It is to the point where it is as expected as a Memorial Day sunburn. It occurs with more regularity than campaign half-truths, double speak and blather. If it were a heavenly body it would be the sun given that you can count on it day after day, year after year.
It is the appearance of yet another South County Little League baseball team in the final stages of the Little League World Series tournament.
Six years ago, in 2009, the Park View Little League baseball team went all the way, winning the national and international titles.
Four years later Eastlake Little League made an appearance at the Big Show, bringing home the national title but falling just short of winning the international game.
Last year the Sweetwater Valley team, after winning the Little League West Region tournament, made it to the World Series but didn’t come back with a title.
Blink your eyes and one year later yet another team from Chula Vista — Park View — is on the verge of getting to the series.
Four Chula Vista teams getting to at least the West Region tournament in seven years is remarkable. If someone from Little League headquarters commissioned a study to see what was in the water here they could hardly be blamed.
And while admittedly a South County team participating in and winning the West Region final en route to the Little League World Series is not a yearly event, it has almost become a summer ritual. And this year’s has been harrowing so far.
In game one of the West tournament, after jumping to a 1-0 lead, Park View found themselves trailing 3-2 in the final inning before Lucas Marrujo’s at-bat knocked in Ali Camarilo to tie the game. It wasn’t until extra innings, the 10th, that Park View scored 15 more runs to win their first of three.
The next night Chula Vista’s team fell behind right off the bat and found themselves losing 4-3 going into the fifth inning, where they would score an additional four runs to give themselves a 7-4 victory without the anxiety of going to extra innings.
Depending on how they performed Thursday night Park View will either play Friday in a do-or-die game to play in the West Region final Saturday or by securing a victory Thursday night they will automatically advance to the regional championship game.
Either way it feels like Yogi Berra’s “deja vu all over again” for fans of Little League baseball or youth sports in general.
But as familiar as the spectacle is it’s important to remember that these moments do not happen every year and every pitch, hit, strike and catch should be cherished and savored.
Until the time comes next year to do it all again.
