2012 Little League Photo Contest
Little League volunteers from across the United States send in entries that are evaluated at Little League International and three winners are selected. This is the 14th year the contest has been conducted.
The voting, conducted over several days last month, asked Little League Facebook friends to decide on the top three photos from 10 finalists. The first-place winners tied with more than 1,000 votes cast each. More than 5,000 votes were tallied, and the photos were viewed by more than 100,000 people.
This picture is my favorite. It is the third place winner. It shows what had to be an exciting play at home plate. What I like about this photo is that there is already a runner at home, which must mean the base runners were running right behind each other. Also, the catcher is not messing around blocking the plate. Side note, I see a lot of young catchers throw off the mask immediately after a hit. They feel the mask blocks some of their vision. But when there is a play at home, I like to see the catcher keep the mask on for protection. And also, it is intimidating for the running coming in to see the catcher in full gear blocking the plate. Finally, the umpire is not only looking serious about his call but he is in the correct position to make the call. Check out the coaches in the dugout too. I would probably be jumping up and down!
The winning photographs will be on display at the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum, with the top photographs from past contests.
View all three photos at http://www.littleleague.org/Page58990.aspx