Altoona Area Baseball Association, Altoona PA

Q. The site says the league is for players between the ages of 5 and 12. What date do you use to determine age?
    A. All new players to the league will use the New Age Determination date of August 31st. 9 year olds often play in both Minor and Major League. Any child who reaches the age of 5 prior to August 31st and does not turn 8 before August 31st is eligible for the Instructional/T-Ball League.  Check the 'Registration Age Chart from the Main Menu for the correct age of your son/daughter.

Q. Do the Minor League players use live pitching or does the coach pitch?
    A. In the Minor League, kids pitch for the first three innings. If there are 4 walks in an inning or three walks in a row, the coaches finish the inning.  Coaches pitch innings 4-6. If you are not comfortable with your child facing live pitching, you can request that the coach pitch to him/her even during the first three innings.

Q. Where are practices and what time do they start?
     A. Practice sites and times are determined by the coaches of the individual teams. The league's assigned practice fields are Ebner Elementary in Eldorado and Prospect Field. Teams also use the batting cages and fields located at the Altoona Area Baseball Association complex and some teams have secured alternate sites from time to time. Typically, practices are held in the late afternoon or early evening during the week and in the morning or early afternoon on weekends.

Q. When does the season start and how long does it last?
    A. Opening day for Major and Minor Leagues is in mid April. The regular season ends around July 4th. The Major League playoffs are typically held the first two weeks in July. The Minor League does not have a playoff. Instructional/T-Ball League will start after school year.

Q. What time are games played?
    A. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scattered start times were created, with weekday games beginning at 5:30 PM, 6:00PM, 7:15PM, and 7:45PM. On Saturdays, games start as early as 11:00 AM and the latest a game could be scheduled is 7:45 PM. Instructional/T-Ball games will be held Saturday AM and a couple of games Thursday night under the lights. All Star Day and make-up games are sometimes held on Sundays if necessary, and only after 1 PM.

Q.  What days do they play?
     A. The regular season includes games every weekday and on Saturdays. No team will play more than 3 games in a one-week period (Sunday through Saturday) unless we are making up rainouts the week after the regular season schedule ends. Minor League teams play 18 games and Major League teams play 24 or 25 regular season games plus the playoffs.

Q. Is there a cost to register?
    A. There is no fee to register. Each player is required to sell 20 $10 raffle tickets at the beginning of each year to help cover uniform expenses and the cost of umpires, equipment, and league operations.  Instructional/T-Ball will have a small fee but no raffle tickets will be required.

Q. Where is the field?
    A. The Altoona Area Baseball Association complex is located on Pleasant Valley Boulevard between 8th street and 10th street. There are two playing fields with lights for night time play, identical in size.

Q. Can a friend register with him/her and play on the same team?
    A. We will make every attempt to pair up specific children in the Minor League to help accommodate shared rides, etc. The Major League rosters are set by an annual draft of players. Your child will be assigned to a team during the draft. Siblings are always assigned to the same team.

Q. When and where are tryouts and what ages tryout?
    A. Tryouts will be held in mid March.  All new 10, 11 and 12 year olds must tryout to play in the Altoona Area Baseball Association. 9 year olds have the option to tryout and be placed on a Major League team then or wait and be drafted in the Minor League draft after the season is over.  In the past, tryouts have been held at the indoor batting cages at Blair County Ballpark.