Little League World Series -- a pretty good story

I had the chance to cover the Little league World Series for SumnerSports.com, a sports site in Sumner County, TN -- home of the Goodletsville Little League.

This is the story of the final game -- the end of their season, but by no means, the end.

I suggest you read the August 25th  post so that this one makes more sense.

Photos courtesy of my friend, Ron Trinca. Goodlettsville  Outdone by Japan in World Series Finale  It’s All Over – But the Shouting Will Continue By Herm Card

Williamsport, PA - There was certainly no lack of desire or effort from the  Goodlettsville Little Leaguers as they  took on the  International Champion,  Japan,  for the Little League World Championship, but three things worked against them. 

Probably the biggest was that in winning the United States Championship in a most improbable fashion – the stunning 24-16 marathon against Petaluma, CA – their pitching staff was depleted.  Japan, on the other hand, had their ace, 6’0”, 206 lb., Kotaro Kiyomiya  rested and ready.  The clincher – also improbable – was that Japan’s leadoff hitter, Noriatsu Osaka, unloaded three home runs and a triple to set a LLWS record with 15 total bases in the game.  Japan hit 5 homers on the day, and it was Osaka’s third, a two run shot in the bottom of the fifth that ended the game 12-2 as the 10-run advantage rule took effect.


Kiyomiya struck out eight and, despite early wildness, only walked one in his four innings on the mound.  The only hit he gave up?  Not much of a surprise – Brock Myers drilled his fifth homerun of the series, having hit one in each game.  Osaka relieved Kiyomiya in the fifth, giving up G’ville’s only other hit.  Again, not a big surprise as Lorenzo Butler ripped his fourth homer in two days, tying Myers with 10 RBIs for the series, though he got his 10 in just two days.

In the post game press conference, Myers, Butler and manager Joey Hale defied the logic of ABC’s famous “The thrill of victory,  the agony of defeat,” tag line – anyone walking in in the middle would have been hard pressed to tell whether they had won or lost.

When asked a somewhat typical question – “are you more sad or disappointed” – apparently  looking for an “oh woe is me” type response, Myers, all of 12 years old and yet apparently media savvy, said “We’re the second best team in the world.  I’m OK with that.”
 
And so, it seems, is Tennessee.  The team will be introduced at halftime of the Vanderbilt – South Carolina football game on Thursday in Nashville.  There are other events planned for them, celebrations, interviews, parades.  There will be other accolades heaped on them – and then these champions will be back in school – turning their attention to whatever other sports and activities junior high students are involved in. 

Next year, Little League will be a thing of the past.  They will move on to higher levels of baseball.  They may win, they may not.  Some may again play in front of 25,000 plus  fans and a few million more on TV, but most will not.  Regardless of what happens next year or any year, they will always carry the memory of a glorious season with them.  

Manager Hale, and his staff – Joey’s Dad Jerry, and Steve Snyder, would love to bring another team back to Williamsport next year, but they know from experience it’s hard work.   “You just go out and do the best you can,” said Hale. “They worked all winter to get to this point. All that hard work paid off.”

When told that the team’s parents looked a lot more tired than his team had, Hale praised them for their dedication and support.  “We wouldn’t have been here without those parents,” said Hale.  Those parents, as the chance for victory had become less with each Kitasuna home run, had continued to cheer their team, continued to root, continued with the type of support that bore out Joey Hale’s praise.


Now, as it turns out, it would have been a pretty good story if the team from Goodlettsvile, population a bit over 16 thousand had knocked off the team from Tokyo, population a bit more than 8 million.  It would have been a pretty good story if they had been able to rally against Japan as Petaluma had rallied against them, coming from almost impossibly far behind to tie the game.  It would have been a pretty good story if the Little League World Championship banner was packed in Joey Hale’s suitcase.

But – that’s not the story.  The story is that after  Petaluma rallied for ten  runs, and these twelve-year-olds from Tennessee dug down and put 9 back on the board – and after the Kitasuna Little Leaguers out-pitched and out-hit them and no comeback was possible,  the kids from Goodlettsville walked to home plate and shook  hands with kids pretty much like themselves,  and the parents cheered and applauded and wiped away the occasional  tear that is a consequence of parenthood, and – win or lose, it all looked pretty much the same – game over, on to something else.

So, in the end, it’s the United States Little League Championship banner packed in Joey Hale’s suitcase, and that’s more than just a pretty good story. That’s a great story.