Park View It Is !!
- Updated: July 8, 2018
(Chula Vista’s Park View Little League celebrates winning 2018’s California District 42 championship on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Steve Wood.)
Congratulations to Park View Little League of Chula Vista on winning California District 42’s 2018 championship on Saturday, by beating Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Little League, 6-4, in a thrilling battle held on SVLL’s home field. Mazal Tov !!
Park View had reportedly jumped out to an early lead, but Sweetwater Valley which had won three straight elimination games, once again fought resiliently with its back to the wall, and not only tied the score but took the lead. However, the Bonita league could not hold onto its lead, and soon, the score was tied, 4-4. That is when Park View finally pulled ahead for good, 6-4, to capture its district’s title. What a game!
Park View had won that title only two years ago, when led by its then-ace pitcher Victor Lizárraga, PVLL had gone on to represent the West Region in the Little League World Series held in S. Williamsport, PA. Park View had also gone to the LLWS in 2009 when it first put Chula Vista on the Little League map, by winning the world championship.
The 2018 version of Lizárraga is arguably Park View’s ace José Mendoza who almost won his second complete game victory in the tournament on Saturday, but reached his 85-pitch maximum with only one out remaining in the sixth and final inning, to lead his Chula Vista team to a perfect 4-0 record. Amazingly, in those four contests, Park View only allowed a combined total of five runs! That is some strong team pitching right there, ladies and gentlemen.
(José Mendoza, of Chula Vista’s Park View Little League, shown pitching in a 2018 California District 42 tournament game held Jul. 1, won both of his starts during this year’s district tournament. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
Once again, the three-headed Chula Vista/Bonita monster continues to dominate District 42, as those three highly-competitive leagues have accounted for every one of their district’s titles starting in 2008, with Park View now leading the monster with the most championships during that span with five. Park View is also the only league in its district during that span to visit S. Williamsport twice, and to win the entire World Series. PVLL is clearly the most dominant of the monster’s three heads.
Yet, there is still much parody among those three powerhouses which together accounted for three of their district’s titles this year, as Park View won the 12-and-under tournament, Sweetwater Valley won the 11s, and Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League won the 10s. Not only that but the monster was the runner-up in each of those three tournaments, as Sweetwater Valley finished second in the 12s, Eastlake finished second in the 11s, and Park View took second in the 10s. How about that? Each head of the monster took one championship while finishing second once. That not only demonstrates the monster’s dominance within District 42, but shows parody among its three leagues.
Moving forward, Park View’s 12s will next play in the Section 7 tournament to be hosted by District 42, and CaliSports News will follow the action, so stay with CSN, Southern California’s undisputed leader in Little League coverage.
Next, I must pay tribute to my cherished baseball family of Sweetwater Valley. I love that community, and those fans have been so amazingly awesome to Rabbi Rabbs during the past few years, and I have happily grown very close with a number of its members in particular. It hurts to say goodbye to my SVLL family. So with that in mind, here is my tribute starting from the night I first introduced myself to that Bonita league in 2015:
(Southern California vs. Hawaii at the 2015 West Region tournament at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
(Southern California vs. Utah at the 2015 West Region tournament at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
(The final play of the 2015 West Region tournament at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino. Footage courtesy of ESPN.)
(Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Little League gear decorates a wall inside the House of Rabbs. For real. I bet even the Sweetwater Valley folks did not realize that. Big thank you to League President Arturo Maldonado and my good friend Laura Steffen for generously providing to me some of that swag. Such a gracious gesture on their part. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
2018:
(Ismael Castañón takes batting practice during Sweetwater Valley Little League’s first practice, June 10, held at its home field in Bonita. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
(John Paul Ortiz takes batting practice during Sweetwater Valley Little League’s first practice, June 10, held at its home field in Bonita. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
(The team took a break during its marathon June practices to enjoy a meal together, and that food looks so yummy. Photo courtesy of Laura Steffen.)
(During the District 42 tournament. Photo courtesy of Laura Steffen.)
(Johnny Scott of Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Little League leaps high into the air as he approaches home plate after hitting a 2-out 2nd inning grand slam during the 2018 District 42 tournament. Photo courtesy of Rodney Regala.)
(Sweetwater Valley Little League’s first-ever female all-star, Abigail Steffen, made history by competing in the 2018 District 42 tournament. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
(After Saturday’s California District 42 championship game, Abigail Steffen of Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Little League signs an autograph for one of her many fans in attendance. During the tournament, that young female phenom reportedly pitched two scoreless innings in relief without giving up any hits. Photo courtesy of Laura Steffen.)
I miss my Sweetwater Valley folks already. I hope to see them join their favorite rabbi/Little League blogger in cheering for Park View at its upcoming games. Go Abby !! Go Sweetwater Valley !!
Now that Park View has won the title, this District 42 fan shall climb aboard the PVLL bandwagon and support that league in all of its future 2018 games.
(Rabbi Rabbs sports his brand new Park View Little League cap generously given to him by a very sweet mother of one of the players on this year’s PVLL all-star team, an amazing gesture that is very much appreciated by this Park View fan who hopes to now join PVLL’s baseball family. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
Hey Park View, are you ready to adopt a crazy uncle? I am so ready to lead cheers for your team at upcoming tournament games. Let’s go Park View!!!!
It is so easy for me to root for Park View, because I have done so many times already. First, in 2009 when it won the Little League World Series, the first SoCal team to do so since Long Beach Little League of Long Beach had won the LLWS championship in 1993.
Then, two years ago, I rooted for Park View from the moment it won District 42, at which time I had immediately posted on Facebook my prediction that PVLL would represent SoCal in San Bernardino. And, I turned out to be 100 percent correct. True story. Sadly, as much as I had wished to attend that 2016 West Region tournament, I was unable to do so only because I lacked transportation that summer, as my car had died, and I did not have the money for repairs. Again, true story. So, I missed out on joining the PVLL family that year.
However, during that summer, I was all up in Park View’s “official” Facebook page. Just scroll waaaaaay back on that page and you should find my supportive comments. But now, I can finally root for Park View in person, wearing my brand new PV cap. Cannot wait!
I still need a Park View t-shirt, but what I really want, as I mentioned in Why I Follow Little League Baseball, is a car flag which I would enthusiastically wave 24/7 on my car, which is thankfully now repaired. Please consider producing this, as doing so is very easy on the Internet, less expensive than one might imagine, and would look way better on my car than the Anaheim Ducks flag currently waving from it:
(Let’s Go Park View !!)
Finally, congratulations to my friends at Santa Margarita National Little League of Rancho Santa Margarita on winning the District 68 championship on Saturday. Here is hoping for a SMNLL vs. PVLL SoCal finals! Until then, stay tuned !!
(Rabbi Rabbs wears Santa Margarita National Little League gear while cheering for SMNLL’s all-stars in San Bernardino, when they represented Southern California in the 2017 West Region tournament. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)
Let’s Go SoCal !!
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