There is only one major league team in Chicago this summer. It is not the Cubs- It is not the Sox. The Cubs are, as usual, mired near the bottom of the league, fighting with the owners of buildings across the street about letting them watch a really bad baseball team from their rooftops.
The White Sox have three good players, and are also near the bottom of the league. They have a slugger, (Adam Dunn) who strikes out about 3 times a game, Only their rookie Cuban sensation can hit the ball, and they continue to lose at a momentous pace.
Then there is the only major league team playing right now- The Jackie Robinson West little league team, who are playing today to win the WORLD series! One more game against South Korea, and they are the world champs. These kids are 11 to 13 years old. When one of them (the coach’s son), went to high five the other players on the team after they beat Las Vegas yesterday, he couldn’t reach their hands, even jumping as high as he could. He made a major error in the first inning yesterday, but kept his head up and played great the rest of the game. The superb shortstop, who was forced to pitch in the last inning to preserve the win, got in trouble in the sixth, then started a beautiful double play to end the game and send them to the final game.
These guys haven’t reached puberty yet, but most of them say that the best part about playing for the championship is meeting girls. At a time when kids are being shot on the street every day, these kids bring some pride and positive excitement to Chicago.
The parade will be Wednesday. I hope one million people come out to cheer them down the parade route.