Cal Ripken World Series Moving Out of Aberdeen

The Cal Ripken World Series is moving out of Aberdeen, organizers confirmed Wednesday.

For 17 years, the weeklong youth baseball tournament has attracted elite 11- and 12-year-old players from around the world. The Cal Ripken World Series draws 10 U.S. teams as well as 8 international teams to a tournament that is the culmination of the Babe Ruth League’s 12 and under Cal Ripken Division. In recent years, the tournament has been played at The Ripken Experience Aberdeen powered by Under Armour, including Cal Sr.’s Yard, which is a youth-sized replica of Camden Yards.

But the 18th Cal Ripken World Series will be taking place somewhere outside Aberdeen.

Ripken Baseball "didn't want to host it anymore," Robert Faherty, commissioner for the Babe Ruth League, which runs the tournament, told The Baltimore Sun. He said that it costs approximately $100,000 to host the event each year.

It remains to be seen where the next Cal Ripken World Series will be held.

Since the Cal Ripken World Series has been hosted in Aberdeen (in 2003), there has been a tradition of including a host team from Harford County and a Maryland team to represent the state. At the 2016 event, both happened to be local — the Hickory Hornets and Bel Air Braves represented Harford County and Team Maryland, respectively. Photo from the 2016 Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen courtesy of Ripken Baseball/Maroon PR.