My team is in the World Series!

[Mike Dunn]

So excited because the Taney Dragons, a Little League team here in Philadelphia, has made it to the World Series that starts Thursday in Williamsport. My family is particularly excited because my daughter is classmates with three of the Taney players, including the only girl on the team, Mo'Ne Davis (the boys she knows on the team are Jahli Hendricks and Scott Bandura).

The Taney team is a bit of a storybook squad. This article, written well before yesterday's regional final, tells it pretty well.

Taney mirrors much of the city. African American, white, four of mixed race, including a son of a Vietnamese immigrant, tall (6-foot-1), not so tall (a breath over five feet), from all over, top students at eight different schools, public, charter, parochial, and private, most on generous scholarships. Plus the singular Mo'ne.

And what these kids face is not what every (suburban) Little League team faces:

posts on the players' Instagram accounts, several apparently from members and friends of the losing team, were brutal. Comments about players being from New Jersey or the Dominican Republic - nonsense, Taney is entirely Philadelphian - and the bitter hashtag #taneycheats.

And this: "They're just putting them to Bristol cuz 3/4 there team is black and a girl is on their team so no one cared about a regular team." ... Taney players tried to put it behind them, but the parents were irate. "We're providing these kids with the same opportunities as their suburban counterparts," said Steve Bandura, Scott's father and founder of the multisport Anderson Monarchs, where many Dragons first played. His mission is to get more African American players involved in the game. "We have the greatest pool of untapped talent in our inner cities."

Inner-city kids are very focused on basketball, so there are plenty of leagues for that, but little for baseball. Maybe the Dragon's success will change that ... at least in this town.

Finally a bit about Mo'ne:

Her fastball registers about 70 miles per hour on the radar gun; her curveball buckles the knees of opposing batters; her line-drives clear fences for home-runs.

[roncollins]

Very cool, Mike!

[Leones]

That's cool Mike!

Another reason to try and catch the action this fall. (as if any more were needed) I always enjoy watching the Little League World Series.

[Rory]

that's awesome Mike.

[Apollos]

That's awesome, Mike -- I'll definitely tune in and root for your kids! Congrats To Taney

[John]

What a great story. Thanks for sharing it with us, Mike. And go, Dragons!

[Cole]

Awesome. I bet Mo`Ne is going to be a media darling up there during the tournament.

I love watching the Little League World Series (this morning I actually went through on my PVR and set it to record all the games that will be on TV here in Canada). As a guy who has coached youth baseball for years it`s cool to see these players competing at such a high level, with such immense levels of pressure.

And it always seems there`s some sort of huge drama in the game.

I still remember the 2012 U.S. Championship game, which was without a doubt the wildest baseball game I`ve ever witnessed, at ANY level.

I won`t put a spoiler if you haven`t seen it or don`t know what happened, but do yourself a favour and watch this recap video (it`s about 15 minutes long, but skip to 3:50 in the video, that`s where the recap of the championship game starts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItPD-MTJebQ

[Mike Dunn]

Awesome. I bet Mo`Ne is going to be a media darling up there during the tournament.

It's already happening, and will only escalate if they advance.

Washington Post
Grantland
Deadspin looks at her various pitches
Even Twitter

This is pretty bizarre from our vantage point, as we've known her as our daughter's classmate since they were 8 or 9. Hoping she and the team can maintain their focus.

One advantage is that their team is the closest geographically of any of the 16 teams.. and on Friday, their first game, busloads of supporters are coming up from Philly. Its about a three hour drive.

[Mike Dunn]

Mo'Ne becomes the first girl to pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series.

This piece by a local sports blog sums it all pretty well.

Davis' 2-hit, complete-game shutout was real pitching, not just fireball throwing as so many overwhelming Little League performances can be. She's one smart cookie.

Blessed with a quick lead on a 3-run home run by Jared Sprague-Lott before she even took the mound, Davis ran a clinic on pitching to contact and pounding the strike zone at differing pace.
She hit 69 and 70 on her 4-seam fastball but mixed it effectively with a split-change and occasional curve, changing eye-level and speeds to keep a very good hitting Nashville team off-balance. I watched this Tennessee team bust open a close game against Virginia late in the Southeast Regional final; they can rip. But they were always one step behind Davis' tactics here.

Davis acknowledged that she studied the home plate umpire's high strike zone and worked toward it, then that she was aware of her pitch count entering the bottom of the sixth (57). She knew the secondary limit of 65 was approaching if she was to be used again on three days rest, per Little League rules: "So, I knew I had to squeeze those eight pitches in and I was able to do it."

And this is my favorite, about the media feeding frenzy:

"It hasn't been too bad. And anyway, I can always say, 'No.' That's my secret weapon with the media."

Capture.JPG

[Evas]

I caught a few inning of the game today. She was really impressive. The hitters looked completely over matched for the most part, especially the ones who haven't hit their growth spurt yet.