I don't know about the caliber of the entire Chula Vista, CA team, but one of its pitchers, Luke Ramirez, is 6'2", 205 lbs.
Folks can complain about the commercial aspects and over-exposure, but there's still a lot of good, old-fashioned FUN to be had for the players in Williamsport. Here are Day 1 and Day 2 recaps from one of the coaches of the San Antonio-based McAllister Park team, a participant in this year's LLWS:
Day 1
We arrived at the airport at 4:15 AM and much to our surprise all the tv station reporters were there with camera's rolling. The boys flew out at 5:45 AM on time. We connected in Houston for a 3 1/2 hour flight to Baltimore. The boys slept almost the entire way. When we arrived our bus was waiting to take us on the 4 hour drive to Williamsport. We stopped half way to let the boys eat at Subway and Arby's. As we got closer to Williamsport, the countryside became more beautiful. We passed old farms with old barns like you would see in the movies. We crossed over rivers and drove along rivers that were breath taking. Everything up here is so green. The closer we got to Williamsport, the more excited the boys became. The city of Williamsport is set in some very scenic hills. We passed the stadium as we pulled into town and the boys started hooping and hollering. It was around 4 pm. When we got to the security entry gate, there was a large party waiting for us including our 2 uncles (hosts), Bill and Walt. These two fellas are the image of the "All-American grandfathers". The first thing the boys did before departing the bus was have a PA come on board and take all the boys' temperatures. They were then allowed to deboard and the microphones and cameras were already rolling. We were then escorted to our dorm which is much nicer than the word dorm would lead you to believe. Mike and I each have our own room and the boys are in a giant room with seven bunkbeds. We share our building with Venezuela, Japan and the Mid-Atlantic Region. The boys have received their jerseys and not all got their regular jersey number. The jersey number were based on the boys' sizes. They've also received their hats and wind breaker jackets. Tonight the boys have been busy meeting the other teams - trading pins. There's a large cafeteria and upstairs is a large game room with lots of free arcade games for the boys and ping pong tables. A notable accomplishment in ping pong tonight is Wyatt got beat by Japanese players 11-0 and 11-0. Nick Smisek beat multiple California players in Wii baseball. The name of where we are staying is The Grove. The name does not come close to describing its beauty. The flowers, the trees, the landscaping are awesome. There is a large Olympic size swimming pool complete with diving boards set in the middle of The Grove. The entire complex has very high security and sits on a hill over-looking Lamonde Field. If there is a baseball heaven for little leaguers and their dads, we have arrived! It is 10:30 here and we are getting the boys showered and into their room. We are expecting another very exciting day tomorrow. I have never seen 12 boys as excited as I have today. If I'd have known how awesome this was going to be, I would have been more nervous when we were behind 4-2 in the 5th inning. To say we are blessed is a huge understatement. Good night till tomorrow. Coach Lee
Day 2
Well today has come and gone in a flash! Our Uncles(Bill and Walt) woke the boys up at 7:30 singing to them!!! Travis needed a little extra help so the two of them dumped him off his mattress!! it was a great start to an UNBELIEVABLE day. After breakfast we went and got our security badges. from there at 9:00 am we went to the Wilson and Easton sponsor tent....the boys got a new bat from each of them...the Easton (Stealth Speed XL)is not on the market till November so the boys were thrilled...Mike had a meeting at 10 am about instant replay...a new rule in effect this year...should be very interesting..Jace went to Building blocks with Oreses Estrada "the Big O" and said it was a blast!! (extra TV time for Jace)... before we knew it it was lunchtime.. After lunch we had an hour till our 2oclock batting... so some of the boys went swimming...we found out that Rocket Ramos could only do a 1 1/4, not 1 1/2 flip...it was two great attempts that were face plants!! Tanner,John,and Nick all did pretty good flips!! From there to BP... an indoor pavilion like Baylors that we used...Mike threw Live, with my great arm, i used a machine that threw great curves(the boys hit great!!)...from there we went to fielding practice, which promptly got rained out. We did get to see Matt and Kelly Van Parys who just arrived for Jacob(on the Germany team) by way of 7 hour flight on a military cargo plane. Then off to dinner and then another meeting for me and Mike...more stuff about the media(600 press passes issued for this event!)...the good news from the meeting...we are home,home,visitor for our 1st 3 games...Mike actually won two flips!! My highlight today was after lunch, beating Travis in Ping Pong after he had beaten half the Saudi Arabian team!!! As i write tonight it is about 10 oclock and the boys are trading old spirit shirts with their new friends from Venezuela.....i personally am ready for bed...a few families came in today but many travel tomorrow and Friday so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers...Today has been a Blast!! till tomorrow...coach lee
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