Maine-Endwell Captures Heart of America

This will be my first Android post on my blog.
The Annual Little League Series took place this week in Williamsport, PA at the Howard J. Lamade Stadium in front of 23,211 at the final game on Sunday.  Not too far from a small town, more known for being attached to Endicott, the history of Endicott-Johnson, and IBM, internationally!

In this small town, just like anywhere else in America, several young boys and girls dream of being the next champ, the next World Series Champ that is.

However, when most kids are out behind the house throwing with a friend, parent, or sibling, they are mindset on the Major League World Series with tens of thousands of fans cheering them on.

In Maine-Endwell, a coach, some kids, some parents, and eventually a city, an area, and a nation took on the concept of that same World Series Championship, but somewhere where the pressure and challenge far outweighs the Major Leagues.

In Williamsport, PA, nothing could have made a kid sweat more than seeing their own parents, family, friends, and coaches who only had to drive 2 hours, right in the same stadium, in the same field. Talk about pressure. I could hear Billy Joel swooning out his famous song, as each pitch was thrown, each bat hit a ball, and as each inning rolled into the next. Strike after strike, out after out, amazing timely hitting, and intense, conscientious kids playing some of the greatest Little League baseball this Country has ever seen. Let alone a NYS team going all the way.

The last NYS LL team to make the final was Staten Island. In 1964 they took the World Crown.

Well, Whether these M-E kids took a bus or drove with parents, they came as a TEAM! They played like a TEAM, and they won Like CHAMPIONS! Amazing pitching, despite odd strike zones by umpires, who apparently felt the box paint was the plate, on inside pitches. Huge timely hitting, great fielding, and incredible perseverance pushed these 2016 World Champs from the small parks of Maine-Endwell, NY to the big-time, nationally televised site of the annual Series!

The coaching staff showed calm, perseverance and connections with their players, and parents watched, cheered, or like Mrs. Abbadessa, prayed. Her son was a big star in the final two championships!

So now, forever listed in the annals of baseball lore, which whether these folks realize it or not, will be stored in our national vaults, in the mountains (yes, it actually exists for nuclear reasons), along with a recording of their accomplishments.

A team of kids won it all today, coaches, parents, a city, the east coast, the United States, all of us in need of a time of happiness, peace and self-celebration, can now rest on itself on the shoulders of the boys listed below, for at least a little while, before the madness of the world sets back in for all of us!!!

Congratulations:

Billy Dundon
Jude Abbadessa
Brody Raleigh
Michael Mancini (US World Champ Pitcher)
Jordan Owens
Connor Rush (Winning RBI's in World Championship)
Justin Ryan
Jack Hopko
James Fellows
Jayden Fanara
Ryan Harlost (World Series Pitching Champ and scored final run on pass ball)

Congrats to coaches Joe Hopkp, Joe Mancini and Scot Rush!

Congrats to the Little League WORLD CHAMPS - Maine-Endwell!!

Written by: Colin Bruce Munro Wood
08/28/2016 11:57PM ET