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| Back when it was a sports story, and NOT a court story |
For
there won’t be any kind of local angle to the event this year. For 2015, the
best team from Illinois was one from the Little League program in Olney – an out-of-the-way
community in the far southeastern portion of the state.
AS
IT TURNS out, the Olney team managed to get knocked out during the qualifying rounds. They won’t even be close to Williamsport, Pa., when the 10-day tourney
begins Thursday.
There
won’t be anyone local for us to cheer for.
The
champs from the Roseland/Morgan Park neighborhoods who also had players from
scattered south suburban communities definitely won’t be anywhere to be seen.
Not
even in any way to be remembered as the defending U.S. champions (who could
have been “world” champs if they could have beat that ball club from Seoul,
South Korea in the final game).
FOR
LET’S NOT forget that 2014 is going to be the tourney that goes into the books with
re-written history – less concerned with what actually took place on the ball
field. Which makes it go against the very nature of sports – where on-field
activity is usually all that matters.
There
will be that team from the Las Vegas, Nev., area that couldn’t beat the boys of
the Far South Side on the field, but will be regarded as the U.S. champions
regardless.
Even
though anyone who actually watched last year’s Little League World Series remembers
that the big stories were the outstanding play of the boys from the Far South
Side and surrounding suburbs and that girl who pitched outstandingly for the
team from the suburbs of Philadelphia.
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| Another story not likely to be matched this year |
In
fact, a whole chain of teams that didn’t win, but are now regarded as “winners”
because of the efforts to pretend that what wasn’t really was.
NOW
I KNOW some people are determined to think that a major deceit took place last
year. There have been recent reports indicating that only six of the dozen
ballplayers on that Jackie Robinson West team that represented the Great Lakes
region were legitimately from the neighborhoods that the league covers.
Although
I also remember that no one ever tried to cover up the fact that many of the
kids were from nearby suburbs – in many cases with one parent living in the
suburb and another living within the Chicago neighborhood.
Or
in some cases where they had moved to a new neighborhood, but preferred to stay
in the Jackie Robinson West program that has been an elite amongst city-based
youth baseball leagues.
I
suspect that the Little League programs in those suburbs are jealous that they
couldn’t attract those kids to want to play ball in their new home communities.
That jealousy has enough of a stink that I have a hard time getting too worked
up over the Jackie Robinson West program.
THERE
WAS TALK of having the Jackie Robinson West program break away from Little
League proper; perhaps joining the Cal Ripken Baseball program or some other
league that would accept them on the terms they operate under.
A
part of me does wonder if what really bothers some people is that the public
attention last year went to Mo’ne Davis (the pre-teen pitcher) and the Jackie
Robinson West kids – who happened to be the few African-American ballplayers in
what was largely a lily-white tourney.
I’m
sure some think the fact that some praised those kids was somehow detracting
attention from other kids they would have preferred to get the publicity. As
far as I can tell, this year’s Little League World Series might well be closer
to their liking.
Which
might also make it less worthwhile to watch!
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