Everything you need to know before heading to a baseball tournament at the Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, Maryland.
If your team is considering entering a baseball tournament at the Ripken Experience, definitely do it. But before you go, check out our tips.
What is the Ripken Experience in Aberdeen?
The Ripken Experience is a sprawling baseball wonderland located right off Route 95 in Aberdeen, Maryland, which happens to be Cal Ripken’s hometown. Like college towns that are dominated by the local university, Aberdeen has become a “youth baseball town,” with hotels and restaurants catering to the baseball visitors.
Ripken hosts regular tournaments, starting in frigid March and going all the way to frigid November. Click here for their tournament schedule.
Ripken should definitely be on your East Coast tournament bucket list, along with:
1. Ripken Experience Lets You Use USSSA Bats and Doesn’t Require USA Bats
Yes, the killer Marucci CAT USSSA bat that you bought during a Christmas sale, but haven’t been able to use legally in a game, is legal at Ripken. Unlike Little League and other youth baseball organizations, Ripken doesn’t require USA bats. So you will be seeing home runs at the tournament.
We actually stationed the little brother of one our players in the outfield to catch home run balls for mementos.
2. Ripken Experience has Both Turf and Grass Fields
Before the tournament, I asked a bunch of people if Ripken had dirt or turf fields, because I wanted to know what shoes to bring for my son, and couldn’t get a straight answer. I also had no luck finding the information online.
It turns out that Ripken has turf fields, dirt fields, and some hybrid fields with turf in the infield and dirt in the outfield. So bring both shoes. My son plays infield and outfield, so he actually had to change shoes between innings.
For a quick reference, here are the composition of the Ripken fields:
- Camden Yards: turf field
- Citizens Bank Park: turf infield, grass outfield
- Fenway Park: grass field
- Memorial Stadium: grass field
- Nationals Park: turf infield, grass outfield
- Wrigley Park: grass field
3. Bring a Folding Chair to Ripken Experience or You Might be Doing a Lot of Standing
Camden Yards is like a minor league field complete with stadium seating, but for the other fields you’re generally going to have bring your own chair.
4. Ripken is Not Good for Young Kids
I brought my younger son to Ripken Experience, and he had a blast snagging foul balls and home runs during games (they tell you to return the balls that leave the field, but that command is largely ignored and we left the tournament with a bounty of about 20 balls).
For younger kids, or children who are not going to be happy running around in search of free baseballs, you’re going to struggle to keep them busy at Ripken. One good thing for these kids is that they space out your games. For example, we had one game Friday and one game Saturday, and there wasn’t down time at the facility during those days. Sunday is single-elimination play, so there’s the potential to be there for a while.
I know this is not always feasible, but I went to the tournament with only my two sons, and left my little one at home.
5. It’s Okay to Inquire About Your Kid’s Playing Time Before Heading to a Baseball Tournament
This is somewhat controversial, but I think it’s best for all parties if parents know BEFORE the tournament if the coach doesn’t plan on playing their kid much. One kid on our team basically sat the whole tournament, and I felt horrible for the parents, who had taken time off work, driven all the way to Maryland, and rented a room for two nights.
From my experience, coaches often feel a lot more pressure to win at big tournaments like Ripken and deviate from their normal practices for playing time. It’s not uncommon to see coaches play “ringers,” who have not played for the team during the season, and sit kids who’ve been mainstays in the lineup up to that point.
One thing about youth sports in general is that parents who have been previously happy about the coaching can flip out over a single perceived slight. I’ve even seen parents pull a kid from a team over decreased playing time during a tournament. Yes, this is reactionary, but we are all capable of emotional outbursts when it comes to our kids and sports.
Coaches at Ripken generally did a good job at playing all their players, batting the entire team eve though you are not required to, and rotating kids in the field. But if you think there’s a chance your kids is going to mostly sit, it’s not wrong to ask the coach about playing time before you commit to the tournament.
More Thoughts on Ripken
Read below for more about Ripken:
- Parking. The parking is amazing. It’s doesn’t cost anything and spaces are bountiful.
- No admission fee. Yes! It doesn’t cost a penny to enter the facility.
- Bring food. They do have concession stands, but unless you really like hotdogs and soda it pays to bring some food. Tragically, the nacho cheese machine was broken when we were there.
- Hotels. The Marriot Hotel at the facility is super cool, but the other hotels are perfectly fine, much cheaper, and only about five minutes from the fields. Our team got a team discount at one hotel, so definitely try to do that.
- Camden Yards is by far the best field. It’s a shame if you go to Ripken and don’t get to play at Camden yards, which is like a real minor league park modeled after the Orioles stadium. My son absolutely loved playing at that field. The other fields are basically the same as nice Little League fields with a nod to a famous park. For example, Fenway Park was a normal field with a tall green fence in left field.
Do you have any tips for visiting Ripken Experience? Let us know in the comments!
For information about the emotional side of baseball, see:
- How to Manage Your Kid’s Baseball Tantrums and Meltdowns
- How to Stop Being a Crazy Baseball Dad
- How to Be a Good Baseball Dad in the Backyard
- Are Local Little Leagues Bad for Baseball?
- Is It Now Fashionable to Hate On Baseball Dads?
For information on hitting, see:
- How to Get Out of a Hitting Slump
- 4 Best Baseball Batting Aids (No. 3 is Free)
- 4 Hitting Drills You Need to Do Before Every Game
- 4 Old School Baseball Drills You Need to Be Using
For information on pitching, see:
- What You Need to Know About Little League Elbow
- 4 Ways To Increase Your Kid’s Pitching Velocity
- Why I Don’t Let My Son Pitch in Little League
- Pitching and Head Injuries: What You Need to Know
- How to Make Sure Your Kid Isn’t Overpitched in Baseball
