There are two governing orgs in youth baseball, Little League (LLWS) and Babe Ruth League (Ripken) depending on where you live or choose to play. LL age cutoff is 9/1 and BRL is 5/1 which results in split grade teams for the most part. After age 12 the 5/1 cutoff is universal. Most elite baseball tournaments allow for age and grade so you will have levels that look like 2026/15U, 2027/14U, and so forth. So the good news is there’s still a place for 16 y/o Johnny to play down against 14U competition. Most club teams in the area are grade based and yes holdbacks are trending but not nearly to the level in lacrosse. What’s interesting is that rosters & player profiles with ages are readily available on baseball tournament websites, unheard of to see a roster let alone an age on a Lax tourney site. | 
