The SLOYB League Age & Division chart below shows the progression of the Divisions compared to the League Age.  The "Approximate School Grade" is also shown as a reference point since League Age and grade do not always line up when kids are "young or old for their grade."  Players are placed in the Division based upon their League Age, which is calculated from their birthday using the Cal Ripken / Babe Ruth standards. 

SLOYB supports players that are advanced or in need of a little more development by allowing "playing up" or "playing down" respectively. Please follow the instructions on the registration form. 

The Minors Division and Farm Division overlap to best accommodate the skill level of each player that are League Age 9 and 10. For more information on these and the other divisions, please read the sections below. 

Spring Season Divisions of Play

San Luis Obispo Youth Baseball is excited to offer eight divisions for the 2023 spring season:

Pee Wee: Ages 3.6 to 4  
Pee Wee is a non-competitive program (no scores are kept) and is a entry level to baseball for our youngest players. The players hit off of a batting tee, which is height adjusted for a level swing and bat through the entire line-up for the entire game. 1 Game per week on Saturday and there is no practice during the week. 

Collegiate: Ages 5 to 6
Collegiate is a non-competitive program (no scores are kept) and is designed to teach the basics of baseball.  The division is machine pitch (and tee), and uses a lightweight dimple ball. Recommended for 5 and 6 year olds, and beginning 7 yr olds. Teams are formed by school and game length is 3 innings or 1 hour 30 minutes. One practice and one game per week.

Rookie: Ages 7 to 8  
This division is intended for players transitioning from the Collegiate Division. This division will consist of a combination of machine and kid pitch (from 40' mound), with the use of regular baseballs. Recommended for 7 and 8 year olds, and advanced 6 year olds who have played 1+ year of Collegiate (see below for detail on request process). Teams are formed by school and game length is 6 innings or 1 hour 30 minutes. One to two practices per week and two games per week.

Farm: Ages 9 to 10 
Farm is a transitional division, designed to prepare players for the next level of baseball.  This division will consist of a combination of machine and kid pitch (from 46' mound), with the use of regular baseballs.  Recommended for 9 year olds and beginning 10 year olds. Advanced 8 year olds can  who have played 1+ year of Rookie can request to play up (see below for detail on request process). Teams are formed by Board Coordinators (to provide equal teams); school will be a factor in player placement, but is not the sole determination. Game length is 6 innings or 1 hour 30 minutes. One to two practices per week and maximum of two games per week.

Minors: Ages 9 to 10  
Minors is a competitive draft based division; all players planning to play in the Minors Division must attend 1 of the evaluation days prior to the season starting.  Games are entirely kid pitch (from 46' mound), with open base stealing. Recommended for 10 year olds and  experienced 9 year olds.  Beginning 11 year olds can request to play down, and highly advanced 8 year olds can request to play up, but must be drafted  by the end of the 3rd round. Teams are formed by player draft based on the evaluation.  Any eligible player not selected in the Minors draft will be placed onto a Farm Division team. Game length is 6 innings or 1 hour 45 minutes. One to two practices per week and two games per week.

Majors: Ages 11 to 12
Majors is a competitive draft based division.  Games are kid pitch (from 50' mound) with 70' bases. Players will lead off and learn to hold runners on, with open bases for stealing.  Recommended for 11 and 12 year olds, and highly advanced 10 year olds who have played 1+ year of Minors (see below for detail on request process).  All 12 year old players will be drafted (unless a request is made to play down). Remaining slots will be filled with 11 year olds (and top ranked 10 year olds).  Any eligible player not selected by Majors will be drafted onto a Minors Division team. Teams are formed by player draft based on Spring Training Evaluation. All players planning to play in the Majors Division must attend one of the Spring Training sessions. Game length is 6 innings. One to two practices per week and two games per week.

This division will participate in an interleague season with Five Cities Cal Ripken Majors Division, where some games will be held in Pismo.

Babe Ruth: Ages 12 to 15 
This division is meant for our Junior High aged kids and is played on a 54/80 diamond. Teams are formed by draft. If your child is league age 12, but in junior high please email the league for acceptance into the Jr high league.

2024 Season 

The 2024 season will run from early March through the end of May. Teams will play 10 to 12 games, plus an end of season playoff tournament. For an up to date season schedule visit our Season Calendar for more important dates

Player Ages and Divisions

Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken Organizations determine player ages by the April 30th of that year (May 1st is the cut off).  2024 ages will be determined by the following ranges.  You can visit www.baberuthleague.org to view their player age chart.

Birthday Range per Division (2024)

Pee Wee: May 1, 2019 (4 yr old) - Aug 30, 2020 (3.6 yr old)

Collegiate: May 1, 2017 (6 yr old) - April 30, 2019 (5 yr old)

Rookie: May 1, 2015 (8 yr old) - April 30, 2017 (7 yr old)

Farm: May 1, 2013 (10 yr old) - April 30, 2015 (9 yr old)

Minors: May 1, 2013 (10 yr old) - April 30, 2015 (9 yr old)

Majors: May 1, 2011 (12 yr old) - April 30, 2013 (11yr old)

Jr High: May 1, 2008 (15 yr old) - April 30, 2011 (13yr old)

Coaching
Anyone interested in coaching should contact the league by January 15, 2023. More information on how to apply to be a SLO Youth Baseball coach is available here: Coaching

If you would like to request that your player be considered for an older or younger age group/division, you should:

1. Register the player in the age-appropriate division

2. The registration form includes a text-field called "Request to play different division" which should be completed with the reason for requesting change in division. 

If you already completed the registration and want to request a change send an email request to the league at sloyouthbaseball@gmail.com by February 1st, including the following information:

    - Player name

    - Player birthday

    - Reason for requesting change in division

Requests to play out of age division will be reviewed by the league board. Determination of whether a request will be granted will be based on space availability in each division and player experience level.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

SLO Youth Baseball provides a scholarship program to lower or waive the league entry fee for families requiring financial assistance. Our goal is to include all interested kids from the San Luis Obispo community in our program.

To inquire about the league's scholarship program, please email sloyouthbaseball@gmail.com.