility Management) have established guidelines for play, teams and patrons. All Babe Ruth League credential books for tournaments have been migrated to digital binders. Ballparks of America offers online viewing of games live and on-demand for family members and fans beyond the stands through their partnership with our HiCast Sports Network.

“The Babe Ruth League is a community-based organization at our very core. With as many things that have been taken away from people throughout this year, we feel this is an opportunity for a community to rally around their team. It gives people something to look forward to –a sense of normalcy coming back,” said Michael Solanik.

View the Aug 8 - Aug 15, 2020 tourney schedule >

See the Moments That Matter™ from the Cal Ripken Major70 World Series Championship Games

Japan defeats Virginia 6-2 in the Cal Ripken Major70 World Series. Read the game summary by our media partner Youth1.

Virginia rallies in crazy 6th inning winning US National Championship at Cal Ripken Major70 World Series. Ready the game summary from our media partner Youth1.

We're so proud to have partnered with the Babe Ruth League to have covered the entire Cal Ripken Major70 World Series at Ballparks of America in Branson, Missouri, August 3 - 11, 2018. Beyond our standard wide-angle camera view on each field at the ballpark, we integrated the produced feed with pro-level commentary from our media partner Jock Jive for televised games within our HiCast Sports Network. Yep, we used our own HiCast Sports App to save the game highlights you see in the highlight reels above.

This integration of the live televised feed gave families and fans around the world the power to save and share game highlights as they happened on the field live. While we were in Branson, Missouri at the World Series, we could see that players and coaches were focused on each other, their performance, and enjoying this once-in-a-lifetime experience at Ballparks of America. Many teams bunked together in suites at the ballpark and had fun making new friends in the arcade or playing whiffle ball out under the lights in the evenings. But now that the World Series is over, players and coaches can replay their games and relive the memories from the entire tournament any time on-demand and save and share their Moments That Matter™ with the people who matter most.

"The fans were very excited. Every day, people were telling us what a wonderful experience it was to be able talk to the people back home who had just watched their games. We're very proud of our partnership with everyone here in Branson, especially HiCast." – Al Solanik, Tournament Director of the Cal Ripken Major70 World Series

HiCast Sports Network to Cover the Cal Ripken Major 70 World Series at Ballparks of America

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We're thrilled to be covering and sponsoring the 2018 Cal Ripken Major70 World Series (12U) at Ballparks of America beginning August 3rd through the 11th in Branson, Missouri where teams from around the world will come together to compete and enjoy the experience of a lifetime. In honor of this global event and our shared love for America's Favorite Pastime, we're extending a special invitation for new users to join our HiCast Sports Network Aug 3-11 and enjoy a FREE 7-Day Pass to watch the Cal Ripken World Series and games across our entire HiCast Sports Network.

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You can reference the CRWS Tourney Schedule on Tourney Machine. Use their app to follow teams and find out game days, times and fields, then watch the games live or anytime on-demand in our HiCast Sports Network and use our mobile app to save and share the Moments That Matter™ from the games as they happen. We'll also integrate the produced televised feed within our HiCast Sports mobile app so you've got the power to save and share highlights from the televised games too, offering you more views beyond our standard wide-angle view from behind home plate at each field at Ballparks of America.

Good luck to all teams: Alabama, Australia, Bahamas, California, Canada, Connecticut, Dominican Republic, Idaho, Japan, Kentucky, Republic of Korea, Middle Atlantic, Midwest Plains, Missouri, New England, New York, New Zealand, Ohio Valley, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, Puerto Rico, Southeast, Southwest, and Virginia.