Congratulations to SoCal’s Green Monsters !!

By Rabbi Rabbs
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Updated: July 29, 2018

(Chula Vista’s Park View Little League Coach Jorge Alonzo empties a water bucket over the head of his son, Conner “66” Alonzo, after Park View beat Huntington Valley Little League of Huntington Beach, 5-2, Saturday at Aliso Viejo Little League in Aliso Viejo, to win the 2018 Southern California Championship. Photo courtesy of Jon “All Around Good Guy” Bigornia.)

Congratulations to The Green Monsters of Park View Little League in Chula Vista on winning the 2018 Southern California Little League Championship !! Mazal tov !!

The Green Monsters will now represent all of Southern California at the West Region tournament to be held at Alfred E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino, starting Sun., Aug. 5. There, SoCal’s Monsters will compete against teams representing NorCal, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. The upcoming regional tournament’s winner will earn a trip to represent the West at next month’s Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA.

SoCal has absolutely dominated the West, winning that regional tournament the past three straight years, and six times in the last nine. Park View in particular has led the way, winning the region in 2009 on its road to capturing that year’s World Series title, and then again winning the West in 2016, when I unfortunately was unable to attend due to not having transportation.

I had so badly wanted to go to San Bernardino to support SoCal that year, but did not have money to fix my car. True story. But now, this crazy uncle has been given a second chance, a new opportunity to raise the roof for his beloved Park View community, as my car was finally repaired, and that Chula Vista team has returned to San Bernardino. So awesome! Thank you, G-d, for making all of that happen for me within two years!

The Monsters will try to give Park View its third West championship, and SoCal its seventh West championship, all in the past 10 years.

Saturday, the Monsters earned their right to represent SoCal by defeating an excellent Huntington Valley Little League team from Huntington Beach, 5-2, in the SoCal finals hosted by Aliso Viejo Little League in Aliso Viejo. Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together and give Huntington Valley a nice round of applause. That was a superb team that faced Park View.

In fact, Huntington Valley held a 2-1 lead over its Chula Vista opponent until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Joseph “Joe Man” Anderson said enough is enough already, and came up absolutely huge by belting a clutch game-winning two-run double to right field. Joe Man delivered the boom to make the score, 3-2, in favor of the Monsters. Joe Man should be called “Domino’s”, because he delivers.

At a team celebration party held in a backyard after the game, Joe Man relaxed in a Jacuzzi while relaying through his mother, Marie “JoeMama” Giblin-Anderson, answers to CaliSports News’ questions regarding his at bat. The young catcher “didn’t want to hit a pop up,” Joe Man reportedly told CSN. Instead, he “wanted to hit a line drive to bring the runners in to get the lead.”

And bringing home the runners is exactly what Joe Man did.

(Joseph “Joe Man” Anderson belts the game-winning two-run double in the fourth inning Saturday to give Chula Vista’s Park View Little League a 3-2 lead. PVLL would go on to win, 5-2, at Aliso Viejo Little League in Aliso Viejo. Photo courtesy of Jon “All Around Good Guy” Bigornia.)

Then, Conner “66” Alonzo said let’s keep it going, and followed Joe Man’s at bat by smacking a single to drive in another run to make it 4-2, before finally, Kainoa “Island Prime” Baptista said we are not done yet, and added his own RBI to cap PVLL’s gigantic four-run rally, which gave The Monsters a comfortable 5-2 lead.

Michael “Big Mike” Rodríguez had opened the scoring for Park View by hitting a solo home run shot in the 2nd inning. But, Huntington Valley answered right back in the 3rd inning with solo homers from Tony Martínez, who had been a beast all summer long, and from Gage Everson.

On the mound, the Monsters had yet another brilliant tag team pitching performance. First, Big Mike, in his first appearance on the hill this entire summer, kept the score close while Park View’s bats had not yet fully come to life, as he pitched the first three innings, and only gave up two runs on three hits. Then, 66 took over, and pitched phenomenally in relief, picking up the victory by going his own three innings, giving up no runs, only one hit, and one walk.

Joe Man reportedly told CSN that after hitting his game-winning double that “it felt great to go out to catch for Conner knowing we had the lead. Conner made it happen.”

(Conner “66” Alonzo celebrates on the mound after striking out the final batter to give Chula Vista’s Park View Little League a victory Saturday that earned The Green Monsters the Southern California Championship. Photo courtesy of Jon “All Around Good Guy” Bigornia.)

As for Joe Man, in addition to hitting the game-winner, only one ball reportedly got by the young catcher.

“He played the very best game of his little lifetime!” JoeMama told CSN about her son.

What an amazing game between, in Rabbi “Where Is My Car Flag” Rabbs‘ much-documented opinion, clearly the two most outstanding teams in all of Southern California, each of which deserved to meet against the other in the finals. Great, great match-up.

In The Green Monsters, Huntington Valley Advance To Final 10 !! back on July 18, Where Is My Car Flag wrote that Chula Vista’s Park View Little League and Huntington Beach’s Huntington Valley Little League “may well be on a collision course to meet in the finals of the 2018 Little League Southern California Championship tournament.” Well, that is exactly what had happened. Those two super heavyweights had been rocket ships on a collision course, and on Saturday they finally crashed into each other.

(Chula Vista’s Park View Little League and Huntington Beach’s Huntington Valley Little League had been rocket ships on a collision course, burning through the sky, traveling at the speed of light. Once again, Queen.)

Yeah, I had hinted to that championship game match-up 11 days ago. I have made similar forecasts in hockey, and as a result, a few years back, I picked up the nickname of “Nostrapuckus”.

With the victory, Park View improved its record this summer to a perfect 11-0. The Monsters have still never been taken to extra innings, and only once played in a game decided by one run, and that came against Chula Vista American Little League of Chula Vista. Hey, they don’t call that league the Monster Slayer for no reason. So give it up for CVALL!

With all of that, The Monsters proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that their own Chula Vista team is the best in Southern California, and perhaps in the entire world, as that will be determined one way or another within coming weeks.

And what did Nostrapuckus tell us back in May near the very top of my very first Little League article, about how Chula Vista has become the Little League capital of America? Told ya’ so! Here is my updated map version 2.0, as it has been pointed out to me that the capital’s borders must extend to the Pacific Coast, and to the Mexican border, because when we include the 11-year-olds and what not, the capital is not merely The Three-Headed Chula Vista/Bonita Monster, but the entire California District 42:

(The Little League Capital of America. Artwork courtesy of Rabbi “Where Is My Car Flag” Rabbs.)

As for 11-year-olds, congratulations to District 42’s Sweetwater Valley Little League in Bonita which plays Sunday in the SoCal title game for 11s.

Speaking of maps and geography, The Green Monsters now represent far more than merely Park View or Chula Vista or District 42 or even South San Diego County. Our little Monsters now represent all of Southern California.

The Monsters will be referred to as “Southern California” by the Little League officials and public address announcer in San Bernardino, by ESPN on TV, and by many of the fans inside Houghton Stadium, and certainly by the thousands watching on TV, and by the multitudes following the action in the headlines. So, to this crazy uncle’s nieces and nephews, now is the time to prepare for chanting, “We are SoCal !!”, and “Let’s Go SoCal !!”

I think we can even go with: “Let’s Go SoCal’s Green Monsters !!” Nothing wrong with that. SoCal fans from all over the Southland that until now have had nothing to do with San Diego teams will soon dig that they are rooting for Monsters, just as they embraced their Blue Bombers back in 2009. Trust me. I was one of those such fans back then.

Another reason to refer to ourselves as Southern California is that sadly, I am afraid to say it, but some SoCal fans unfortunately will never join in on a cheer that mentions PVLL, because those fans for whatever reasons, seem to not like any mention of Park View. Let us be honest, PVLL has taken so much of what I consider as undeserved heat throughout the past few weeks.

(Artwork courtesy of Rabbi “Where Is My Car Flag” Rabbs.)

We don’t care, but this crazy rabbi believes we can embrace even our biggest critics, and transform even them into supporters. I say let us welcome them to be part of us rather than having them heckle us.

That is something Nostrapuckus discovered from performing as a professional comedian in major venues. I occasionally faced hecklers in my audiences, and America’s Favorite Rabbi Comedian learned that a way to deal with critics, at least for me, was rather than fighting against them, I would try to embrace them, and to bring them on board as fans. Fortunately, I found that doing so often worked, as those skeptics would soon join the rest of my audiences in laughing. Just watch:

(America’s Favorite Rabbi Comedian handles an audience member while performing in 2002 at the World Famous Improv in the Irvine Spectrum, not far from Aliso Viejo, proving once again that comedians are usually head cases. Footage courtesy of Rabbi “Where Is My Car Flag” Rabbs.)

So, that is my two shekels on what to chant at the upcoming West Region tournament. I am so much looking forward to those games. Attending that annual tourney is probably my favorite week of each year. SoCal opens its West Region action against the team representing its bitter rival NorCal, on Sun., Aug. 5., and CaliSports News will follow all of SoCal’s action. So stay with CSN, SoCal’s undisputed leader in Little League coverage. Until then, stay tuned and don’t stop us now !!

And for the love of life, someone kindly please furnish Nostrapuckus with a Green Monsters car flag. If the flags are inexpensive, I will gladly buy two of them, and place them on the Rabbsmobile faster than a rocket ship on its way to Mars. I cannot wait to roll into San Bernardino with my car waving a pair of Park View flags!

Let’s Go SoCal’s Green Monsters !!