Little League baseball: Hurry up with the show

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - The Costa Mesa American Little League had one main

goal in mind Saturday morning at Majors’ field at Costa Mesa High. Get

through the opening ceremonies quickly. There was baseball to played and

the young athletes were getting antsy.

But, the players’ anxiety didn’t prevent the CMALL from fulfilling the

necessities: a parade featuring teams marching on the field, award

presentations, introductions, the National Anthem, the Little League

Pledge, a prayer led by Costa Mesa High baseball Coach Kirk Bauermeister

and the first pitch thrown by former Mayor Gary Monahan. Current Mayor

Pro Tem Linda Dixon was at bat and Mark Harris, chairman of Costa Mesa

Parks and Recreation, was behind the plate.

“What we try to do every year is abbreviate this opening day

ceremony,” league President Pat McGuire said of the event that took just

over 30 minutes. “I try to get it done as quick as we can. We’re here to

play baseball. It’s all about the kids.”

It was also about the little leaguers who were rewarded for

fundraising as 10-year-old Cody Spoulos, who plays for the Tigers of the

Majors Division, sold the most candy for the fifth year in a row. Similar

to his training ethic on the field, he said he worked hard to get as many

buyers as possible.

He was eager to play as was Colin Jacobs, who plays for the Yankees of

the Majors Division.

The ceremony ended just after 9 a.m. and Jacobs grew more excited for

his game that was played at noon.

“We’ve been practicing really hard,” Jacobs said. “I’m a catcher so I

warm up the pitchers. Our coaches say we have the two best 12-year-olds

in the league and they’re both really good pitchers. From Minor A last

year (to the majors), it’s a whole different ball game.”

After the opening ceremonies, the Tigers and Red Sox took to the field

and began to warm up. Tigers’ Coach Dave Roum appeared to be just as, if

not more, excited than his players.

“The coaches are more nervous than the kids,” said Roum who also noted

the rainy weather has forced his team to revert to alternatives. “We’ve

been rained out for a lot of the practices. We’ve had to get creative.

We’ve had practices on the blacktop. We’ve had team meetings indoors.”

But, there was no rain on Saturday. The parade marched through,

parents crowded along the fences and backstop. The games played on. A

slice of life was displayed -- a little bit of America from what is known

as the “National Pastime.”

“I love this,” Harris said. “I live for it every year. Little League

baseball, you can’t beat it.”