As a father of two boys, I devoted much time with them in the back yard and at the park playing baseball. When I constructed a flower box in the back yard, I also built a pitching mound. Since my boys and I loved baseball, I was delighted to be involved with them not only as a parent, but also as a coach. I was a head and assistant coach for both kids. I also chose in some years to be a fan instead of a coach. Sadly, over the years I saw baseball parents and coaches behaving badly.
During the opening round of playoffs one year we lost a close game when the opponent’s starting left-handed pitcher threw a really good game on a Friday night. The next morning I received an email from our head coach that explained the other team had cheated. An anonymous person had informed the governing body that the left handed pitcher was a “ringer” and had not been on the team the entire season – just the playoff game. The email read that the opponent’s head coach and their board of directors all knew of the deceit. I have to believe that the players and parents also questioned the arrival of this new player. You see, Little League International has very specific rules as do local affiliates. A quick decision was made that the cheaters had to forfeit the game, which meant we advanced. In another season and different age group (13/14 y/o), we accepted another community to our league. Going into the second season with this community, I volunteered as a head coach with my son being in his first at this level. Entering the season, I was warned by one of our coaches that the other community had done very well the previous year, won the championship, and had teams comprised of big players. As the season progressed I had parents (and players) approach me to advise that their 13 y/o sons were afraid of some of these teams with their big players. When I heard that one opposing player had driven to our field, I wondered if there were age violations. Our league permitted 15 y/o players to play, but no more than two per team. I decided to invoke the rule that permits coaches to ask to view birth certificates. I informed the opposing coach in advance of my intention to view his team’s birth certificates. Sure enough, I learned that his team used too many 15 year old players. I reported this violation to the league, discovered that other teams from the other community also used too many illegal players, and the decision was made to kick the cheaters out of the league the next year.
Skipping forward, Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West became national heroes in August by winning the Illinois Little League championship and advancing to the title game against South Korea. Chicago celebrated with a victory parade along Michigan Avenue and a rally at Millennium Park. The Cub and White Sox organizations feted JRW who also made a visit to the White House. In the interim, a head coach of an Evergreen Park team that lost to JRW at the state level began obtaining information that JRW was using ringers who did not live within JRW’s defined boundaries, which are several far southside Chicago neighborhoods yet did not extend to any suburb. For example, U.S Rep. Robin Kelly – who represents some southern Chicago suburbs – took to Twitter (#LLWS2014) on August 14* to support JRW because three players lived and attended schools in her suburban district. Oops. The suburbs of Lansing and Linwood also boasted* of having JRW players as residents. D’oh! This prompted the Evergreen Park Coach to file a complaint with Little League. After a short inquiry, Little League exonerated JRW and closed the case. The Evergreen Park coach persisted, and Little League reopened the case.
At this juncture, according to the Chicago Tribune (2/12/15), JRW approached the south suburban Little League communities to obtain permission to include their boundaries in JRW’s. When the leagues declined, JRW redrew their map and backdated the document. Citing new evidence, Little League stripped JRW of its title on February 11, 2015.
Rules exist to keep the playing field level. I remember praying and hoping during the JRW surge that everything was legit. The storyline of their success was great, and Chicago embraced the team. The Chicago Tribune has a second article and it questions whether the donations (>$200,000) given to JRW during their magical season will be spent on JRW facilities and fields, which a JRW administrator said would happen. I hope and pray that the JRW adults didn’t pocket and spend the money like former Illinois governors Blagoyevich and Ryan and former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
