Little League World Series (1 Viewer)

The_Doc_Man

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Just had to mention a point of local pride. The Little League World Series is under way and the team from River Ridge, Louisiana will be competing in the USA finals (against Hawaii). The winner of that game faces the winner of the International division, which will be either Curacao or Japan.

Win or lose, they have competed against some really great teams. Other teams have had good pitching. Tonight, the Louisiana team ran up a score of 10-0 by the 5th inning (which ends a game) and at the same time, their pitcher threw a no-hitter. (Wasn't a perfect game; one runner reached on a fielding error.) I am happy for the young fellows who are showing that down here, we might be a party town, but our children know how to play baseball.

For those who care, River Ridge is a middle-class neighborhood approximately 9 miles east of the New Orleans French Quarter and encompasses an area from the river to about one mile away on the east bank of the Mississippi River and just to the north of the small city of Harahan. At that point, the curve of the river is such that the east bank actually is to the east of the river, though there are parts where the west bank is to the east.
 

Uncle Gizmo

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I was expecting to see Riverfront properties, but I go down this road with Google Street View and I come to what I assume is a levee? So no Riverfront properties? How about building them on top of the levee?

Assumptions based on the information I got from the disaster...
 

Uncle Gizmo

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Had trouble finding a spot on Google Street View where I could look at the river. However found this one, not the best I assume but at least I can see it!
 

The_Doc_Man

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No, River Ridge is protected from river flooding by a levee. Living on the other side of the levee means you would be living on the batture (land between river's edge and levee) and would be subject to annual spring flooding.

By "the disaster" in that context, I would assume you meant "Katrina" because that was a source of flooding. By federal law, you cannot construct anything on an actual levee. With flood insurance rates being as they are, you want to live inside the levees.

It's a quiet little residential area, but you can bet that the boys from the East Bank team will come home to a noisier celebration. Win or lose, at this time they are no less than the 2nd best Little League team in the USA. If they can beat Hawaii, they are the best in the country. If they can then win one more game, they are the best in the world. These kids are in rarefied atmosphere.

At this point, they have their names and pictures in the local news rags, getting front page space. Reality will come crashing in soon, because by no later than the middle of next week, they have to go back to school. When they do, though, they will be the "big boys on campus."
 

The_Doc_Man

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"No Vehicles Allowed" because (a) kids used to drag race their vehicles on the levees, usually to tragic ends, and (b) it was learned that the vibrations of a car or truck passing over the crown of a levee, at least for some of the older levees, weakened them badly. Newer levees don't have that much of a problem, but it was an older levee with a sub-standard foundation that failed and flooded the "Lakeview" subdivision with water up to about 8 to 10 feet deep. Now the levees have been rebuilt, reinforced, and cleared of things that would weaken the foundations. They have become linear walking and biking parks. Roads no longer come close because, well, to be honest there is not that much to see in most areas. It's just a big river.

Here is a street-level view that shows the river and the bridge we call the Crescent City Connection:

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.934...0-k-no-pi-0-ya249.575-ro0-fo100!7i7300!8i3650

This one is "the Port of New Orleans" with a good perspective on the bridge.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.938...no-pi-0-ya153.01944-ro-0-fo100!7i14142!8i7071

This next one is a tourist spot because you can get a river cruise.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.948...4!1sWafPwChhKRsfdSKa2XwaUw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

At the spot under the bridges, the river is approximately 1/4 mile across and at the deepest part of the channel is about 190 feet deep. As you stand there looking at it, about 7 million gallons of water pass in front of you each second, roughly speaking.

At the River Ridge area, most of the batture has been developed for barge docking or is a wildlife refuge, one or the other, and there are no particular roads to get you closer than the other side of the levee. So there are no "pretty" scenic shots.

This next is a "tilted" Google view of River Ridge. You can see from the overhead shot if you play with it a little that the levee isn't developed for much right there.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.9424148,-90.225135,2033a,35y,44.39t/data=!3m1!1e3

In the image, you can see a business marked as a highlight; it is called "Langenstein's" - which is a local supermarket chain of three or four stores. It is of interest to me because my youngest grandson lives just across the highway from there on the oval street with a single outlet to the highway. While A. has the strength and build required to play baseball, he has no interest. His dad (my stepson) wishes it were otherwise, but A. isn't athletically inclined. More usually, he is cell-phone REclined. I wish he were more athletic simply as a concern for his health, but teens these days are hard to reach.
 

NauticalGent

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But...can you drive your Chevy to the levees?
 

The_Doc_Man

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Only if the levee is dry. And the good ol' boys drinkin' whiskey or rye will be there.
 

AccessBlaster

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If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
And the water gonna come in, have no place to stay
Well all last night I sat on the levee and moan
Well all last night I sat on the levee and moan
Thinkin' 'bout my baby and my happy home

Led Zeppelin
 

ColinEssex

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How many other countries participate in this Little League World Series?

Col
 

The_Doc_Man

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Follow AB's link and you will find many more than three dozen international participants.

As of 8/24/19, the River Ridge team from Louisiana is the USA Champion and will take on the international champion, Curacao. Today, Curacao defeated the Japanese team and the River Ridge team defeated the defending USA champions from Hawaii. Sunday afternoon, they have a shot at being Little League World Champions. For young men (youngest 11 years), this is a very heady experience. I hope the coach can keep them focused for that last game. But even if they lose to Curacao, they are still best in the USA this year and could probably successfully argue the point of being 2nd best in the world. Pretty rarefied atmosphere if you ask me.
 

The_Doc_Man

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And now it is over. The River Ridge, Louisiana team defeated Curacao to become Little League World Series Champions. Final score 8-0. Curacao did not go without hits but they never got any runs across the plate. Congratulations, guys. And as it turns out, the Girl's Softball World Series was also this weekend and a Louisiana team came in as 1st runner-up (or 2nd place) in that tournament. It would appear that we know the game of baseball.

The way the playoffs are structured, teams have to win their local league, then win a district tournament. Then (for the USA) a state tournament. After that, they must win a regional tournament. So that is four levels of tournament in order to reach the World Series. And now, my home-town team is bringing home the LLWS banner. Ah, but there is a down side. Tomorrow they have to go to school again because classes have already started here.

Just for clarification, this team was in the 10-12 year old bracket. Because there is a separate girl's division, this was not a co-ed team.
 

June7

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AFAIK, there is no girl's baseball division. The first girl acknowledged to play in Little League was Kathryn Johnston in 1950. In 1951, LL added a reg that forbid girls. Softball was added to program in 1974 due to court rulings requiring opportunities for girls. Thanks to Maria Pepe and NOW. Since, reg was changed and 19 girls have played in baseball LLWS.

At 7, my daughter explicitely asked to play baseball instead of softball because "in softball can't lead off and that ball is too big for my hand" - catcher, highest on-base average, all-star for 3 seasons through Juniors.

BTW, I have seen 3 boys play in softball division in our district.
 
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The_Doc_Man

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June7

Perhaps I was unclear. There is a girls' softball division. There is no girls' hardball division of which I am aware. But in the girls' softball division, a Louisiana team did well.

I'm sure you are proud of your daughter's efforts and I can only wish her good luck with her time in organized sports.
 

June7

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As I said, I know there is softball in Little League.

My point is, it's not "boy's" baseball and "girl's" softball in Little League - the regs are gender neutral. Although the tendency is for boys to go to baseball and girls to softball, I have seen the reverse.

My daughter is gone from Little League 20 yrs now and recently rediscovered hockey.
 

The_Doc_Man

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Ah, I see the distinction. The reporters here apparently do not. From their published reports, our local Little League (or perhaps more precisely, our formal affiliation to it) started six years ago in our area. Before that, the closest "official" team was Lafayette, Louisiana. A man named Frazier started up the formalities in our area in 2013 and now, six years later, he has let a team of 10-12 year old boys to the pinnacle of their sport.

Side effect: This is already a party town, but now at least two major parties have been planned for the kids - a celebration to be held in our local minor-league baseball stadium later today and a weekend parade to be held through River Ridge ending at a suitable party venue in Harahan, Louisiana, complete with police escorts and cheering crowds. Some of the local schools have also expressed their intention of recognizing the kids as they return to classes. The kids will eventually have to come down to Earth again, but that will be OK.

On the other hand, for those schools that offer work on writing essays, I can see some fairly interesting "What I Did Last Summer" stories in their futures.
 

Uncle Gizmo

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How did they get on Richard?

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
 

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