In celebration that baseball is back...post your favorite Little League pic/stories

[emmygirl]

Wow has it been 63 years since my days in little league. I was 12 in 1957 and how I loved to play baseball. My final year I batted a whopping .227 with 3 doubles. We wore wool uniforms and were they super warm on those summer nights. Yes, I was one of those kids from the 50's that bought baseball cards and enjoyed flipping them for fun. I can still remember trading my Mantles for Frank Malzone and Jackie Jensen. It made me very happy in 1957. Best to all, Jim MacCord (I'll be 76 in a couple of months) Collecting has made my life so much better.

[obiwan1129]

I'll share one from 3 years ago. This is one of my all time favorite little league memories. Coached my son for several years in rec ball. It's been a lot of fun for me and him. Our team (9 and 10 yr olds) is in the semi-finals, all tied up in the last inning.

We were losing light, so you might even say it was gloaming. This was likely the last inning. I was in charge that night and coaching 3rd base as our head coach, Bill, was in Dubai for work. I found out afterwards one of the parents was live streaming the game over Facebook Live so Bill was able to watch the last inning.

Our first two batters made an out and that brought up my son. He has exercise induced asthma and had an asthma attack a few innings before but recovered well enough to stay in the game. The asthma is a kick in the shorts because he is fast. He manages to work the count full and draws a walk.

Now we have one of our best hitters up at the plate. I am over at 3rd and we have signs but I know it doesn't matter. Everyone knows he is running. I didn't even flash a sign, I just gave him a head nod over to 2nd. I hear a chorus of shouts from the other teams dugout behind me "He's running, he's running." The pitcher goes into his windup and he is running full speed into second. The catcher makes a throw and the ball scoots out into center field.

My son jumps up and heads towards third base. The middle infielders are scrambling after the throw into second. While he is halfway to 3rd, I take a step back and start windmilling my arm sending him home. He rounds 3rd with a full head of steam. At the same time half the world away watching on a laptop in a hotel room in Dubai at 3am, my buddy Bill yells "Send him, John, Send him!". Probably waking up a number of his fellow hotel guests. The shortstop finally grabs the ball and turns to fire it home.

I remember crouching down and grimacing after he turned the corner because I knew it would be a close play. The throw comes into the catcher at the same time he starts sliding into home. In a cloud of dust his leg touches home plate just as the catcher goes to make the tag. The umpire swings his arms out and yells safe!

At this point, the kids come pouring out of the dugout, jumping up and down like a bunch of delirious 10 year olds to celebrate going to the championship game.

...and that is probably my all-time favorite baseball memory. To be able to share in a moment like that with your own son is one of the greatest feelings I will ever know.

[the-illini]

That’s a great story John - I coach my two sons as well so I can relate to the excitement you must have felt!

[Casey2296]

Great story John, thanks for sharing.

[doug.goodman]

Of course I take credit for the whole thing, since as the story references, me being old enough to play LL in 1971 was his start...

https://www.littleleague.org/world-s...ard-recipient/

Doug

[iwantitiwinit]

1971 Stamford CT, Town Little League Championship Semi-Final, (I was on K of C), I was a 10 year old in a 10-12 year old league and scared shitless. Everyone had to play one inning. Team we were playing was 19-0 as were we and their pitcher was seriously like 6-2 and had struck out 14 by the end of fifth. Our pitcher was smoking too and it was 0-0. This was a time when Stamford, CT had great little league and Babe Ruth teams that had won several Babe Ruth US championships (they hosted many championships too) in the 50's and 60's. I had no chance of hitting this kid but my father had focused on teaching me how to bunt and really used to fire them in when we practiced. Bottom of the 6th we somehow get a guy to third base and I am up with 1 out. No one had much hope I would do anything other than either get hit by a ptich and killed or strike out looking. I bunt on the first pitch and we score and win. Unbeleivable. I don't think I had a true hit that entire year.

[JollyElm]

1971, you say? That would've landed your feat on a 1972 card...

1972toppsrobertintrieri.jpg