In baseball, a key word for success is consistency. Through the years, the Mifflin County Babe Ruth League has been very successful because of its consistent play. How consistent?

How about 90 times in the Pennsylvania Babe Ruth Final Four.

The Final Four might not mean as much today as it once did because leagues in Pennsylvania are not playing tournament ball.

But, finishing in the Final Four should not be taken for granted. For instance, this past weekend for the Mifflin County 13-year-olds in Broomall. The team does not have any superstar players, but it plays good defense and has good pitching.

There were only six teams in the tournament and Mifflin County went 1-2 and only allowed 12 runs. That got them third place and a trip to the Mid-Atlantic Regionals. It also marked the 90th time that a Mifflin County team made the state’s Final Four.

I was the first person in the Babe Ruth circles to use the term Final Four (1977). The state commissioner at the time, the late Charlie Hoyer (Phoenixville) told me that was a basketball term.

Now it is used in every sport in every post season.

But, why did I start using it in 1977? The first Mifflin County team that made the state’s Babe Ruth Final Four was the 1960 14-15-year-old All-Star team.

That team set the bench mark for years for Mifflin County teams as it was the first state champion and finished second in the Mid-Atlantic Regionals. In 1968, the 14-15-year-olds were third in the state.

Then in 1969, Mifflin County went to two all-star teams with the formation of the 13-year-old all-stars. From 1969 to 1976, Mifflin County would always put one of its teams in the Final Four, while the other one never qualified.

In 1977, that all changed. At the state tournament in Phoenixville, Jimmy Harmon got the Mifflin County All-Stars off to a great start as he pitched a five-hit shutout against Pennsbury in the opening game of the tourney.

Mifflin County lost to Phoenixville, 14-3 (Phoenixville went on to win the state title.) Harmon then pitched Mifflin County to a 6-2 win over Spring-Ford. Mifflin County dropped a 6-5 game to Blue Valley in nine innings to finish fourth. Mifflin County trailed 5-0 going into the seventh, but rallied as Pete Roth tied the game on a three-run homer.

At the 13-year-old level, Mifflin County played its state tournament in Hazleton. Again, Mifflin County opened its tournament with a 5-2 win over Pennsbury. Bill Goss was the star pitcher as he threw a five-hitter. Marshall Hafer helped clinch the game with a two-run double in the seventh.

Mifflin County picked up three more wins against Freeland, Spring-Ford and another against Pennsbury. Mifflin County lost twice to Phoenixville, which won the state title.

And so it was in 1977 for the first time that both of the Mifflin County teams were in the Final Four. I used the term for the first time in The Sentinel, so that the players and coaches would know that they did something special. Also it was a good tool to use to motivate teams to the next level (state titles).

How consistent has Mifflin County been? Since 1983, Mifflin County has been in the final four 78 times. West End of Williamsport is second in that time span with 56, while Broomall-Newtown has 54 appearances.

In the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, Mifflin County has made the Final Four 19 times and in the World Series three times. In fact, one of the most exciting days of my Babe Ruth career came Ottumwa, Iowa in 2016 when the13-year-olds made the league’s first national Final Four.

Over the weekend, the Mifflin County 13-year-olds brought the Final Four numbers to 90. It’s a number the league and the county should be proud of. That is what consistency is all about.

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Ray Wilde covers Babe Ruth baseball for The Sentinel.