| | By Kevin D. Miller
ABC Sports Online
There are stories everywhere at Howard J. Lamande Stadium, the ballpark where the Little League World Series is played each year in Williamsport, Pa.
During the championship week, teams from all around the world play each other in hopes of making it to Saturday's championship game. Unfortunately, television can only catch some of that magic for fans at home. The other stories that escape the camera lens are at times captured in the storytelling by fans that attend the games. So each year, stories are retold and new ones are discovered in Williamsport.
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Little League players from two opposing teams have a get together signing cap autographs. |
"If there is one thing in life you should do, you should come visit Williamsport and attend the Little League World Series," said ESPN announcer Jack Edwards.
On opening day of the Little League World Series, it's hard to argue with the ESPN announcer. Sunshine, a well-groomed diamond, fans filled with anticipation and the addictive aroma of .75 cent hot dogs make the moment magical. There is no place left in the baseball universe where hot dogs can still be found for less than a dollar.
New legends and lore are presented each year and added to the annals of the Little League history. You've got sacrifice. Last year, Phenix City, Ala., Coach Tony Rasmus resigned from his elementary school teaching position to manage his team to the U.S. championship game. You've got innocence. The simple question from Alabama players: Why can't we have a mascot called the "mouth of the south" to counter 1998 champion Toms River, NJ's "beast of the east" gorilla mascot?
Friends are made here between fans of all ages too. Just a several years ago, while three Auburn University students were watching the Little League World Series and heard Edwards speak about the complete Little League experience, they decided to take a break from studying and drive to Williamsport. After explaining their trip to Edwards, he invited them up to the announcer's booth.
A baseball ritual at the World Series is the trading of merchandise. Fans are crazy about trading pins and buttons. If you have a pin, trade it. California pins, Idaho pins, Indiana pins, ABC Sports pins and your favorite elementary school pins are all at risk. Shirts are covered with buttons from previous World Series games. Hotel staffs proudly display the buttons that have been acquired by barter. Local residents in the eateries sport the pins. It is "pin mania" at its purest.
An Ohio couple has traveled to Williamsport for over 30 years to participate in the magic of Williamsport. They have witnessed the home run power of Lloyd McClendon as a Little League superstar before he would play in the Major Leagues with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. McClendon, in his five official at bats in the 1971 series, homered each time on the first pitch. The first American series champion that this Ohio couple witnessed came from Wayne, NJ, in 1970. From McClendon to Monk, from Wayne to Toms River, this couple has seen it all.
As the 2000 series unfolds, it will be the memories over the past merging with memories of the present that will continue to remind us of the beauty of a well-groomed diamond and the best hot dog you can get in the world for under a dollar.
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