It's one of the best sporting events of the summer. The Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which features hundreds of young ballplayers from around the globe.
But what happens to some of these kids when they're all grown up?
That's our question from Leigh D. of Houston, who asks, "I am wondering if any LLWS player or players have ever played in the major/minor leagues?"
We have the answer.
Sources: Little League Baseball and Major League Baseball.
Through the first 75 years of the Little League World Series, Little League Baseball says it has a total of 64 'confirmed' graduates who've gone on to play in the big leagues. The first was Jim Barbieri of Schenectady, New York, who played in the Little League World Series in both 1953 and 1954, respectively, and was later a member of the 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers, according to Major League Baseball.
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The most recent ‘graduate?’ Yonny Hernandez from the Venezuela team. which went to Williamsport in 2011. He made his Major League debut in 2021, per MLB.com.
Some former Little League World Series players have made it big in the majors. Boog Powell (1954), for example, was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1970; plus Gary Sheffield (1980), a nine-time Major League All-Star and Cody Bellinger (2007), the National League’s MVP in 2019.
So, yes, we can verify: While it's rare, there are players who appeared in the Little League World Series and grew up to be Major Leaguers.