The 2022 Kid-Pitch Baseball Evaluation Day will be held Sunday, February 27th on the turf Whitman MS Soccer Field (located behind Whitman Middle School). We ask that ALL Baseball players of Little League age 8-12 attend (your 2022 LL Baseball age is your player's age as of 8/31/2022). All players and adults should plan to wear masks and maintain social distancing during the event. We realize that WA State outdoor mask mandates are being removed in the upcoming days, but we do not yet have visibility what that will mean for Seattle or for events being hosted on Seattle Public Schools' property. So for now, we should all assume that more strict guidelines may be in place that day.
Evaluation Day attendance is NOT asked of our LL age 4 to 7-year-olds, A Softball, Juniors Baseball, Juniors Softball, or Seniors Baseball divisions. Further, this year our AA, AAA, and Majors Softball teams have been worked out in advance via communications with families and coaches. As such, we will not be doing an Evaluation Day this year to determine Softball placements between those three divisions as in past years. In future years we will resume doing so as needs dictate.
For those Baseball players who are LL age 8, the league will provide guidance after Evaluation Day on whether your player is ready for AA (introductory kid-pitch, which is a mix of Kid-Pitch and Coach-Pitch) or should play one more year of A (Coach-Pitch). Typically about 40% of our LL age 8 players play AA and 60% play A. If you do not hear from NWSLL within 24 hours after Evaluation Day, you should assume the division you registered your player for is confirmed as correct.
February weather is often cool, breezy, and/or damp, so please have your players layer up! And for players who have batting gloves, remember to bring them to make the hitting portion more enjoyable.
Evaluation Day is an important start to our Kid-Pitch calendar. Players will be asked to take turns running the bases, fielding, and batting. NWSLL coaches attend the evaluations in order to meet the players and their families, and better get to know each player's skill set. We understand that many players will be rusty and new players are inexperienced. Please let your player know that many players will be a bit nervous, but that's OK. We'll be there to support and encourage them!
The purpose of player evaluations is to place each player in the appropriate division, as well as draft teams that are equally matched in terms of experience and skill. Players who don’t attend are still placed on a team (in some cases by hat draw).
To help break the day up into smaller sessions, we have created the following five groups. Please plan to attend your assigned session. But if you have a hard conflict, your player may attend another session. We ask that families only do this if truly necessary, since it is easier for us to compare like-age players when we see them together at the same time.
Age Group |
Group # |
Player Age |
AGE 8 BASEBALL |
Group 1 |
Players born 6/1/2014 - 8/31/2014 |
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Group 2 |
Players born 12/10/2013 - 5/31/14 |
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Group 3 |
Players born 9/1/2013 - 12/9/2013 |
AGES 9/10 BASEBALL |
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Players born 9/1/2011 - 8/31/2013 |
AGES 11/12 BASEBALL |
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Players born 9/1/2009 - 8/31/2011 |
SUNDAY, FEB 27 – WHITMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER FIELD
(Turf field complex behind the school, 9201 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117)
BASEBALL
8:30AM |
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AGE 8 BASEBALL (Group 1) Registration and Warm Up |
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9:00AM - 9:45AM |
AGE 8 BASEBALL (Group 1) Evaluation |
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9:15AM |
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AGE 8 BASEBALL (Group 2) Registration and Warm Up |
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9:45AM - 10:30AM |
AGE 8 BASEBALL (Group 2) Evaluation |
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10:00AM |
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AGE 8 BASEBALL (Group 3) Registration and Warm Up |
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10:30AM - 11:15AM |
AGE 8 BASEBALL (Group 3) Evaluation |
10:45AM |
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AGES 9-10 BASEBALL Registration and Warm Up |
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11:15AM |
- 12:30PM
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AGES 9-10 BASEBALL Evaluation
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12:00PM |
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AGES 11-12 BASEBALL Registration and Warm Up |
12:30PM -1:30PM |
AGES 11-12 BASEBALL Evaluation |
What should players bring?
Players will be running, fielding, and batting. If at all possible, they should wear baseball attire including baseball pants or sweats and athletic shoes or cleats. Players should also bring a glove and water bottle, and boys should wear a protective cup.
Many players use their own helmets and hit with their own bats. But the league will have some batting helmets and bats on hand. There will also be limited extra gloves available to borrow.
What happens next?
After Evaluation Day is complete, NWSLL officials and coaches will work to determine divisional placements. Families will be contacted to discuss any divisional transfers that are necessary. NWSLL coaches will then get together the following week and draft players onto teams. Everyone gets placed onto a team, even players who cannot attend Evaluation Day.
The Majors division should expect to begin practices the week of Feb. 28th, AAA on Saturday, March 5th, and AA on Saturday, March 12th. Games usually begin the last weekend in March for Majors and early April for AAA and AA.