Diary of Little League’s West Region Tournament
- Updated: August 12, 2018
(Makai Corpuz carries the California flag while leading the Southern California team, represented by Chula Vista’s Park View Little League, onto the field at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino during the opening ceremonies of the 2018 West Region Little League tournament held on Sun., Aug. 5. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
Welcome to Rabbi Rabbs‘ diary of the 2018 West Region Little League tournament held at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino. Because this is CaliSports News, Southern California’s undisputed leader in Little League coverage, we shall focus the diary on SoCal’s team. That is what CSN’s readers want, and CSN believes in giving its readers what they want. So, let us begin with SoCal’s first tournament game.
Sun., Aug. 5:
Southern California opened with a battle against its arch-rival, Northern California. NorCal jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, reminiscent of what La Mesa’s Cajon De Oro Little League had done during a SoCal Section 7 game last month. In that contest, the SoCal representative, Chula Vista’s Park View Little League, fought right back, not only tying the score, and capturing the lead, but blew Cajon De Oro right out of the ballpark, by winning 17-2 in only three innings by a 15-run mercy rule.
Park View had similar plans against the Tri City Little League team of Rocklin that represented NorCal. Sure enough, not only did SoCal fight back to grab the lead, but likewise blew away the Tri City team, 16-8, while led by baseball’s latest back-to-back home run combination.
First there was Babe Ruth followed in the batting order by Lou Gehrig. Somewhat recently there was the Bash Brothers, José Canseco followed by Mark McGwire. Sunday night at Houghton Stadium it was SoCal’s Michael Rodríguez who batted third followed by clean-up hitter José Mendoza.
Together, “Big Mike” and “Guero” combined for five homers against NorCal, twice going back-to-back. Big Mike belted three dingers during that game, the third of which was a grand slam. The first two were each two-run homers, giving Mikey a whopping eight runs batted in on the night. Eight!! Who does that? And with 12 total bases recorded after only five at bats, Rodríguez’s slugging percentage went soaring through the roof higher than his home runs soared into the night sky above San Bernardino. Let us take a look at all three of his homers:
(First home run. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
(Second home run. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
(The encore. The third and final home run, a grand slam. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
And look at how Big Mike’s father, Jesús Rodríguez, reacts:
(Exclusive photo for CaliSports News courtesy of Steve Wood.)
Getting back to the Big Mike/Guero combo, let me set that up for us. The second time through Park View’s batting order, Rodríguez blasted his first homer, and it flew over the left field fence. The fence at Houghton Stadium is 225 feet away, so I would estimate Mikey’s homer traveled about 600 feet give or take 100. No, that is an exaggeration, but wow, what a shot he delivered. Then, Tri City immediately brought in a new pitcher. The next batter up was Mendoza, and the right-handed batter belted a homer over the right field fence.
Okay. Righties do not often bang one over the right field wall, but that happens occasionally. Call it luck.
Fast forward to the third time through SoCal’s batting order. Big Mike came to bat, and belted another homer to left. Then, NorCal again brought in a new pitcher. And, wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. Guero again took the new pitcher deep to right field and over the fence! I could not believe I had watched that. It was surreal. Two back-to-back homers in a row by the same two guys. Both times Mikey hit his to left, then a new pitcher entered the game, and then Guero hit his to right.
And by the way, once is luck, but twice in a row to right field? That is not luck. That is incredible skill with the stick. I do not remember the last time I watched a Major League Baseball right-handed batter hit two home runs in consecutive at bats over the right field fence. In fact, I am going to say I have never seen that before, and I have followed baseball since the 1960s.
Surreal does not even cover how it felt when Mendoza completed the double back-to-back. And, according to him, the double back-to-back was not an accident. The two players had designed their outcome. In a post-game press conference Sunday night, when asked by CSN, Guero said the following:
“We talked about it in the dugout. There was a lot of people, a large audience. We wanted to go back-to-back. After the first time, it was so loud from people celebrating, so we tried to do it again. I was looking fastball. I was going to crush it.”
And Mendoza did exactly that, sending his second straight dinger somehow over the right field wall to complete the back-to-back back-to-backs for the new version of the Bash Brothers.
Fast forward. Fourth time through the batting order. Rodríguez at bat. Crowd going nuts, wanting a third straight homer. Bases loaded. And POW !!!!! Right over the center field fence. And look at the crowd go wild when that grand slam left the park:
(Yep. That is your favorite crazy rabbi pictured in the middle. Photo courtesy of Steve Wood.)
Good times right there! Love the atmosphere at Houghton Stadium when hundreds if not thousands of SoCal fans are screaming together. It is a whole new level of excitement. That is one of the main reasons why I love attending the West Regional. It is so much fun when so many fans show up and go bananas together. And on Sunday night, that place was rocking.
But, can you believe that? Three straight homers in three at bats? Who does that? Big Mike does that! That’s who! CSN asked him how it felt hitting a grand slam for his third straight dinger, and here is how he answered:
“It feels great. I can’t really describe the feeling.”
Understandable. It is difficult to describe something that is surreal. Okay, guess what happened next. I kid you not. NorCal immediately changed pitchers. Again! Can you believe that? After each of Mikey’s homers, the pitcher got pulled. After the first two times, Mendoza hammered homers. Why on earth would anyone bring in a new pitcher for the third time? Had not NorCal learned its lesson after the first two times? Apparently not.
I literally could not believe what I was watching. It was beyond surreal. It was larger than life. And, it had been discussed in the dugout already, according to Mendoza.
“Me and Mike, we talked about it. We wanted to go back-to-back again,” he said.
When Guero came to the plate, I could not watch. I actually hid my eyes after the new pitcher entered the game. It was beyond déjà vu. It was too scary for me. With my eyes closed, the next sound I heard was the ball leaving Mendoza’s bat, but I did not hear the crowd screaming. I opened my eyes, and I saw Guero being thrown out at first. Oh well, the fun had to end at some point. But oh baby, was it fun while it lasted.
Thank you Mikey and Guero for planning and executing all of that entertainment for us Sunday night. That. Was. Amazing. I am certain we are going to see more from those two in the years to come, and I look forward to watching both of them star in the MLB some day. For real. That pair is something special.
Incidentally, at that press conference, CSN was one of only three media outlets represented, with one of the other two being a television station, while the other being a newspaper.
(Rabbi Rabbs‘ media credentials that granted him admission to the press conferences. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
And here is your favorite crazy rabbi wearing his press passes:
(Photo courtesy of Steve Wood.)
Got to mention that it felt great for this crazy uncle to feel so much love from such an overwhelming amount of Park View baseball family members. I feel as if almost all of the players’ parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews, big brothers, little brothers, and other extended family members and friends that attended all love me. That league’s community has been fantastic to me, and its members have supported their crazy uncle throughout The Green Monsters’ entire summer, and have thanked me for my support, constantly told me how much they deeply appreciate and enjoy all of my Little League articles, followed my cheer leading at Park View’s games, and thanked me for my cheer leading.
Those beautiful people were so generous and kind, and throughout the regional tournament held in the hot desert sun, they brought to me ice cold waters, Gatorade, and other beverages even without me asking. Amazing. They made me feel as if I were part of their family, and I very much enjoyed getting to know so many of them.
In addition, it was so nice to meet and shmooze in San Bernardino with so many fans from other Little Leagues in Southern and Northern California, and from a bunch of other states. I especially enjoyed long conversations last week with a very friendly parent of the Utah team, and with a representative from CA District 33 in San Diego, a super nice gentleman who gave to me a free District 33 pin. I also received free pins Sunday night from Districts 42 and 68, and from a complete stranger who merely walked by and handed to me a free pin that does not reveal any district whatsoever.
That is one of the best parts of attending the West Region games. That complex serves as a conclave for Little League fans from all over the Western US, and they tend to be like-minded and naturally enjoy each other’s company. It was especially nice to speak with, and even sit next to during SoCal’s games, returning fans that I had not seen since prior regional tournaments.
Anyway, when the dust finally settled on Sunday night, the Chula Vista club had picked up a victory to improve its undefeated record on the summer to 12-0. That night on the mound, Matt Bjornstad was solid in relief, pitching 2 1/3 innings while only giving up one run on two hits and two walks. “Matty Ice” entered the game, and threw strikeouts. Bang! Bang! Bang! He was great, and contained NorCal’s bats long enough for the new version of the Bash Brothers to put the game out of reach.
For the post-game press conferences, the reporters in attendance choose which players will be interviewed. Another reporter had already requested the Bash Brothers and SoCal’s manager, so this CaliSports News writer added one young Bjornstad to the press conference’s head table. I am happy with my pick.
Finally, it needs to be stated that the game had gone extremely late, and ended at close to midnight. The press conference ended after midnight, and I personally did not get out of that stadium until closer to 1 am, and by the time I arrived home, it was about 2 am. Meanwhile, those poor kids on that SoCal team had reportedly not eaten yet, so they stayed awake to eat, and I am told they finally had gone to bed at around 1:30 am. And that leads us to the Monday nightmare.
(Southern California’s Green Monsters. Exclusive photo for CaliSports News courtesy of Steve Wood.)
Mon., Aug. 6:
I finally got to bed at approximately 4 am, and then slept for probably three hours. Only a few hours after that, I prepared to return to San Bernardino. Why couldn’t I have simply slept in Houghton Stadium’s outfield? Just throw me a pillow, and I would have been fine, a lot happier than shlepping all the way to West Los Angeles late at night, which cut into my sleep time, and then returning in traffic for the 4:30 pm start of the next game.
That Monday game was killer. It was hot as heck at Houghton, clocking in at 105 degrees at game time. That is 105 in the shade which of course does not exist in that stadium, because it does not provide an awning. Who builds a stadium in the middle of the Sahara Desert without a covering for those in attendance? How much money would it cost to build a retractable dome to cover over that stadium? Maybe if I win the Lotto I shall donate such a cover, and let those kids play in air-conditioned 65 degrees, and give the crowd a break. I know for a fact that some fans stayed away Monday due to the excessive heat. The heat was terrible.
At that game, I asked out loud if it could be any hotter, and one of the SoCal fans answered that yes, we could be in Death Valley. Yeah, that was the size of it.
That game was difficult to watch. Nevada won. Actually, SoCal won, but handed the victory over to Nevada on a silver platter, and said “here, take it, we don’t want it.” Park View gave that game away with what I counted as seven costly defensive mistakes. Game Changer only charges SoCal with one error, and credits Nevada with three earned runs. I am not sure how reliable GC’s claims are, though. In my mind, all of Nevada runs were unearned. Mendoza started that game on the mound, and the 6′-1″ ace pitched phenomenally, providing far more than enough to win, but his defense let Guero down, and SoCal lost.
I felt so bad for Mendoza, because that kid pitched his little heart out, and was robbed of a tremendous victory, as he threw 92 pitches! He struck out eight batters, and in my mind only gave up at most three hits and a pair of walks. He lasted five innings, but if Guero had received defensive help, he would have faced far fewer batters, and he would have recorded a complete game shutout. That is the truth. Go ahead and argue against me. I do not care.
The SoCal team was not itself that day. The local boys stunk up that 105-degree field. Although, 105 is in the shade. On the field, the air temperature might have been closer to 205.
That game marked Park View’s first loss all summer, and Southern California’s first loss in San Bernardino since 2014, when a team from Encinitas also lost to a team representing Nevada. That club from Las Vegas went on that year to win the US championship.
One of the parents seated next to me during Monday’s loss explained that the SoCal team was “hungover”. Park View’s players had experienced a big thrill the night before with that victory in front of a huge, loud crowd. The boys then stayed up way too late, did not get enough sleep, and committed mental errors during their next game which was held the following day. I think that is a spot-on analysis.
I do not like interviewing teams after a loss. I like giving the losing side its space and privacy. So, I skipped Monday’s post-game press conference, and drove back to West LA for the second time in two days. Upon arriving home, I discovered that I had finally received what I had wanted for months, a car flag! Check out this baby:
(Yay! I finally have a Park View Little League car flag! Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
Tue., Aug. 7:
I woke up early, because the game was scheduled to start at 11:30 am. Ugh. I hit the road at 9:45 am, fought a little bit of Downtown LA traffic, and arrived just before 11:30. The good news was that I drove in style, as my car waved its new cool Park View flag.
When I arrived at Houghton, the prior showdown between teams from Oregon and Wyoming was still being played, so the SoCal game got delayed 90 minutes. That means I could have slept for another hour and a half. There was no reason to wake up early. Actually, I could have stayed in bed even longer than that, because to arrive for a 1 pm game, I could probably leave my home just before noon, and still arrive before the first pitch, as there is virtually no traffic at that time.
During that OR vs. WY game, ESPN filmed me when I tossed a foul ball to a little kid. True story. How cool is that? Unbeknownst to me the cameras rolled as I did a nice thing by giving that youngster the ball. I bet every Jewish person and every Park View fan watching that game held their collective breaths as the dude who looks over-the-top Jewy and was wearing Park View gear could have made every Jew and every Park View member look bad by keeping the ball after the kid had clearly asked for it. Thank G-d I did the right thing, and thank you, ESPN, for showing that. Watch the footage:
(Footage courtesy of ESPN.)
As for SoCal’s Green Monsters, that day the local boys destroyed the team from Arizona, coming very close to completing a 10-0 mercy rule victory. The score was 9-0 with the winning run on third base, but Park View failed to bring that runner home, and had to settle for a full six-inning win.
Kainoa Baptista started the game on the hill, and pitched a beauty, picking up the win, after shutting out the team from Tucson through 3 1/3 innings, while only allowing three base runners.
“I felt like my pitching was on today,” Baptista told CSN later that day during the post-game press conference. “Island Prime” got pulled from the game after 50 pitches so that he could be available to start Friday’s semi-finals match.
But, of course, that would be provided, as Coach Jorge Camarillo later told CSN during that press conference, that Park View would first “take care of business” on Wednesday.
Mendoza delivered his third home run of the tournament, this time with two runners aboard.
“It was a curveball. I saw the ball break, and I hit it,” he said during the press conference. That shot rocketed over the center field fence, and was reportedly discovered 310 feet away, as someone actually measured the distance between the fencing and where they found the ball.
However, before we conclude that the ball flew that far, we must consider that it may have bounced or rolled. Thus, I am not sure of the pertinence of that measurement, but I thought I would report it, nevertheless.
With the victory, Park View improved its record to 13-1, and according to Island Prime, “made up for our mistakes” that cost the Chula Vista team its only loss the day before. Nevertheless, the win did not come easily, he said.
“It is not this hot back at home. Playing in this heat was difficult.”
Yeah, I could imagine. It was enough of a struggle just to survive the brutal sun rays shining on Houghton’s seats. During that game the air temperature soared out of control, reaching a whopping 108 degrees, again, in the shade of which there was none available.
As the game entered the bottom of the fifth inning, ESPN focused its camera on Rabbi Rabbs in that burning hot grandstands, walking around while conversing with his fellow Southern California fans. Watch the epic footage:
(Footage courtesy of ESPN.)
Speaking of the press conference, I was the only reporter that day who requested players to be interviewed, so I alone selected who spoke at the podium. What an honor and a thrill that was for this CSN writer. My picks: Island Prime, Guero, and Coach Camarillo.
During that game, two of SoCal’s players, Allan Camarillo and Makai Corpuz had received injured elbows after each got hit by a pitch. So, during the press conference, I directed my first question to the coach, and it was, “how is your son?”
The father answered by saying that he was about to take “AC3” to a hospital for x-rays.
While I had Guero in the room, I asked the ace how it had felt to pitch a gem the day before, but still lose due to his defense not doing its job.
“I was angry at first, because of the errors,” Mendoza told CSN. “But that’s baseball.”
Just prior to the start of that press conference, I learned that of the 12 teams playing in San Bernardino, only the club representing Southern California had media that had requested admission to press conferences. As a result, the other 11 teams did not hold press conferences, as there was simply no one covering their games.
Furthermore, only two SoCal reporters attended that day’s conference, with CSN being one of those two, and a TV station being the other. And, ladies and gentlemen, all of that is precisely why my articles have become so wildly popular so lightning fast, as the mainstream media, with a few exceptions, has absolutely ignored Little League, creating a huge amount of fans that are left just dying for coverage. And that coverage is what CSN has provided this summer, and I am proud to have been at the forefront of it. That was a total win for Rabbi Rabbs.
Wed., Aug. 8:
I drove to San Bernardino and back for the fourth day in a row, in total, approximately 575 miles. Crazy. Yeah. As a dear Chula Vista friend of mine says, I #Showwup.
(If a picture says a thousand words, then the above picture says Rabbi Rabbs survived the burning San Bernardino desert heat during August to watch his Southern California Little League team compete at the West Region tournament held at Albert E. Houghton Stadium. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
Thankfully, Wednesday was not quite as hot outside in San Bernardino as were the two days prior to it. For its game that day, the SoCal team only dressed 11 players, as AC3 and “Big Mac” each entered Houghton that afternoon wearing street clothes with their left arm in a sling.
(Allan Camarillo left, of Southern California wearing street clothes with his left arm in a sling, pumps fists with teammate Makai Corpuz right, who is also wearing street clothes with his own left arm in a sling, during pregame ceremonies at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino, held during the 2018 West Region Little League tournament on Wed., Aug. 8. Jordan Bleisch is shown in the center. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
NorCal’s manager had learned his lesson after Sunday night’s massacre at the hands of SoCal’s Bash Brothers. For Wednesday’s rematch, that manager refused to let The Green Monsters’ two home run kings hurt his Tri City team again. So, this time, he took the bats out of the hands of Big Mikey and Guero, and simply intentionally walked them every time that they came to bat with one or more runners on base, which as it turned out, was almost every single time that they batted.
The manager intentionally loaded the bases, and even walked home a run, when Mendoza batted with the bases loaded. I had never seen that before. In my entire life of following baseball, and I am close to 60 years old, Wednesday marked the first time I had ever witnessed a team intentionally walk home a runner.
NorCal’s strategy was to take its chances with the rest of SoCal’s batting order, and that strategy unfortunately paid off handsomely for the Rocklin team. Park View left a million runners on base that night. SoCal had played right into the hands of the NorCal manager’s strategy, and made him look like a genius that finally figured out and demonstrated how to beat Park View, something no other team in California had figured out all summer. His plan was to, at any cost, not let the Bash Brothers bat. And, apparently, that plan worked.
The question becomes, however, is that good sportsmanship? Doesn’t every Little League player deserve to swing at pitches in his turn at bat? Shouldn’t there be a limit as to how many times a player can be intentionally walked in one game? I mean, this is Little League played by young teens, not pro baseball played by overpaid millionaires. Is the Little League World Series about winning at all cost? Instead of issuing intentional walks, should we permit pitchers to intentionally hit batters with bean balls to put those batters on base without having to waste three additional pitches towards those pitchers’ pitch-count maximum? Should that be legit? If so, should we allow pitchers to bean opposing batters, to knock them out of a game, and send those players to a hospital? I mean, where does it all end?
And, I am not suggesting that SoCal’s injured players were thrown at intentionally, as in fact, Coach Camarillo had explained at the press conference that his son was not hit intentionally. I have no reason to doubt that kid’s father. I am merely asking in general.
I don’t know the answers to those questions. I will leave them for the readers to decide. Please offer your thoughts below in the comments section. Meanwhile, what I do know is that had Mikey and Guero batted, the game would have likely had a far different outcome. I guarantee it. But sadly, rules are rules, and as a result, the season, the dream, all died that night. It was sad as heck.
Many of the family members of the Park View team had told me throughout this summer that they had wanted me to join them if their team would fly to South Williamsport, PA, for the Little League World Series. Those folks are among the kindest, most generous people on the planet, and I love them all. Beautiful people. One super generous Park View parent even offered a way for me to receive a free flight and hotel accommodations.
In addition, Little League had already approved me for a press pass to all of its games in S. Williamsport, the first World Series I would have ever attended in my life. I was all set and ready to have a blast in Pennsylvania, and we were only three wins away from fulfilling that dream.
SoCal had its ace pitchers lined up for Friday and Saturday, as Island Prime who had just come off from pitching a dynamite outing would start on Friday, while the super red hot Guero would get the nod for the region’s championship game on Saturday.
As long as SoCal provided decent defense this time around, I honestly felt behind those two solid starters, the brick wall, as I had referred to them in a prior article, SoCal would win both of those games. All Park View needed to do was to survive Wednesday. The Monsters had come so close to reaching Pennsylvania, but in the end, on Wednesday, they did not take care of business, and that was the closest this crazy rabbi had ever come to reaching Williamsport.
There was one great highlight though. You folks need to watch this one. It might’ve been the most exciting defensive play I have ever witnessed in person. Watch the footage, and look for Rabbi Rabbs going absolutely crazy in the background:
(Footage courtesy of ESPN.)
Let me set up what happened during that play. With only one out, NorCal had put runners on first and third. Often in that situation, the runner on first base will steal second, because he or she knows that the catcher does not want to throw to second, as while the ball would be travelling to the second baseman, the runner on third would race home to score.
Another NorCal run would open up for that team a commanding three-run lead, something SoCal desperately did not wish to see happen. On the first pitch, the runner on first base took off for second, and SoCal’s catcher, Joseph Anderson fired the ball to second baseman Anthony Leyva who was not Park View’s normal second baseman. But, AC3 who had started every game at second this summer was out of the lineup. Leyva was not only playing that position for the first time this summer, but “Mighty Mouse” had not even started that game at second. But, here we were in the third inning, and there was Mighty Mouse receiving a desperate throw from his catcher “Joe Man”. And, guess what? As expected, the runner on third raced towards home.
Mighty Mouse to the rescue. Here he comes to save the day!
(My all-time favorite funny man, Andy Kaufman. The greatest influence behind America’s Favorite Rabbi Comedian. Footage courtesy of Saturday Night Live.)
Leyva chased the advancing runner back to first base, and fired the ball back to Joe Man. The runner from third stopped dead in his tracks, and headed back to third base. But Joe Man threw the ball to Big Mike who was standing on third, forcing that runner to turn around, and head back towards the plate. SoCal had caught the runner in a rundown, and SoCal’s fans started going wild. It was getting loud, and some of us started jumping up and down.
The runner tried to avoid Joe Man by running out of the base path, but the SoCal catcher was having none of that, and charged right after the NorCal runner who slipped and fell onto the ground. Joe Man immediately applied the tag for the inning’s second out.
Meanwhile, that runner on first base had stolen second, and had then taken off for third during the rundown, and had almost captured that base, but Joe Man had the presence of mind to notice, and immediately fired the ball back to the awaiting Big Mike who caught the ball, and tagged out the runner in one motion.
The runner’s helmet had apparently crashed into Mikey’s outstretched glove the moment that third baseman had received the throw, causing the inning’s third and final out, and sending the SoCal crowd into absolute pandemonium. That seemed to be as loud as it had gotten for any of the Bash Brothers’ home runs on Sunday night. We. Went. Bonkers.
After that night’s loss, I again left the players alone. I did not wish to attend a press conference nor interview any of those youngsters outside of Houghton’s facility. I felt it was time to let the boys have their space and privacy. It was their moment to console with their families, to cry in private or whatever. I did not need to interfere with any of that. My job for this summer was done.
Had SoCal pulled out an amazing comeback victory in the bottom of the sixth inning, I would have invited to the press conference whomever would have hit the game-winning RBI, plus Mighty Mouse and Joe Man to discuss what those two were thinking throughout that epic defensive play that resulted in two outs and no runs. Instead, I headed home, still proudly waving my Park View car flag, which will stay up for a very long time. I have no real desire to bring back my Anaheim Ducks flag any time soon. I am all about SoCal Little League. Right now, I do not even care about hockey.
In retrospect, to borrow a few quotes, Park View’s four games in San Bernardino had gone like this:
On Sunday, it was surreal, and the Chula Vista team won big.
On Monday, the players were hungover and lost.
On Tuesday, they made up for their mistakes and won.
On Wednesday, they did not take care of business and got eliminated.
Thu., Aug 9:
The Aftermath. I started writing this article, my final article on Little League until the 2019 tournaments. It was a fun ride for the past few months, but it was destined to end soon no matter what. The way it ended though, I got to admit, it felt as if I had lost a woman that had promised to marry me, and everything was going to finally be good, and I could relax and be at peace knowing that finally my life would not suck, and I would be happy.
And, then BAM! Just like that! Over! She walked out on me, and I go back to being alone and lonely. That has happened to me far too many times in my life to even count. It hurt like heck each time, and that is how I felt on Thursday morning with the reality of losing my entire Park View family with whom I had grown close, and knowing I’m not seeing them anymore, not cheering with them, and not going to Williamsport with them. It all sank in. It felt like a break-up. Here is the song that describes my feeling:
(Hurry back, hurry back, don’t take it away from me, because you don’t know what it means to me. Beautiful. Once again, Queen.)
I must use this opportunity to say thank you to all of the Park View members and family for welcoming me, and for making me feel as if I were one of you. Thank you for all of the free Park View gear, for allowing me to sit in the parents’ section with you, for saving me a seat at so many games, and for helping me with my articles. Thank you!
I wish all of the boys the most success in their pursuit of playing high school baseball.
Okay, it is time for my traditional send off. For Park View, we shall start back in 2009 when that league won the Little League World Series:
(Footage courtesy of ESPN.)
2016:
(Winning the West Region. Footage courtesy of ESPN.)
2018:
(Michael Rodríguez hit a solo home run on Jul. 1, as Park View shut out Eastlake Little League of Chula Vista, during California District 42 tournament action. Rodríguez is shown being congratulated at home plate by his teammates. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
(Posing with José Mendoza after he picked up a victory on the mound on Jul. 15, during the Southern California Section 7 tournament held at Chula Vista American Little League in Chula Vista. Maybe 15 years from now when Mendoza is an all-star in the Major Leagues, that photo will become priceless. I sure hope he will remember me then. Photo courtesy of Olga Orduna.)
(Interviewing Aidan Skinner after The Green Monsters’ victory on Jul. 24, in the 2018 Little League Southern California Championship tournament hosted by Aliso Viejo Little League in Aliso Viejo. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
(Prior to the start of Sunday’s West Region tournament game held at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino. Exclusive photo for CaliSports News courtesy of Steve Wood.)
Fri., Aug. 10:
Woke up from my first decent sleep since the tournament had started. Finally felt human again, and no longer running on only fumes. But wow, what an experience those four straight days had been. Exhausting, but I would not trade them back for the world. I had a blast, and the West Region tourney shall remain my favorite week of the year, regardless of how the SoCal team fares during it.
Spent a few hours on Friday working on this article. Almost completed what will be my final Little League submission of 2018. Although, there will be one more related story, so be on the lookout for it during the first week of September, when I shall try to report which turned out to become CSN’s most popular article published during August. Let’s see if Little League can win that honor three months in a row.
In all, covering Little League this summer, I drove roughly 1,830 miles (almost the exact distance to drive from LA to St. Louis, MO. Yep, folks, I drove to St. Louis for you), to visit seven baseball fields in three different counties (none of which were Los Angeles), where I attended 16 games and one practice, and I interviewed eight players, six coaches and managers, plus 12 other people, to produce 22 articles, despite undergoing two stomach surgeries during that time.
I hope you all appreciated my hard work. But honestly, I had a blast, and I walked away with six free Little League t-shirts, four free Little League baseball caps, seven free Little League pins, a free Little League rally towel, and a free Little League game ball used in the final out of a game. Thankfully, I did not walk away with any free Little League foul balls.
But, most importantly, I created some friendships hopefully for life!
Sat., Aug. 11:
Congratulations to the team representing Hawaii on winning the West Region championship! Mazal Tov!
Go figure. Of the six teams that competed in the tournament, Hawaii was the only one that I never saw play. In fact, I did not even watch that team on ESPN. And, I never spoke with any of its fans, even though that I had spent a ton of time in that San Bernardino facility for four straight days. It were almost as if Hawaii and Rabbi Rabbs had attended two different tournaments.
Well, thank you all for reading my articles this summer. As the rock band Kiss would say, you’ve been a dynamite audience, and you deserve to give yourselves a round of applause. If you are interested in the NHL, please consider following my coverage of the Ducks here at CSN. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal !!
Related Posts
One Comment
About Rabbi Rabbs
Travis
August 12, 2018 at 10:26 pm
Your view of the intentional Walk is part of the game. Why let someone beat you if you don’t have to. It’s forcing the hand. Opposing coach can so the same. I have no problem with it as it has always been part of the game. Make the rest of the team beat you. I. The end they can pitch and throw four balls.
You can go back to 2013 and Japans version of the intention Walk was hit the Eastlake players. The hottest kids were hit time and time again rather than giving 4 pitches to do the same.