I couldn’t believe what I was hearing the other day, MLB wasn’t going to allow Little League baseball teams to use their team names without the proper licensing. Maybe I’m missing something here, but I’m afraid I’m not. It seems ridiculous to me that MLB would be concerned about the money they get off the proper licensing regarding their team names when it comes to Little League. I know their’s money to be made, but come on!
I remember being a Little League coach of seven & eight year olds when I was only 18 years old myself. Our team was called the Yankees. I honestly don’t know if there was a licensing fee paid or not for the privilege of being called the Yankees. Would the fee be less if your team was named after a loser team, like the Cubs? Just kidding.
I would think MLB would be proud to have Little Leaguers wearing their team names on their uniforms, dreaming of growing up to be a major leaguer, like their heroes, Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa. Now it turns out their heroes were cheaters, doing steroids to get an unfair edge over their opponents.
In this day of corporate greed, I guess it makes sense to squeeze every penny out of every pocket. Maybe the Little Leaguers could sell lemonade so the big, rich, millionaire ballplayers could get their cut of the licensing money. I say, shame on MLB, and I think MLB is getting a little too big for its britches!
When I was coaching junior high school girls fast pitch (age 12-14), we were going to name our team the Saint Alphonsus Angels – obviously, I gave some input about the team name.
The shirt dealer told me I couldn’t do that without paying a license fee to MLB. I told him to make the shirts and “Let MLB sue me.” He said HE would be the one to get sued, not me. The rule applied to the guy who made and sold the shirts. He refused to do it, so we were the Saint Alphonsus Halos.
That was in 1995. Don’t know what (if anything) has changed.
DonS.
hear hear! Totally agree with you, TB!