ESPN Announces 2010 Little League World Series Announcers

Last year many of you may remember my constant coverage of the Little League World Series. Unfortunately, and in part thanks to my vacation, I will be spending the better part of the next week and a half getting ready to return to college and therefore will not be able to put in the proper effort in closely following the LLWS that I normally do. For those into the LLWS that have not heard, there has been a major format change for this year. Instead of straight up pool play determining 2 teams from each pool to play in an 8-team knockout round, the LLWS is keeping the 4 pools but will change the format of pool play to double elimination resulting in 1 team from each pool advancing to a 4-team single elimination round consisting of the International Championship, the U.S. Championship, and the Little League World Series championship. From an ESPN press release:

For the first time, this year’s Little League World Series will feature a double-elimination format. The Little League World Series from Williamsport will begin with regional winners competing in the double-elimination round Friday, Aug. 20, including: New England (Fairfield, Conn.) vs. Northwest (Auburn, Wash.) at 1 p.m. on ESPN; Midwest (Plymouth, Minn.) vs. Southwest (Pearland, Texas) at 3 p.m. on ESPN; Caribbean (Puerto Rico) vs. Europe (Germany) at 6 p.m. on ESPN2; and Japan (Tokyo) vs. Mexico (Tamaulipas) at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. ABC will broadcast two games from the opening weekend: Southeast (Columbus, Ga.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii) Saturday, Aug. 21, at 3 p.m., and an elimination game between either Mid-Atlantic (Toms River, NJ)/Great Lakes (Hamilton, Ohio) vs. Southeast/West Sunday, Aug. 22, at 2 p.m.

Action will continue daily (excluding Friday, Aug. 27) through the Little League World Series consolation game Sunday, Aug. 29, at 11 a.m. on ESPN and Little League World Series Championship.

ESPN game commentators:

Double Elimination Round – Aug. 20-26

* Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser
* Karl Ravech and Bobby Valentine
* Jon Sciambi and Nomar Garciaparra
* Kyle Peterson and Adriana Monsalve will serve as roving reporters

Fun Fact: Hershiser and Garciaparra will achieve the broadcasting triple crown this season, contributing as game analysts to ESPN’s Major League Baseball, College World Series and Little League World Series coverage.

Single Elimination Round – Aug. 28-29

* Brent Musburger and analyst Hershiser will call the U.S., International and World Series Championships on ABC. Ravech, who will host ABC’s weekend coverage throughout the tournament, will call the third-place consolation game with Valentine.

ESPN will also televise a Little League World Series Web Gems/World Series Preview Presented by Subway, recapping the best defensive plays throughout the tournament and previewing the championship, Sunday, Aug. 29, at 1 p.m.

Last year, ESPN had Sean McDonough calling games pool play games for the LLWS behind Gary Thorne. Sean McDonough is one of my favorite announcers, but he was a fish out of water calling the Little League World Series. Sean McDonough's style of commentary did not jive well with 12-year old kids playing baseball. That being said, I can't say that ESPN is improving anything by re-inserting the walking disasters of Karl Ravech and Jon Sciambi.