6-8, 256-pounder is big focus at LLWS
Saudi Arabian first baseman Durley towers above teammates, opponents
 Carolyn Kaster / AP First baseman Aaron Durley, 13, towers above his Dhuhran, Saudi Arabia, teammates and opponents during the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa. Durley is 6-foot-8, 256 pounds. |
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Aaron Durley towers over the competition at the Little League World Series.
The 13-year-old first baseman for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, stands an imposing 6-foot-8 and weighs 256 pounds.
“I was standing next to him and I was up to his elbows,” Scott Kingery, a 12-year-old, 4-foot-9 Phoenix shortstop, said after meeting Durley.
At the secluded dorms where teams stay during the tournament, Durley has become as much of an attraction as the pool, the pingpong table and the video arcade.
The soft-spoken Durley doesn’t mind the attention. He even lets opponents snap pictures with him during down time.
But Durley, who played at the series last year, too — when he was a mere 6-foot-4 — is crystal-clear about his top priority in South Williamsport.
“I’m more confident this year, ready to do what I need to do,” Durley said after a practice. “Hit the ball out.”
Fittingly, his favorite major leaguer is David “Big Papi” Ortiz, the Boston Red Sox slugger.
Durley, batting fifth, didn’t hit a homer, but he walked twice, singled and scored a run Sunday when his Arabian American squad from Dhahran defeated Saipan, 9-1. Saudi Arabia (2-0) stands a good chance of advancing out of pool play after failing to win a game last year.
Also Sunday, two players were hurt during the game between Lemont, Ill., and Staten Island, N.Y., and taken to Williamsport Hospital.
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Both players were in good condition late Sunday night, a nursing supervisor said. Goetz was treated and released from the hospital.
Lemont won 1-0 after a frantic finish.
In other games, Columbia, Mo., routed Portsmouth, N.H., 14-5; Columbus, Ga., beat Phoenix, 4-1; Beaverton, Ore., defeated Lake Charles, La., 9-1; and Mexico defeated Russia, 11-1 in five innings.
Arabian American is a fixture at the World Series, having qualified the last seven years, and 12 of the last 13. The players’ parents primarily work for oil companies in the Middle East.
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The team has a peculiar baseball superstition — the players dye their hair blond for the World Series.
As if Durley wasn’t easy enough to pick out in a crowd.
Columbia, Mo., manager Jeff Echelmeier watched Durley attract attention while the player was standing on a porch near a path to the cafeteria.
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