Mike Celizic

The Little League World Series is a creation of human beings, which means it’s never going to be perfect. But, as sporting events go in the overhyped and self-centered culture we inhabit, it really is about as good as it gets.

With the final rounds of competition about to start, it seems an appropriate time to say this. That is especially in light of the mild unpleasantness that surrounded the actions of the Staten Island team that was recently eliminated.

Staten Island lost a tough game in extra innings on a mental error. A kid said a naughty word that was picked up on a mic in the dugout. It wasn’t a particularly shocking word for the blue-collar Staten Island neighborhood the kids represented, (It’s part of New York City, after all, where the first words babies learn are “mama,” “dada” and “bleep you.”) but it was one of the words for which the FCC will fine any electronic media that allows them to pollute the airwaves. A coach, hearing the word, struck the miscreant who uttered it.

Some commentators took this as yet another sign that the apocalypse is upon us. They were the same ones who tore their hair and garments a few years ago when a hero pitcher, Danny Almonte, turned out to be 15 instead of the maximum age of 13 for participants.

And, if you go back 15 years or so, there was a time when Chinese Taipei owned the competition by virtue of assembling teams from the entire country instead of from a narrowly defined area.

What sets the Little League World Series apart is that when we hear of such incidents, we are actually shocked. We expect better of what is probably our most famous youth sports organization, one which gave most of us our first experience in organized baseball.

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If we hear of professional or college athletes lying, cheating or acting badly, we may be angered, but we’re hardly shocked. We’ve come to accept such behavior as part of the game. It’s like eating whole lobster. You don’t want to get soaked in spraying cooking juices, but you deal with it as part of the experience.

In Little League, such things rarely happen. Kids don’t pose at the plate to admire their home runs. Pitchers don’t show up hitters they’ve just struck out. Managers don’t kick dirt on the plate and abuse umpires with whom they have differences of opinion. The fans don’t yell expletives at players on the other team. They don’t throw batteries at the right fielder. They applaud the team that beats their kids.

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