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In a world where adults often act like children, sometimes it’s the children who impress us the most.
Add the Bangor Little League All-Star team to that list after they went further in the New England regional championship than any Bangor team before them, coming up just one game short of going to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the Little League World Series.
It was an impressive run. Equally impressive is the way the team has reacted.
“It’s really cool to be part of a team that made it farther than any other Bangor team and to get just one win away from Williamsport,” center fielder Patrick Guite told Bangor Daily News sports reporter Larry Mahoney after the team’s regional championship defeat on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t play our best game. But we had a phenomenal run. We can’t let that derail the success this group has had this season,” head coach Jason Harvey said. “That was our first loss. That speaks volumes for what type of team we had.”
Before the New England championship, the Bangor team had an 11-0 record. They won five games in the district tournament, four in the state tournament and two in the regional — including a previous win against the Massachusetts team that ultimately beat them on Thursday.
“Tip your hat to Massachusetts. They got those two big hits that produced runs. That’s the way the game goes,” coach Harvey said. His son, Jacoby Harvey is a player on the team who pitched during Thursday’s game.
“They came out ready to play. They played better than we did,” Jacoby Harvey told the BDN.
As phenomenal as the team’s performance was on the field, it is this winning attitude that really knocks it out of the park. We didn’t see blame or deflection from the Bangor team — just great baseball and great perspective. And we look forward to the team returning with both next season.
This year’s Little League tournament has already offered some inspiring moments. For example, two players received national attention after a remarkable show of togetherness and empathy from opposing players.
On Tuesday, pitcher Kaiden Shelton from Texas accidentally hit batter Isaiah Jarvis from Oklahoma in the head with a wild pitch. Jarvis stayed on the ground for a few moments before eventually heading to first base, understandably shaken up. But Shelton was also shaken up by the incident, and started to cry. He received support from an unlikely source: the opponent he just hit.
Jarvis walked from first base to the pitcher’s mound, hugged Shelton, and told him, “Hey, you’re doing great.”
We’re not crying, you’re crying. What a display of sportsmanship.
“I wanted to go up there because we’re pretty good friends… so I went up there and I gave him a hug,” Jarvis told Good Morning America on Wednesday. “We’re all brothers… baseball, it’s just a game.”
If only adults could maintain that kind of perspective — we might get a lot more accomplished across society. We’d certainly be a lot more pleasant to each other. From this instance to the impressive team performance from the Bangor All-Stars, these Little League players have shown us what it means to be good sports, both in victory and in defeat. And that’s as good, if not better, than any championship.
