Dad Tries To Make Little League Great Again, But Travel Ball Parents Fight Back

Need more proof that youth sports are an absolute cesspool of adult activity? 

Let's go to suburban Philadelphia (Oreland) where a major controversy has erupted within the Springfield Little League because a parent complained to league officials over their decision to end the house ball regular season early so all-star teams could be formed to compete in a travel ball season. 

According to an Axios Philadelphia report, days later, on May 18, a plane performed a flyover during a Springfield Little League game while pulling a banner that read, "His name is Zach Magid."

Who's Zak Magid? 

He's the parent who complained about the season being shortened so the travel ball kids could do their thing. 

That's right, some parent, or parents, threw their money together (the company that flew the banner lists its prices at $650 to $1,200) to purchase the banner (Axios has a photo) that flew over the Springfield Little League complex calling out a parent who asked too many questions. 

(Zak Magid speaks during a June 10 Springfield Twp. Board of Directors meeting with Springfield Little League representatives in attendance. Magid wants to know who flew a banner over the Little League that he says was intended to intimidate him. / Springfield Twp. YouTube)

As you'd expect, it's been chaos in this Philly suburb ever since. 

There are Change.org petitions being passed around, the rumor mill is fire hot, there have been Little League investigations and there's even been a township board of commissioner's meeting where parents got up and gave speeches about the banner and how it has changed their lives. 

"I do have a son who plays travel," Magid clarified during a June 10 township meeting with Little League board members in attendance. "I'm not a guy with intramural-only kids who's railing against the travel teams. I just want things to be fair." 

It's 2024, Zak. If it's travel ball, it's not fair. 

Travel ball is pretty much the mafia. You know it. The travel ball parents know it. They even like to call themselves "family" and claim their fellow parents and kids are family for life.

"I worry about continuing to push this issue because I legitimately fear for my actual safety and my family's safety and the fact that is an actual thing that's going through my mind and my wife's mind is an absolute sin," Magid said during the June 10th township meeting. 

The league president claims his investigation has yet to uncover who flew the banner. 

Would a Make Rec Ball Great Again dad be whacked by the Travel Ball Mafia?

This sounds like something straight out of The Sopranos. Imagine Tony Soprano running a travel ball organization, maybe taking a little off the top of the bank account for the big guy and then along comes some dad questioning what the travel ball team is up to. 

This is where we're at with travel ball. 

As an Internet guy, I love stories like this because they're full of suburban drama. We have mostly college-educated adults going at each other like they're 12. We have suburban baseball moms on social media chirping. 

But as a Make Rec Ball Great Again dad, I can see where Magid is coming from here. If you tell parents you're going to have a full season, have a full season. If not, go find your own field and form your own travel ball team and get lost. 

To me, it sounds like we have a Travel Ball Mafia that wants to use and abuse the Little League while cheating the kids out of a full season. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it. 

What more can you tell me about Springfield Little League? Has the drama ended? 

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com