Please Click Here to find the league your child will play in based on address. 

Eligibility must first be established by way of residency inside the boundaries of a local little league, or the location of the school where the child attends is located inside a local league’s boundaries that is approved by Little League Baseball, Incorporated.

Registration ends March 5, 2023 at 11:59pm. We must have all players registered prior to tryouts and draft night.

You may choose to register online at any time. Click on the “Register” link at the top of the page.

Registration fees for 2023 are the same as last year and are as follows:

Peewee is $60. 
Rookies, Minors and Majors is $85.
*There is a $25 discount per additional child from the same family.

*This does not include the fee for fundraising which is a mandatory fee for each child. 

The fundraising fee will vary depending on the option you choose. You may choose one of two options:

1) Fundraising buyout - nothing to sell - $50 per player
OR
2)4 - $25 BP Gift Cards - $100 per player (there is a chance to sell more and compete for a prize!)

The registration fee covers a hat and shirt for each player, umpire expenses and field maintenance. 

What documents and forms do I need to bring with me?
Annually, during a local league’s player registration, a parent or legal guardian of a potential Little Leaguer are required to provide a minimum of three personal documents that are used to establish the residency of the child. Residency documents are collected according to three categories.

Please Click Here to find a Residency Eligibility Checklist. 

Each child is required to have a glove. Baseball pants are not required but are suggested. Bats, batting helmets and a full set of catcher’s gear per team are provided by Ottumwa Little League. 
*With COVID restrictions, it is recommended that each child have their own bat and helmet as well. 

Little League does provide guidance on what bat kids can use. Visit this link for more information. Bat Information

Divisions are set by the age of your child on August 31, 2023.

Peewee – Age 4, 5, and 6 - Coach Pitch (after 5 pitches - hit off of tee)

Rookies – 7 and 8 - Kid Pitch (Coach pitch after 4 balls - no walks))

Minor –9 and 10 - Kid Pitch

Major – 11 and 12 - Kid Pitch

If you have questions or concerns about which division your child is in, please come see us during registration or email [email protected].

If a parent requests a player to be in a different division, they must submit a request to the Ottumwa Little League Board. Please send an email to [email protected].

Yes! We offer a Challenger League for your child. Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions.

Managers are selected and approved by the Ottumwa Little League Board of Directors.  Appointed managers are responsible for selection of their teams, the training of their teams and the conduct. All coaches are volunteers and are required to undergo a background check each year. 

To volunteer, please go to our “Volunteer” page.

For Super Peewee and Peewee, teams are drafted from the list of players signed up. These teams will be redrafted each year.

For Minor and Major teams, teams will be drafted by coaches. All players ages 7-12 are required to attend player evaluations. Once those evaluations have been completed, coaches will draft their team. Teams will be announced during our league fundraiser.

Little League player evaluations, also referred to as tryouts, are an annual activity for all local leagues. All local Little League programs are required to assign players to teams via a draft once player evaluation conclude. Having a draft is not only a requirement, but also allows for parity within your league that will provide for a great experience for all players and teams.

Any child who is placed on a Minor League team (and is the correct age for the Major Division) is IMMEDIATELY eligible to be called up to the Major Division, in the event of a vacancy.

There are five recommended areas in which each candidate should be given the opportunity to (1) Batting/bunting (2) Fielding fly balls (3) Fielding ground balls (4) Throwing (5) Run in competition with children having the same league age.

Game and practice schedules will be announced in March/April. 

The 2023 game schedule will be completed after teams are assigned (the number of teams determines the games). Your coach will send the final schedule (usually in late March/early April). 

Game days are Monday through Friday. We stay away from playing on the weekends.

Peewee and Rookie games start at 5:30pm.

There are two Minor / Major games scheduled each night. The early game will start at 5:30pm. The late game with start at 7:30pm.

Practices are set by each coach during the draft. 

Peewee practices once per week. Rookie, Minor and Major practice twice per week.

Teams in the Minor and Major divisions travel to play interleague games. Teams that played in 2021 traveled to Agency, Eldon, Packwood and Hedrick.

All-star managers are selected by the Ottumwa Little League Board of Directors. Voting for the All-Star team will be held the last two weeks of the season. Each league team manager submits one ballot ranking the top 10 players on league teams. These ballots are reviewed and tallied by the Ottumwa Little League Board of Directors.  The All-Star Manager will select the final two (2) or four (4) players. 

Ottumwa Little League is an all-volunteer organization, so the support of parents, family and friends is critical to keep our league running smoothly.

Each team is expected to keep their field, dugouts and bleachers clean from all trash. For fields that require raking and/or covering of mounds/home plate, please work with the other team on sharing responsibilities. 

For Peewee, the Home team is responsible for getting all bases out and putting them away for each game. 

Teams are expected to come to field cleanup days to help with the labor needed to prep the fields for play.

Parents can be involved in many ways, including: 

• Volunteering to be a coach or team parent
• Supporting your team and modeling good sportsmanship 
• Understanding the rules of play for your division and supporting decisions of coaches and umpires (download the new LLI Rulebook app!)
• Ensuring your player(s) arrive for all practices and games on-time, ready to play
• Supporting the Ottumwa Little League by making purchases at the concession stand (all proceeds go to the Ottumwa Little League)
• Finding corporate sponsors or considering a sponsorship yourself

A baseball pitcher can wear an arm sleeve, but it must be fully covered by an undershirt. And, any part of the pitcher’s undershirt that can be seen must be a solid color, and the sleeves cannot be white or gray. A softball pitcher may wear and arm sleeve but is not required to cover it. Also, a pitcher cannot wear any items on his/her hands, wrists, or arms which may be distracting to the hitter. So, if your child plays baseball and wants to use an arm sleeve on the mound, keep a long-sleeved dark-color undershirt on hand.

During regular season play, every rostered player present at the start of a game will participate in each game for a minimum of six defensive outs (basically, two full innings in the field, however those six outs do not need to be consecutive) and bat at least one time for regular season games.

No. The traditional batting donut is not permissible, but a weighted bat sleeve is. 

The answer is simple – to protect young arms. Player safety is paramount, and we’re proud of the regulations we’ve put in place. The healthier Little Leaguers are, the more games they’ll play, which results in them having more fun with their friends. Pitch count rules differ for several divisions. More information can be found by clicking here.

Mistakenly called a “Dropped Third Strike,” this is when a batter becomes a runner after the third strike called by an umpire, or a pitch is swung on and missed by a batter, is not caught by the catcher. For the hitter to be eligible as a runner, however, first base must be unoccupied, or first base is occupied with two outs. To put the batter-runner out, the defense must tag the batter or first base before the batter touches first base. An uncaught third strike does not apply to play below the Little League (Major) Division.