Jo Adell, from Louisville Ballard High School,
was drafted No. 10 overall, the first-round pick
of the Anaheim Angels in June’s MLB Draft.
Drew Ellis, a Louisville Cardinal who was
also on that Jeffersonville Little League team in
2008, was a collegiate All-American this season.
Current MLB pros from the Louisville Metro
area include Shawn Kelley, Dean Kiekhefer,
Nathan Adcock, Steve Delabar, Scott Downs
and Nate Jones.
The new Louisville Bats logo hats are popping
up all over town, and there seems to be a growing
number of youth leagues who make it a habit
of attending Bats games as a group.
So, in both hard numbers and anecdotal
evidence it is clear that baseball and softball
are growing in the Louisville Metro Area and
Southern Indiana.
Now the question is why? Theories abound.
THE SPORTS & FITNESS
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION’S
NEW REPORT SHOWS
BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL
COMBINED TO RANK AS
THE MOST PARTICIPATED
TEAM SPORT FOR 2016.
NOT FOOTBALL, NOT
BASKETBALL, NOT
SOCCER – BASEBALL
AND SOFTBALL.
Baseball and softball certainly require a
different kind of athletic skill necessary than say
basketball or football. And size is not necessarily
a hindrance for baseball and softball like it can
be in basketball, football or volleyball.
Perhaps the rise is due to parents looking
for more summertime activities for children.
Whatever the reason, local baseball and
softball coaches at the high school level could
see all-time highs in participation and talent
level this summer as well.
“This is a critical moment for baseball,” Cove
said. “It’s an opportunity they haven’t seen in
10 years. If you get people touching the ball and
enjoying it a little bit, then you have a better
chance of capturing them.”
This is an incredible turn-around considering
the “How to make baseball relevant again” article
was a yearly occurrence throughout the 2000s.
Everything old is new again. But don’t call
baseball old. Now it’s vintage.
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