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A new wrinkle to the already highly competitive travel team world is about to be
added with the introduction of the PGCrosschecker Team Rankings.
How the PGCrosschecker Team Rankings
Work
The PGCrosschecker Team Rankings will be based on a combination of player
rosters and team achievement. Special consideration will be given to the quantity
and quality of the players on a team’s roster that are included in the PGCrosschecker
class rankings. Team achievement in WWBA and BCS events will be important, but the
rankings will also consider how the team performs in all other non-affiliated events
on their schedule.
After the initial PGCrosschecker Team Rankings are announced over the next
three weeks, they will not be updated again until this spring, when high school
seasons are winding down across much of the country and teams are starting to come
together for summer/fall play. The PGCrosschecker Team Rankings will continue
to be updated at the beginning of each month for the remainder of the summer and
fall seasons.
The rankings will be determined by the Perfect Game staff. We are seeking as much
information as we can gather on every team in the country. Perfect Game is inviting
each team to provide as with up to date information as possible, including rosters,
schedules, results, web sites and any other information that could help in the ranking
process.
We have established an email address at
teamrankings@perfectgame.org for teams
to send any and all information on their programs. If you have specific question,
please address it to Ben Ford, the BCS Director, at
benford@perfectgame.org.
A Link to the BCS Finals
Aside from creating awareness of the huge number of quality travel teams across
the country, and perhaps a bit of healthy discussion as well, another primary purpose
of the PGCrosschecker Team Rankings will be to select the teams for the age
group BCS Finals.
In 2009, each of the five Baseball Championship Series Finals will feature a 64
team field that will be determined by the PGCrosschecker Team Rankings. In
a perfect world, the 64 teams in each championship field will be the top 64 teams
in the rankings. Should a ranked team not be able to participate, the next team(s)
to be invited will be the 65th ranked team, the 66th ranked
team, etc.
Each 64 team field will be broken down into 16 pools of four teams each as determined
by the rankings. Teams will be reseeded after an initial round of pool play and
all teams will be guaranteed six games, with 16 teams advancing to the playoffs
and a chance at the BCS National Championship trophy and rings.
The dates/locations for the 2009 Baseball Championship Series Finals are as follows:
18U – July 14-19 – Ft Myers, FL
17U – July 14-19 – Ft Myers, FL
16U – July 22-26 – Ft Myers, FL
15U – July 7-12 - Ft Myers, FL
14U – July 7-12 - Ft Myers, FL
The PGCrosschecker Team Rankings will debut this Friday, November 14, with
teams #49-64 in the 18U age group being posted. Teams ranked #33-48 will be posted
on Saturday (11/15), teams #17-32 will be posted Sunday (11/16) and the top 25 teams
will be announced Monday, November 17. The honorable mention teams will be announced
on Tuesday, November 18.
This will continue through the rest of the World Wood Bat Association/Baseball Championship
Series age group levels on the following schedule:
17U: Tuesday, November 18-22 (64 teams total plus honorable mention)
16U: Saturday, November 22-26 (64 teams total plus honorable mention)
15U: Wednesday, November 26-30 (64 teams total plus honorable mention)
14U: Sunday, November 30-December 4 (64 teams total plus honorable mention)
The rankings will be hosted on
www.PGCrosschecker.com and linked to
the other Perfect game web sites. Ranked teams with web sites of their own are invited
to post the link to the PGCrosschecker Team Rankings as well.
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