{"id":1964677,"date":"2025-08-17T00:43:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T00:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1964677"},"modified":"2025-08-17T00:43:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T00:43:15","slug":"before-the-fame-these-celebrities-and-mlb-stars-got-their-start-in-the-little-league-world-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/before-the-fame-these-celebrities-and-mlb-stars-got-their-start-in-the-little-league-world-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Before the fame: These celebrities and MLB stars got their start in the Little League World Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

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So many of us have played Little League baseball that it is almost seen as a rite of passage for young Americans<\/b>. Little League baseball is as red-blooded as it gets, together with mom and apple pie. Some of the biggest names in the world played Little League Baseball, like President George W Bush, Adam Sandler, and Kareem Abdul-Jabar.<\/b><\/p>\n

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North Hooksett Manchester Little League are now the New England champs. Holy Cow! Way to take it to the next\u00a0level you studs! Next stop Williamsport! Me and my whole old team are pulling for you!!! pic.twitter.com\/CfVtt2kkNF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Sandler (@AdamSandler) August 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Singer Jason Aldean played little league<\/b> and was offered a baseball scholarship, turning it down to pursue a singing career. Bruce Springsteen and Brent Musberger<\/b> both recount little league as some of their fondest memories. And if you think that little league is only for boys, think again, with stars Julia Stiles and Elizabeth Banks<\/b> both playing little league baseball in their youth.<\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone who plays little league makes it all the way to the world series. That list gets whittled down pretty quickly, but there are still a few notable names outside of baseball who have played on that biggest of little league stages.<\/p>\n

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Did you know that Bruce Springsteen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ben and Casey Affleck as well as Brad Pitt all played in the Little League World Series? <\/p>\n

There\u2019s actually a long list of pro athletes, movie stars, musicians and politicians who all started in Little Leagues. pic.twitter.com\/oRJnuYBspT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 10, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

National Football League players Matt Cassel, Jake Fromm, Gale Gilbert, Billy Hunter, Jack Losch, Trey Quinn, Turk Schonert, Brian Sipe, and Julian Vandervelde <\/b>all made an appearance in the LLWS when they were young.<\/p>\n

The National Hockey League is represented by players like Chris Drury, Ray Ferraro, Stephane Matteau, and Pierre Turgeon<\/b> who have all taken the field at Williamsport.<\/p>\n

Mo\u2019ne Davis was one of two girls who played in the 2014 Little League World Series<\/b> and was the first girl to earn a win and to throw a shutout in Little League World Series history. The 18th girl overall to play and the sixth to get a hit, Mo\u2019ne was the first Little League baseball player ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Little Leaguer.<\/p>\n

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On this day, eight years ago, 13-year-old sensation Mo’Ne Davis threw two-hit shutout in the Little League World Series. She became the first female pitcher to win a Little League World Series game. pic.twitter.com\/TLizQt4eii<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Louisiana Guy \u269c\ufe0f (@noladt) August 15, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

NASCAR champion driver Austin Dillon<\/b> played in the 2002 World Series when he was on the team representing Forsyth County, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Related stories<\/h2>\n
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Former US women\u2019s national hockey player and current scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Krissy Wendell was the first girl to start as a catcher<\/b> when she played for Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in the 1994 World Series.<\/p>\n

By far, though, the names that you will know from the LLWS are those who went on to play in the MLB. Interestingly, there are only three players who have ever appeared in the Little League World Series, the College World Series and the MLB World Series: pitcher Ed Vosberg, outfielder Michael Conforto, and catcher Jason Varitek<\/b><\/p>\n

Here is a list of notable MLB players who got their start in the Little League World Series<\/h3>\n
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  • Wilson \u00c1lvarez<\/li>\n
  • Jim Barbieri<\/li>\n
  • Jason Bay<\/li>\n
  • Derek Bell<\/li>\n
  • Cody Bellinger<\/li>\n
  • Christian Bethancourt<\/li>\n
  • Larvell Blanks<\/li>\n
  • Jim Brower<\/li>\n
  • Sean Burroughs<\/li>\n
  • Kevin Cash<\/li>\n
  • Gavin Cecchini<\/li>\n
  • Chin-Feng Chen<\/li>\n
  • Jeff Clement<\/li>\n
  • Michael Conforto<\/li>\n
  • Billy Connors<\/li>\n
  • David Cort\u00e9s<\/li>\n
  • Stephen Fife<\/li>\n
  • Jeff Frazier<\/li>\n
  • Todd Frazier<\/li>\n
  • Jace Fry<\/li>\n
  • Randal Grichuk<\/li>\n
  • Ben Hayes<\/li>\n
  • Charlie Hayes<\/li>\n
  • Yonny Hern\u00e1ndez<\/li>\n
  • Ken Hubbs<\/li>\n
  • Erik Johnson<\/li>\n
  • Scott Kingery<\/li>\n
  • Keith Lampard<\/li>\n
  • Carney Lansford<\/li>\n
  • Adam Loewen<\/li>\n
  • Vance Lovelace<\/li>\n
  • Lance Lynn<\/li>\n
  • Lloyd McClendon<\/li>\n
  • Lastings Milledge<\/li>\n
  • Bobby Mitchell<\/li>\n
  • Max Moroff<\/li>\n
  • Jim Pankovits<\/li>\n
  • Francisco Pe\u00f1a<\/li>\n
  • Yusmeiro Petit<\/li>\n
  • Marc Pisciotta<\/li>\n
  • Boog Powell<\/li>\n
  • Nick Pratto<\/li>\n
  • Yohel Pozo<\/li>\n
  • Jurickson Profar<\/li>\n
  • Guillermo Quir\u00f3z<\/li>\n
  • Colby Rasmus<\/li>\n
  • Cory Rasmus<\/li>\n
  • Brady Rodgers<\/li>\n
  • Michael Saunders<\/li>\n
  • Jonathan Schoop<\/li>\n
  • Gary Sheffield<\/li>\n
  • Andrew Stevenson<\/li>\n
  • Carl Taylor<\/li>\n
  • Rub\u00e9n Tejada<\/li>\n
  • Clete Thomas<\/li>\n
  • H\u00e9ctor Torres<\/li>\n
  • Devon Travis<\/li>\n
  • Carlos \u201cBobby\u201d Trevi\u00f1o<\/li>\n
  • George Tsamis<\/li>\n
  • Jason Varitek<\/li>\n
  • Dave Veres<\/li>\n
  • Ed Vosberg<\/li>\n
  • Dan Wilson<\/li>\n
  • Rick Wise<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n