Not all young baseball players have the opportunity to play in the Little League World Series. Likewise, not all Major League Baseball players have the opportunity to play in the World Series. But over the past 75 years, a select few have been lucky enough to appear in both.
Since the start of the Little League World Series in 1947, only 14 players have accomplished this rare feat. But let’s be clear on how to get involved in this highly exclusive club. While countless youngsters have appeared in regional action, we’re only talking about those who actually made it to Williamsport.
Along the same lines, the player must also have officially appeared in an MLB World Series match. To clarify the point, take the case of Andrew Stevenson. The Louisiana native represented his home state in the 2005 Little League World Series with Lafayette Little League, going 2-1 in pool before losing to eventual Hawaii champion in the quarter-finals of the elimination round.
In 2019, Stevenson played 30 regular-season games for the Washington Nationals and appeared as the pinch runner in the Nats’ Wild Card Game win over the Milwaukee Brewers, scoring the crucial tie in the 4-3 win. But he was barred from the Washington playoff roster for the remainder of the course, which means he obviously didn’t appear in the 2019 World Series. So he’s officially not included in this list of 14.
As for those that are, take a look.
Jim Barbieri — LLWS: 1953, 1954 (National LL-Schenectady, NY) — MLB: 1966
- Runner-up 1953 Little League World Series
- He won the Little League World Series of 1954
- Lost 1966 MLB World Series to LA Dodgers – 1 game: 1 AB, 1 SO
Boog Powell – LLWS: 1954 (Orange LL-Lakeland, FL) – MLB: 1961-1977
- Lost in the quarter-finals of the 1954 Little League World Series
- Appeared in four MLB World Series with the Baltimore Orioles (2-2) – 21 games: .234 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Rick Wise – LLWS: 1958 (Rose City LL-Portland, OR) – MLB: 1964-1982
- Lost in the quarter-finals of the 1958 Little League World Series
- Lost 1975 MLB World Series to Boston Red Sox – 2 games: 1-0, 5.1 IP, 8.44 ERA, 2 BB, 2 SO
Carney Lansford — LLWS: 1969 (Briarwood LL-Santa Clara, CA) — MLB: 1978-1992
- Lost in the 1969 Little League World Series Finals
- Appeared in three MLB World Series with Oakland A’s (1-2) – 13 games: .286 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Ed Vosberg — LLWS: 1973 (Cactus LL-Tucson, AZ) — MLB: 1986-2002
- Lost in the 1973 Little League World Series Finals
- Won 1997 MLB World Series with the Florida Marlins – 2 games: 0-0, 3 IP, 6.00 ERA, 3 BB, 2 SO
Charlie Hayes – LLWS: 1977 (Hub City LL-Hattiesburg, MS) – MLB: 1988-2001
- Lost in the quarter-finals of the 1977 Little League World Series
- Won 1996 MLB World Series with the New York Yankees – 5 games: .188 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Gary Sheffield – LLWS: 1980 (Belmont Heights LL-Tampa, FL) – MLB: 1988-2009
- Lost in the 1980 Little League World Series Finals
- Won 1997 MLB World Series with the Florida Marlins – 7 games: .292 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Derek Bell – LLWS: 1980, 1981 (Belmont Heights LL-Tampa, FL) – MLB: 1991-2001
- Lost in the 1980 Little League World Series Finals
- Lost in the 1981 Little League World Series Finals
- Won 1992 MLB World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays – 2 games: 2 PA, 1 BB
- He was a member of the 2000 New York Mets but did not appear in the 2000 MLB World Series
Jason Varitek – LLWS: 1984 (Almonte Springs National LL-Almonte Springs, FL) – MLB: 1997-2011
- Lost in the 1984 Little League World Series Finals
- Appeared in two MLB World Series with the Boston Red Sox (2-0) – 8 games: .250 BA, 0 HR, 7 RBI
Jason Marquis – LLWS: 1991 (South Shore American-Staten Island, NY) – MLB: 2000-2015
- Lost in the semifinals of the 1991 Little League World Series
- Lost 2004 MLB World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals – 2 games: 0-1, 7.0 IP, 3.86 ERA, 7 BB, 4 SO
Yusmeiro Petit — LLWS: 1994 (Coquivacoa LL-Maracaibo, Venezuela) — MLB: 2006-2021
- He won the Little League World Series in 1994
- Won 2014 MLB World Series with San Francisco Giants – 2 games: 1-0, 3.2 IP, 0 BB, 2 SO
Lance Lynn — LLWS: 1999 (Brownsburg LL-Brownsburg, IN) — MLB: 2011-presente
- He went 0-3 in pool in the 1999 Little League World Series
- Appeared in two MLB World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals (1-1) – 7 games: 1-1, 11.1 IP, 5.56 ERA, 7 BB, 9 SO
Michael Conforto — LLWS: 2004 (Redmond North LL-Redmond, WA) — MLB: 2015-2021
- He went 1-2 pool in the 2004 Little League World Series
- Lost 2015 MLB World Series to New York Mets – 5 games: .333 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Cody Bellinger — LLWS: 2007 (Chandler National LL-Chandler, AZ) — MLB: 2017-presente
- Lost in the quarter-finals of the 2007 Little League World Series
- Appeared in three MLB World Series with the LA Dodgers (1-2) – 18 games: .121 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBI
Statistics courtesy of LittleLeague.org and Baseball Reference
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