Baseball
Instructional - Farm (Kindergarten) - Grove St. Fields
The Farm level is for Kindergartners learning baseball and consists of 5 & 6 year olds.
- There are no teams - Farm is skills focused: throwing/catching, proper hitting technique, catching pop flys.
- We finish each session with a 1 inning "game" of coach pitch.
- Farm meets one weeknight per week (Wednesday around 6 PM - 7 PM), and each Saturday afternoon for 1 hour (typically 1-2 PM).
- Farm Players are given "B" hats and "Belmont Farm Team" uniform shirts.
- Farm Players need to bring a baseball glove, sneakers are okay, baseball pants are optional.
Instructional - Single A (1st & 2nd Grade) - Grove St. Fields
The A level consists of 1st Grade and 2nd Grade 7 & 8 year olds who will be placed on different teams in the Single A division.
- Single A is predominately coach pitch, with some effort to introduce pitching to the 2nd grade players on Saturday.
- The goal of Single A is to have fun and learn the fundamentals of baseball.
- The teams play 1 Weeknight game a week from 6 PM to 7PM - Traditionally this takes place on Thursday night.
- We host a coach pitch game for 1st graders on Saturday afternoons at 2 PM-3PM Sand Lot Style (make your own teams)
- We do a 2nd sandlot game with "intro to pitching" for 2nd graders in a 2nd Sandlot Game on Saturday from 2PM -3:30 PM
- We host one extra skills session each week on a weekday to work on fundamentals of hitting, fielding, catching pop ups and pitching / catching.
- Players will be provided a Hat and a Uniform Shirt.
- Typically no activities on Fridays.
- We do try to accomodate friend requests as long as it's reasonable.
Cal Ripken - In Town Baseball at Grove St. Fields
Cal Ripken Majors (5th and 6th Grade):
The Majors level consists of 5th and 6th Graders.
Players will be evaluated and evenly spread out among several Majors teams to create balanced teams.
Outside Umpires will umpire the Majors games.
The teams play a 12 game schedule with 2 games per week and 1 skills session each week.
Evaluations take place in early April. The Season begins the Monday after April school break and ends in early June, typically the week before school gets out.
Players are provided Uniform Shirts and Hats. They must provide on their own, baseball pants, glove and belt. Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center has everything available that a player will need.
Cal Ripken Minors (3rd and 4th Grade):
The Minors consists of 3rd and 4th grade players.
Minors is player pitch and coaches umpire the games while trying to encourage proper fundamentals of pitching and defense.
Players will be evaluated and evenly spread out among several Minors teams to create balanced teams.
Our goal is that these players will have fun, work hard, and develop their skills both naturally and through the effort of the coaches.
The teams play two games a week with a skills practice each week for a total of 3 activities per week.
Evaluations take place in early April. The Season begins the Monday after April school break and ends in early June, typically the week before school gets out.
Players are provided Uniform Shirts and Hats. They must provide on their own, baseball pants, glove and belt. Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center has everything available that a player will need.
Travel Baseball - Spring
Travel baseball will be available for ages 9 through 12 (3rd to 6th Grade) pending player interest and coaching volunteers.
The travel program provides a higher competitive level of play than in-town and an additional schedule of Friday evening games From early April to early June.
Competition will be predominantly provided by neighboring communities such as Lexington, Wellesley, Weston, Concord-Carlisle, Acton, Burlington, Waltham, Medford, and Winchester.
The travel program is for those players who are truly passionate about baseball. Please be aware that Travel players will have the opportunity to participate in up to 5 baseball-related activities (skills, practice, and games) each week during the Spring once the In-Town baseball begins after April break.
Also, it is a simple fact that enrollment (i.e. number of players signed up) can create difficulties in team placement. We find the best number per team is roughly 12 players so that players can get at-bats and play the field (not sit the bench).
If, for whatever reason, we cannot find the appropriate place for your son or daughter on a travel team, he/she will be selected as an alternate, but the entire travel portion of the registration fee will be refunded. We will, of course, do everything we can to avoid this scenario, and have typically been successful in doing so.
In the past when grades have had 2 travel teams in a grade (due to a signup of 20+ players) we have created two teams in two different styles:
- The first style is to have each team be balanced by player ability, ultimately taking 5 players from the top 10 (1-10) ranked players and 5 players from the bottom 10 (11-20) in skill level and creating 2 "equal" teams. For Example Team 1 has players ranked (1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19) and Team 2 has players ranked (2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20).
- The second style is to create higher and lower skill level teams that focus on putting the top 10 players on an "A" team and the bottom 10 players on a "B" team.
There are pros and cons for each style of team creation and ultimately the style to create multiple teams will be left to the coaching volunteers for that grade and confirmed by the BYBS Board. If there are differing opinions from the coaching volunteers the board will make the final decision on the structure and formation of the teams.
Player evaluations for Spring teams are based off of last years In-Town Season and Spring and Summer Travel seasons.
Travel Season starts with some winter workouts in late Feb. and March in the Belmont High School Gym and outside weather and coaching permitted. First game is the first Friday in April. Season ends in early June. All games on Friday evenings approx. 5:30 first pitch. Weekly practices are coaches choice, in past seasons many coaches will schedule a weekly practice in addition to the Friday game.
Babe Ruth
Players who are between the ages of 13 and 15 (7th through 9th grade) are eligible to play for Belmont teams in the Arlington-managed Babe Ruth Baseball League (ABL). The ABL has teams from many local towns who will play games on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and/or Sundays against other teams from the local area. The season begins in early April and ends at the end of the school year. Players up through 9th grade who are 15 years old or younger by April 30th are eligible to play. Tryouts will be held before the season to assign players to teams in either the A or B division.
Once again - numbers of sign ups can have an impact on if we have one or two teams. In past seasons we have had too many for one team and not enough for two teams. In this instance, other Arlington based teams have offered our players a roster spot and we have let the player decide if they would like to play for the Arlington based roster. BYBS will do our best to present each option available to allow our kids the opportunity to play baseball.
There is a summer session of Babe Ruth as well.
Summer Babe Ruth is part of the Lou Tompkins league. It is a very competitive level of baseball and Consists of 3 divisions:
- A Division - 16-18 year olds
- B Division - 14-15 year olds
- C Division - 13 year olds
Summer Baseball Options
Please note: All competitive summer team options are dependent on having enough volunteer coaches and organizational support.
Middlesex League
The Middlesex League is a local summer baseball option that is generally closer to an in-town level of competition. Middlesex League players are often "called up" to play on the Bay State Team when players are needed. In past seasons we have had 1 team for 9U and 10U (current minor league in-town players). Depending on other town participation there could be options to put together an 8U team (current 2nd grade / rising 3rd graders)
Teams typically play against nearby towns such as:
- Lexington
- Waltham
- Winchester
- Other surrounding communities
This option is ideal for players who:
- Want some competitive baseball over the summer
- Prefer more local travel
- Are looking for a competitive but developmental environment
- Want a schedule and commitment level closer to in-town baseball
- Don't want any baseball on the weekends
Bay State League
The Bay State League is Belmont Youth Baseball’s most competitive summer travel baseball option.
This is intended for players seeking:
- High-level competition approaching club team competition
- Stronger opposing teams
- A very serious travel baseball experience
- A higher level of commitment from both players and families
Important Information
- Only 9 players can be in the lineup. Some players will only play 3 innings and get 1 at bat per game.
- Rosters will likely consist of approximately 11 primary roster players
- Belmont may also carry an additional 5–7 alternate players
- Weekend games are required
Alternate players would:
- Continue playing in the Middlesex League
- Be eligible to be “called up” for Bay State games as needed
Families should understand that:
- Travel can be extensive
- Away games may be significantly farther from Belmont than other summer options
11U & 12U Watertown 50/70 Option
Belmont is also exploring an 11- and 12-year-old “in-town style” 50/70 baseball option in Watertown.
This program would likely involve games against:
- Two Watertown teams
The level of play is expected to be:
- Slightly more competitive than traditional in-town baseball
- Less intense than Bay State travel baseball
This option may be the best fit for:
- Bay State 11U and 12U alternate players
- Players looking for additional summer baseball without the full travel commitment
- Players not looking to play weekend games
Important: This option will require:
- A committed coach
- Sufficient organization and volunteer support to operate successfully
Skills-Only Program
Belmont Youth Baseball also offers a skills-only summer baseball program at Grove Street in Belmont, run by Jordy Allard. This is the primary option for rising 2nd grade and 3rd grade (Single A). We have an earlier session 2 weeknights per week for younger less experienced players, typically rising 2nd to rising 4th grade. Then we have a later session intended for older players in rising 5th to rising 7th grade. Players from Summer Travel leagues can attend skills if they can make the dates work. Players that don't want to commit to a team or need to focus on skill improvement and love playing baseball are encouraged to sign up for skills. The skills nights have a sandlot vibe to them and the kids have a great time.
This program is designed for players who want:
- Continued baseball instruction
- Skill development
- Repetition and fundamentals work
- A lower-commitment summer baseball option
The skills program would focus on:
- Hitting
- Fielding
- Throwing
- Baseball fundamentals
- Player development
FAQs
How is my son placed on Bay State team versus Middlesex team? Summer team placement is determined by the coaching volunteers of the Bay State and Middlesex teams and the BYBS Board based on Spring Travel and In Town season performance. If a child is not selected for their first-choice team, parents will be informed of alternative team options, taking into account age, team needs, and coaching availability.
If my son wants to play Bay State but is picked as an Alernate, how many Bay State games will he get to play? Alternates get called up a lot in the summer depending on the schedules and vacations. We have had seasons where alternates end up playing more games than players initially selected for the Bay State team.
Baseball Skills/Clinics
The last 2 seasons, 2024 and 2025 our skills sessions (1x a week for Single A, Minors and Majors) have been led by former Northeastern University and Cape Cod Baseball League Starting Pitcher, Jordy Allard. Jordy has rave reviews from many of our parents and focuses first on fun and secondarily on teaching the fundamentals of hitting, pitching, fielding and catching. Jordy is also available to book for one on ones both in season and out of season. In the winter Jordy works indooors at Extra Innings in Watertown, MA. To book your child for one on one skills (Pitching, Hitting or both) you can email Jordy at jordy.allard@gmail.com.