Chicago 365 World Series Central: We've Been Bounced

     Unless you were either living under a rock or partaking in way too many recreational substances back in August, you've heard of Jackie Robinson West. I covered them extensively in this blog back then, from their encounter with Mo'ne Davis and the Taney Dragons, to the hometown celebration of their U.S. Championship, to everything in between(including that time when they were the most popular baseball team in the city). It was a glorious run that will live on in the memories of Chicagoans forever. The record books, not so much.

     This morning Little League Baseball announced that JRW will be stripped of all victories from their postseason run(including their miracle comeback in the Regional Title game and their Finals game versus South Korea). Apparently the team illegally included players from outside the city limits to create a Superteam. In addition to being stripped of its wins, the team's manager has been suspended, the head of the local Little League Disctrict has been fired, and JRW is also suspended from playing until they get their act together. Going forward, the fate is unclear, but we can all rally around the kids, remember how they made us feel, and look forward to the next baseball thrill to hit Chicago(maybe the Cubs and Sox will actually put a watchable product on the field this year)

Chicago 365 Championship Central 3/3: Chicago Celebrates

       They came to Williamsport. They won the U.S. title. They showed the world that Chicago was a force to be reckoned with. They came back home. The only thing left to do was to have a party. And that's just what Chicago did on Wednesday. The day started off with a rally down south at Jackie Robinson Park. There were speeches by Coach Darold Butler, the players, and even some brief remarks from Mayor Emanuel and Governor Quinn, who read a letter from the widow of Jackie Robinson and proclaimed Wednesday JRW Champs Day in Illinois(and no boos this time, just some crickets[maybe Pat Quinn should just stay away from sports rallies from now on]).

     After that party was all done, the team boarded buses and made their way north. But before reaching their final destination, the convoy made a stop at U.S. Cellular Field. That was where the White Sox lent the team their 2005 World Series Trophy to use for the day. That was also where the team switched over to double-decker coaches(the same type that have carried the Blackhawks for their parades) to complete the journey into the city. After processing right down Michigan Avenue, the team disembarked in Millennium Park to kick off the downtown rally, where they were introduced by Hawk Harrelson. Theo Epstein and Ken Williams were there to represent Chicago's pro clubs, but the focus remained upon JRW.  Coach Butler's reaction to the screaming fans was palpable: "Wow, wow, wow, this is unbelievable...Y'all are about to make me cry. Chi-town, thank you, we love you."  After some more congratulations from the city, the rally dispersed.  But the celebrations didn't end there either.  Navy Pier dedicated its Wednesday night fireworks show to the boys of JRW.  Not just that, but the Rainbow/PUSH coalition was working out a deal to send all the boys to Disney World to further toast their accomplishment.


    

Chicago 365 Championship Central 2/3: Chicago Plays

     This past Sunday, Jackie Robinson West competed in the Final of the Little League World Series. They were up against International Champion South Korea,who reached the title game by way of a commanding 12-3 defeat of Japan. The game started with high hopes, as JRW sought to become the first all-black team to win it all. South Korea jumped out to an early 1-0 lead right out of the gate. After falling another run behind, West got one back in the 4th inning. South Korea added two more runs to their lead by the end of the 5th, before piling on 4 more runs in their half of the 6th. But even with their backs against the wall, JRW still held on till the end, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th and beginning their comeback bid. Alas, it was not enough, and South Korea wound up capturing the 2014 Little League World Series title by a final score of 8-4. Regardless, JRW put forth an effort to be proud of, and made memories that will last a lifetime. Not just that, but they seem to have accumulated accolades from all corners of the city. But there will be more on that in the next entry.

Chicago 365 Championship Central 1/3: Chicago Watches

     Well, what do you know?  After being humiliated by Nevada, and being advised by at least one Little League official to book passage home early to make it more streamlined, Jackie Robinson West reeled off 4 victories(including a win against Nevada) in a row to make it to the World Championship game.  Now what actually happened in the game will be the subject of the next part, but for now we'll be talking about the scene back in Chicago.  And what a scene it was.  Let's start down south. Jackie Robinson Park on 103rd Street has been the site of all the watch parties for their whole run dating all the way back to their Regional tournament. This game was no exception, except for a few differences.  This time, the watch party was at the Kroc Community Center, and there were even such people there as Pat Quinn, Bruce Rauner, and Rahm Emanuel.  But the big party was located downtown in the Loop.  And not just any part of the Loop, but right in front of the Chicago Theater.  The city actually went to the trouble of closing down State Street so that the viewing party could be held.  At this party, Chicagoans of all types turned out united in one desire: to see our boys from the Heights bring home the World Championship.  It was marvelous.  Of course the results of the game, not so much.  But that's for the next entry.

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: When Storylines Collide

     Jackie Robinson West came to Williamsport as the first all-black team to play in the Series in 31 years.  Couple that with the violence that strikes far too often in the area of the team's Washington Heights home park, and JRW's run is the stuff that dreams are made of makes for great news stories(nice try, Bogart).  Incidentally, JRW isn't the only team there producing good copy. Once you get past West's run, the biggest story coming out of Williamsport has got to be that of Mo'ne Davis, the female phenom pitcher for Philadelphia's Taney Youth Baseball.

I think I see a hand there in the back of the room.  Yes Hamilton Porter, you had something to say?

     Why yes Hambino, Mo'ne Davis does play ball like a girl.  A girl who throws at an equivalent speed of 93 miles an hour on a full size diamond.  A girl whose pitching angle never varies by more than 3 degrees. A girl who can deliver a pitch at 80% the velocity of the average Major League pitcher. A girl who on Monday will become the first Little Leaguer to be featured on the cover of Spprts Illustrated.  Suffice it to say that Davis' pitching was attracting many fans, followers, and newsmen to her team's exploits in Williamsport.  And then all of a sudden, thanks to West's victory over Texas and Taney's loss to Vegas, these two compelling stories collided in the United States Semifinal.

     JRW started off the action by pouring on 4 runs in the first inning, before Taney answered back with 2 in their half.  West immediately took 2 more runs in the 2nd to make it 6-2.  Taney would score 3 more runs to pull within one, but Cameron Bufford recorded the save to add to his pivotal role in West's postseason run.  Along with some hits by Josh Houston, all of JRW once again pitched in to help our guys go the distance and punch a ticket to the United States Championship(hmm, maybe putting Mo'ne Davis on the cover of Sports Illustrated wasn't the best idea).  Once there, they will face a familiar opponent: Mountain Ridge of Las Vegas.  Representing the only blemish on JRW's record(a 13-2 drubbing that still managed to outpace Chi-town's pro clubs), Vegas presents a unique challenge.  Regardless, West will be ready to face it.  First pitch is at 2:30 PM local time on Saturday.  All the luck to our boys from the Heights.


     On a totally unrelated note, if The Sandlot clip above left you wanting for more, here's a clip of the same actor who played the little kid at a celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the movie.  Quite interesting if you ask me.

Chicago 365 Playoff Bonus: Major League Baseball? What Major League Baseball?

     On Sunday, Jackie Robinson West got clobbered 13-2 by Mountain Ridge. But while they lost that game, they proved that they're far and away the most popular ball club in the city right now. The game was broadcast on Channel 7 and took in a 4.6 rating, which corresponds to 161,000 households watching the game. The Cubs and the Sox on Sunday combined for only 91,000 households. That's right, 70,000 more people tuned in to watch the boys from the Heights give up 13 runs than those who cared to watch either of Chicago's pro teams play out yet another moribund season. Not just that, but their win in the opener drew better ratings than either the Cubs or the Sox averaged out over their entire seasons. We'd better enjoy the ride while it lasts, because this is going to be the best baseball we see for the rest of the year.

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: We messed with Texas-and we won!

     After squeezing out a narrow victory over Rhode Island, Jackie Robinson West was back in action last night against Pearland East of Texas.  Thanks in part to a Pearland error, JRW jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, including a run scored by persistent star Pierce Jones.  Even though Pearland did manage 1 run in the 3rd, Joshua Houston once again was solid as a rock, guiding West to a dominant 6-1 victory, giving Houston a 3-0 record(yeah, that's right; Houston beat Texas) and propelling the boys from the Heights into the United States semifinal.  Afterwards, the parents of the team were breathing much easier than they were during the Rhode Island game, and Manager Darold Butler said he was excited about the team's chances, as well as what they were doing for the city.  As it stands now, JRW is one of 3 U.S. teams remaining in the World Series, with Nevada and Pennsylvania playing each other tonight.  West takes on the loser of that game tomorrow night, and then the winner of that game if they advance. All the luck to our boys, and here's to continued World Series success!

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: Surviving and Advancing

     After being embarrassed on the field to the tune of 13-2, Jackie Robinson West couldn't afford any more missteps in its next game against Rhode Island's Cumberland American squad.  And no missteps were taken, as JRW eliminated Cumberland to move on to the 3rd Round of the tournament.  Of course, as has been the case with much of West's postseason, things didn't come easy. Pierce Jones started things off by smacking one out of the park to give JRW an early lead.  Unfortunately, Josh Houston would commit an error in the bottom of the inning that would allow Cumberland to take a two-run lead.  But he ultimately made up for his earlier mistake by both going 3 for 3 on the day with 2 RBI, and pitching a 1-2-3 4th inning.  Once Houston retired the side, West scored 2 more runs in the 5th to make the final score 8-7, putting away Cumberland for good and sending them packing back to Rhode Island.


     However, this is not the time to get complacent, as they're due back on the field at 6:30 tonight to play a game against Texas.  The winner of that game will play in the United States semifinal.  As always, best of luck to JRW, and hopefully we'll be back with the next edition talking about a victory.  Cheers!

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: It's a wash(but they're still alive)

     Well, what do you know?  Here I thought I wouldn't be going back to Playoff Central this year(cause who else is gonna make the playoffs, one of our baseball teams?  ha!) but the Boys from the Heights proved me wrong.  So here's to Jackie Robinson West and their World Series success!

     After drubbing the team from Lynnwood, WA so badly in their opener that not only was the slaughter rule invoked, but the opposing pitcher actually started crying...

     Attention readers, we interrupt this edition of Chicago 365 for a special announcement from Tom Hanks.

     And now we return you to your normal programming.

     ...things turned out a bit differently for them against Las Vegas' Mountain Ridge this time around.  Like giving up 13 runs and having the slaughter rule invoked on them differently.  This just wasn't JRW's day from the start.  Mountain Ridge jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning.  And though our side managed to put a run up there, the high rollers from Vegas just did not let up.  By the time that the game was called in the 4th inning, Mountain Ridge was up 13-2.  Regional Championship hero Cameron Bufford tried to help by adding another run, but Mountain Ridge simply ran away with the game.  Luckily, the Little League World Series is a double elimination tournament, so JRW could still take the crown, but if they lose again, they're finished.  Their road to the World Championship continues tomorrow night at 7 PM on ESPN 2

Chicago's going to the World Series!

     It may only be August, but a Chicago team has already stamped its ticket to the World Series!  The Little League World Series, that is.  This past Saturday, Jackie Robinson West clinched the Great Lakes Regional and advanced to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, marking the first trip to the Series by a Chicago team since 1983(coincidentally, West was also the last team to represent Chi-Town in the Series in 1983)

     This Regional action was familiar ground for the team, as they had been in this same position merely a year ago, before ultimately coming up one game short.  This year however, things were different.  Facing the team from New Albany, IN in the Regional final, the team found themselves two innings away from falling victim to the same fate as the 2013 team.  However, the team benefited from some late-game heroics in the form of a 7-run 5th inning, which was punctuated by a grand slam off the bat of Cameron Bufford.  After the game, Bufford said that he "was trying to get a base hit...but it went over the fence...I never thought I'd be here." Now that they're on the road to Williamsport, their next stop is the World Series, where they'll face 15 other teams, 7 of them being from the USA, and the other 8 coming from various places around the world.  The action begins Thursday, with West's first game airing at 2 PM on ESPN, where they'll be playing the champions of the Northwest Regional.

     The players' parents appreciate the accomplishment as well. “It’s a combination of factors,” said an adult involved with the team, "Our league has a strong tradition. The coaches were once players. It’s taken hold in the community. You pull kids from a limited area(all of the players on Jackie Robinson West live in the Washington Heights neighborhood), so there’s a sense of community to start out with. Being state champions (the league has won two Illinois championships in a row) is incidental to what we’re trying to do.”  And that is trying to build up better people. The coach of the team then emphasized just what these players meant. "We've got a whole park of 7-to10-year-olds watching these guys like they're Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, or Milton Bradley." (well, hopefully not Milton Bradley :P )

     The parents aren't the only ones praising the youngsters.  Governor Quinn even got in on the celebration by issuing a statement praising the team, applauding their perseverance in closing out the game after being behind. "This group of young ballplayers and their coaches have made all of Illinois proud.  I wish them the best of luck as they represent our state on the world stage"  Additionally, he designated this past Saturday as Jackie Robinson West Little League Champions Day statewide.  Mayor Emanuel also made his approval known, saying that "[the] hard work displayed by the Jackie Robinson West Little League Team and Coach Darold Butler has once again reminded all of Chicago the very best of what we hope from and for our kids. I want the whole team and Coach Butler to know that Chicago is rooting for them, and as they take the field for the Little League World Series, they will be taking the best wishes of an entire city with them.”