Two viewpoints on this problem........

1. In our recreational leagues, starting out with T-Ball, everyone plays. No official stats are even kept unless a coach wants to keep them for himself. The main emphasis is on teaching the kids how to play. If they win, they win; if they lose, they lose, shake hands and head for the malt shop.

2. It stops being just a recreational league, and becomes competitive, about the time kids get to 13-14 years of age. At that point, they want to win. It gets really competitive to them. By then, they have mastered the fundamentals, and know how to play the game. That's where your higher level Babe Ruth Leagues and such come into play. Unfortunately, it's also about the time the parents start wanting their children to be the players that they themselves never were. The parents are mortified if their kid makes an error or loses the game. That's the down side.

I coached several teams from 9-10, 13-15, etc. Everybody played at least two innings in every game, but at 13-15 they wanted to win. Kids ought to have a time to play just for fun. The really good players will sort themselves out later.

I lost my soapbox icon, but I'm done.