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Age Appropriate Types of Baseballs and Softballs

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Now that you know more about baseballs than just about anyone else on your child’s team, let’s dive into age-appropriate baseballs that are available on the market.

Please note: If you arrived on this page via search engine, you may want to read Different Types of Baseballs by Age Group.

Table of Contents

Ages 1 through 4 (pre-kindergarten)

There aren’t any specific youth baseballs suited for kids this age.

Toddlers at this stage have small hands so it’s better to buy some small soft balls like cushy balls to teach them proper throwing and catching techniques.

Remember, fear of catching is a learned response so using soft balls would encourage kids to try different ways of catching without worrying about getting hurt.

Around 4 years old, I would suggest buying a dozen IncrediBall soft stich “baseballs” to get them a good feel for the baseball. However, these are firmer version of cushy balls so she can’t really get hurt.

The most important thing to remember is that you do not want your kid to get hurt where she will be be turned off so take it easy and have fun!

Commonly Used Training Baseballs for 1-4 Year Old Players

All these training baseballs are excellent options for your young child but if I need to pick just one, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Easton INCREDIball for its feel and very little risk to injury.

Both my son and daughter learned to throw with it and I found it to be highly effective. Also, I would recommend getting more than one to minimize the time it takes to retrieve it after an errant throw. (checkout Easton INCREDIball pictures and prices here)

T-ball (pre kindergarten) – McGregor MCB56TBX or MCB5SV01

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Ages 4 through 5 (kindergarten)

Most commonly referred to as T-ball league, most players in this age bracket are pre-kindergarten or ion kindergarten.

Young players in this age bracket needs to build confidence as they practice catching and throwing with their small hands.

Commonly Used Baseballs for 4 to 5 Year Old Players

Most leagues (i.e. Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken, Little League, PONY, etc.) create a T-ball division for players in this age bracket.

Pre-Kindergarten Tee Ball (t ball) vs Kindergarten Tee Ball (t-ball)

Not all leagues offer a distinction between Pre-K tee ball regular tee ball. If your local league offers a pre-k t-ball, I would recommend that you use a softest possible t-ball for your young players.

For the latest product reviews and recommendations, I highly suggest that you read the What Kind of Balls Are Used in T-Ball League post.

It contains detailed information on eight most popular T-ball baseballs not found anywhere else.

Baseball brands like McGregor, Spalding and Wilson are league-specific but they all have the same common goal of reducing injury risk.

T-ball (kindergarten) – McGregor MCB56TBX or MCB5SV01

  • Baden T-Ball Safety Baseballs – sponge rubber core for softness; synthetic raised cover;
  • MacGregor (McGregor) MCB56TBX – rubber core to minimize speed coming off bats; comes with Vyntan synthetic leather cover;
  • Precision Impact Flex Ball – rubber core with polyurethane cover;
  • Rawlings Youth Tball TVB – sponge and rubber center; synthetic leather cover; conforms to official size and weight compared to standard baseballs;
  • Wilson A1217 Soft Compression Baseballs – sponge rubber center for softness; composite leather cover (not genuine leather)

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Ages 5 through 6 (1st grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Farm A (Cal Ripken), Minor (Little League), AA (Dixie) and Shetland (Pony).

Most common baseballs used at this level are:

Farm A (1st grade) – McGregor MCB5SV05

Recommended baseball for first graders – I do like Rawlings ROTB5 but they seem to be slightly harder than the rest so I highly recommend MacGregor’s Model MCB5SV05 baseballs for its superior leather grip, high durability and raised seams.

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Ages 7 through 8 (2nd grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Farm AA (Cal Ripken), Minor (Little League), AA (Dixie) and Mustangs (Pony).

Baseballs at this begins to resemble very closely to professional grade baseballs (without the hard core/windings).

Also keep in mind that two different models from Rawlings is purely cosmetic (brand stamping).

Recommended baseball for second graders – I recommend MacGregor’s Model MCB5SV10baseballs due to it’s thicker leather cover which make baseballs more durable.

Farm AA (2nd grade) – McGregor MCB5SV05

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Ages 8 through 9 (3rd grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Minors 46/60 (Cal Ripken), Minor/Major (Little League), AAA Minors (Dixie) and Broncos (Pony).

Recommended baseball for third graders++

Although my preference is MacGregor’s Model MCB74CAL baseballs due to it’s thick leather cover, Rawlings baseballs are just as good. You can’t go wrong with picking any one of these baseballs.

Minors (3rd & 4th grades) – McGregor MCB74CAL

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Ages 9 through 10 (4th grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Minors 46/60 or Majors 50/70 (Cal Ripken), Major (Little League), AAA Minors (Dixie) and Broncos (Pony).

Baseballs used by these players are similar to those used for 8-9 year old players (see above).

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Ages 10 through 11 (5th grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Majors 50/70 (Cal Ripken), Major (Little League), AAA Minors or Majors (Dixie) and Pony (Pony).

Baseballs used by these players are similar to those used for 8-9 year old players (see above).

Majors 5th (5th grades) – McGregor MCB74CAL

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Ages 11 through 12 (6th grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Majors 50/70 (Cal Ripken), Intermediate 50/70 (Little League), Majors (Dixie) and Pony (Pony).

Baseballs used by these players are similar to those used for 8-9 year old players (see above).

Majors 6th (6th and 7th grades) – McGregor MCB74CAL

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Ages 12 through 13 (7th grade)

Players in this age bracket start out playing at 12u in spring and transition into 13u in fall (if fall baseball is available).

As players hit the 13 year old ark, most leagues start to transition players onto “big” fields (a.k.a. 60/90 or MLB regulation sized fields).

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Pony (Cal Ripken), Junior (Little League), Majors (Dixie) and Pony (Pony).

Baseballs used by these older kids are almost as hard as the high school grade baseballs.

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Although my preference is MacGregor Model MCB74CXX baseballs but Rawlings Rawlings RSLL1 baseballs are just as good so you can’t go wrong with picking any one of these baseballs.

Senior (7th, 8th and 9th grades) – Rawling Seniors

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Ages 13 through 14 (8th grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Pony or Seniors (Cal Ripken), Junior (Little League), Colts (Pony) and Junior (American Legion).

Baseballs are the same ones used for the 12-13 year old players.FOR HIGH SCHOOL GAMES Please note that as of 2022, NFHS has modified its rules to require that all game balls have the SEI/NOCSAE certification mark AND NFHS Authentication Mark. If home or visiting teams are unable to provide baseballs meeting these two requirements, the home plate umpire may prevent the game from going forward (See NFHS 2022 Rules)

Senior (7th, 8th and 9th grades) – Rawling Seniors

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Ages 14 through 15 (9th grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Seniors (Cal Ripken), Junior (Little League), Colts or Palominos (Pony) and Junior (American Legion).

Baseballs are the same ones used for the 12-13 year old players.

Senior (7th, 8th and 9th grades) – Rawling Seniors

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Ages 15 through 16 (10th grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Seniors or babe Ruth (Cal Ripken), Junior or Senior (Little League) and Palominos (Pony).

Although my preference is MacGregor Model MCB74CXX baseballs but Rawlings Rawlings RBRO(1) Babe Ruth or Wilson Model RS A1082 baseballs are fine choices as well

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Ages 16 through 17 (11th grade)

Players in this age bracket are referred to as Babe Ruth (Cal Ripken), Senior (Little League), Palomino (Pony) and Junior (American Legion).

Most teams at this level use Diamond baseballs which are known for high quality leather and accurately shaped baseballs.

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Ages 17 through 18 (12th grade)

Same baseballs are used as 11th graders.

Babe Ruth – Rawlings RBRO(1) Babe Ruth

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