“Man Up” and celebrate

Today some of us in the community took time out of our day to formally welcome back and celebrate our Mid-Atlantic Regional Little League Champions, the West Salisbury Little League All-Stars. I’m betting somewhere else on the local blog scene are pictures of the parade that happened this morning, I chose to attend the formal celebration at Perdue Stadium.

However, this post is dedicated to the parents. Once upon a time I was a T-ball and softball dad, my daughter played from the time she was in 2nd grade on up into 7th grade. So I coached her first T-ball team and was an assistant coach for her softball teams each year except her last. We had some modest success, winning the Toledo City Championship one year after finishing as a runner-up the season before. But nothing like this.

For example, we never did this to our cars!

Cars belonging to the proud parents. They did a lot of traveling!

Another shot of some proud parents' cars and SUV's.

One thing that is proven is that politicians love a winner, too. But many did have a job to do as you’ll see.

We even got Sherman to come out of his nest to help the party along. I noticed he didn’t hang around out in the sun too long though!

Sherman gets a greeting from Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman.

Once we got everyone organized and seated, the festivities could begin. Behind them are banners honoring their District 8, Maryland State, and Mid-Atlantic Regional titles.

The politicians sit down so the event could get underway.

First the players were introduced individually, to the cheers of their parents and supporters. By necessity this has become a close-knit group and they were well-behaved throughout.

The eleven players on our regional championship team.

And each of the elected officials there seemed to have a proclamation they needed to read. I was joking with Chris Bitters that pretty soon they’ll have one for everyone on the team. First out of the chute was District 37 State Senator Rich Colburn.

Sen. Rich Colburn brought the first proclamation from the Maryland State Senate.

Barrie Tilghman called the team Salisbury’s “heroes” and noted that the team got the community to focus on its good aspects rather than its problems, because “our citizens are special.” She was also curious to know just where Coon Rapids, Minnesota was before declaring “who cares?” (It’s a suburb of Minneapolis, as Chandler, Arizona is a suburb of Phoenix. So we went up against some “city slickers.”)

The mayor had both a proclamation and a key to the city for the team.

Of course, the County Council got in the act too, represented by Council President John Cannon.

Another proclamation, this time from Wicomico County.

Still more honors were forthcoming from Maryland’s two U.S. Senators. The top picture is Tyler Patton from Senator Mikulski’s office and the bottom is Lee Whaley, representing Senator Cardin.

Representing Senator Mikulski, Tyler Patton had a few words.

Senator Cardin's local  representative, Lee Whaley, also stopped by to speak.

And lastly as far as the elected officials were concerned it was a bipartisan effort from three of our Delegates, all from District 38. In particular, Norm Conway noted that this team could show another team up in Baltimore a thing or two about success, and also informed the players and coaches that they will be invited for a day to the upcoming General Assembly regular session.

From left, Delegates Page Elmore, Jim Mathias, and the obscured one is Norm Conway. Sorry about that Norm!

Now, say what you will about the mayor, but it was a hot day and she was busy being a mom with her nice cold water bottles.

Barrie Tilghman keeping the players a bit cooler. We were all pretty warm out in the sun, but I don't think he was expecting the shower!

As you can see, the crowd mainly stayed in the shade, with the exception of the players’ parents who were seated just beside the Shorebirds’ dugout.

I'd have liked to have seen a few more out here, but I'm sure hundreds lined the parade route earlier too.

Finally, the players received their long-overdue honors, certificates from the Little League office and pins signifying their participation in the LLWS.

Each player received a certificate and a pin signifying their achievement.

There were three things that stuck out amongst what was said by the coaches. First of all, the community’s support was appreciated as well as the coverage of the team by the Daily Times. In fact, the families also received gifts donated by Food Lion, Outback Steakhouse, and the Centre of Salisbury. Secondly, the coaches stressed all of the friendships they made, from Alexis Loughry (the young lady who became Craig East’s biggest fan) to the players from such far-flung places as Walpole, Massachusetts, Mexico, and Japan – players they shared facilities with. That’s a really nice thing about the LLWS being truly a world series.

And finally it was up to “Coach Bill”, Bill Cropper, to put things in perspective. These players fulfilled a mission in his life and truly became a “miracle from Maryland” in ways that weren’t just baseball-related. Moreso than most young teams, this was a team that had a spiritual background and played for something more than themselves.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens to these young men as they progress in life. Since all but one is 12 years old, they will be past the age of Little Leaguers next year and the West Salisbury Little League will have to count on a new group of boys to continue the legacy. This team may not have taken home the ultimate prize, but they galvanized a community for a memorable month and gave us all something to be proud of.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.