Every year I try to catch the Little League World Series if I can. Considering the Yankees slipped to 7.5 games out of first this weekend it was a welcome distraction. It's amazing how good these kids are.
Both Japan and Georgia's starting pitchers were throwing in the high 60 / low 70's and had some movement on their pitches. Keep in mind these kids are only 12 years old. According the ESPN conversion that would be the equivalent of a 90 mph pitch in the Majors. I remember when I played little league there was one pitcher who could throw in the low 50's. Every time you faced him you feared for your life, closed your eyes, and just prayed that the ball made contact with the bat and not your face. These kids didn't even flinch at a 70 mph slider coming down the inside corner of the plate.
But really the greatest thing about watching the LLWC is seeing just how excited the kids get playing the game. There are no Barry Bonds type attitudes, no head hunting, just fundamentals and pure enthusiasm. In fact, when Dalton Carriker hit his game winning home run last night I was almost as thrilled as when Aaron Boone hit his 11th inning shot in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. That kid is now an instant hometown hero. It was also nice to see that after the game Georgia went over and hugged the Japanese players, including the pitcher who after giving up the game winning home run collapsed to the mound in tears.* It was the kind of thing that reminds us why we love sports so much.
I did a quick Wikipedia and Baseball almanac search and came up with a list of Major Leaguers who had their own shot at prepubescent glory. Here is what I came up with:
Dwight Gooden - (1979 World Series)
Gary Sheffield - (1980 World Series)
Jason Varitek - (1984 World Series)
Derek Bell - (1980, 1981 World Series)
None of the following former Little League players appeared in the Little League World Series, but they are the only former little leaguers who are also members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame: George Brett, Steve Carlton, Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, Jim Palmer, Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Carl Yastrzemski & Robin Yount.
*I am really resisting the urge to point out that there is no crying in baseball. I suppose it is ok when you are 12. Or maybe there is crying in baseball in Japan, I'm not sure.
1 comment:
I watched a bunch of the LLWS this year. Great stuff. I was rooting for the Walpole, MA team -- their pitcher threw a sick knuckle curve. After they were knocked out by Georgia, I liked the Curacao team, they just seemed like the biggest underdogs. Every team seemed like they had a few 6' monsters, and Curacao's biggest player was something like 5'6". There was one point when they had a 4'10" 94 lb pitcher matched against a 6', 182 lb behemoth pitching for the other team.
Ya gotta love all the walkoff homeruns this year, and there's always the requisite shot of the pitcher crying. It's okay, buddy! Get 'em next time!
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