It was around this time last year when members of the Sweetwater Valley Little League were taking their final lap around the bases, expressing appreciation to adoring fans — including, of course, doting mothers and fathers and adopted tios and tias — for their support.
The young ballplayers were bumped out of the West Region tournament, which is a qualifying round of the Little League World Series, after losing an elimination game to a team from Arizona.
Baseball fans in South County may have grown accustomed to seeing teams from south of the 94 and north of the Mexico-U.S. border making a run for the top title in youth baseball.
Eleven years ago — that would make most of the players on the Park View Little League team around early to mid 20s today — Chula Vista and the entire county celebrated when The Blue Bombers, as the team was called, defeated a team representing Chinese Taipei in the international final.
A few years later the boys of summer from Eastlake Little League took South County and the rest of the country on another wild ride in the 2013 Little League World Series but came up short in the final game against a team from Japan. Nonetheless, the team from Eastlake returned to their South County lives as national champions.
In 2016 the Park View Little League team again made a trip to the Little League World Series, though with different players. This time, however, they did not make it to the final.
In 2018 the team from Park View was knocked out of the international tournament by a team from Northern California and last year the team from Bonita got this close to making a run at the world title.
This year?
As common sense, good decision making and responsible adults would have it, the 2020 Little League World Series was cancelled.
The world is engaged in its own competition against the COVID-19 pandemic. The potentially lethally virus has disrupted many traditions and celebrations we associate with summer. That’s OK.
As they say in sports after a disappointing loss, there is always next year.
The challenge is in being around for that next at bat.
