Youth Marketing Manager John Rowland of Ripken Baseball joined the Norris and Long show as the Ripken World Series begins.

How popular has the Ripken World Series become? Well, Rowland says, "Every year it seems that the crowds are just getting larger, and the international awareness is growing. There's definitely a hunger for youth baseball in this level of play and every year it grows bigger."

For the Ripken World Series there are 18 teams that come on site to Aberdeen, Maryland. There are usually 10 domestic teams from both the east and west coast and then eight international teams, from places like Korea, Japan and New Zealand.

International representation, good, quality baseball and plenty of events are what's in store for the kids that take part in the Ripken World Series. "From the day they check in, they head down to the Under Armour headquarters and they get their jerseys, and their eyes absolutely light up. From day one, we're giving them that big league experience."

Hear about the Korean team meeting Hyun Soo Kim, the rest of the events and more stories from Youth Marketing Manager John Rowland below: