Yanks relish 'nostalgic' day in Williamsport
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochThis story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch¡¯s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Aaron Judge and his teammates marched up the famed driveway of the Little League World Series complex on Sunday afternoon, the festive red, white and blue bunting of Howard J. Lamade Stadium serving as their beacon in the distance.
A wall of sound surrounded them: thousands of fans, the young and not-so-young, emptying their lungs in hopes of securing a forever keepsake. As Judge inched through the swollen crowd, his thoughts would drift to the grainy black-and-white footage of the British Invasion of the mid-1960s.
¡°They make you feel like The Beatles out there,¡± Judge said.
Despite a 3-2 loss to the Tigers in 10 innings, Judge and the Yankees seemed even larger than usual during Sunday¡¯s Little League Classic festivities, and not only because they stood roughly two feet taller than most of their adoring fans.
The Bombers expected a lot from their visit to Pennsylvania¡¯s Lycoming County, and they were not disappointed.
A threatening forecast raised the possibility that the Yankees might not visit at all, as manager Aaron Boone had relayed, though that shifted in time to green-light the game. The Yanks jetted from Pontiac, Mich., dropping through gray clouds at 12:24 p.m. ET.
They were greeted on the runway by members of two Little League squads -- one from Henderson, Nev., and the other from Venezuela. As they disembarked their jet, all dressed in pinstriped uniform tops, ¡°Let¡¯s Go Yankees¡± chants were heard in high-pitched squeals.
Autographs were signed, caps and pins swapped. Paul McCartney and John Lennon would have been proud.
¡°It was pretty incredible,¡± Marcus Stroman said. ¡°From the time we landed, just to see them outside the plane, be able to share little stories with them and sign things for them -- it¡¯s pretty nostalgic. It brings you back to when you were a kid. I think these events are awesome for baseball. They need to continue to happen.¡±
Two shuttle buses carried the Yanks to the World Series complex; one ferried the Little Leaguers alongside their heroes. Judge said that the kids asked many questions, including ¡°pointing at your muscles, saying, ¡®How do I get big and strong?¡¯¡±
As the bus rolled past modest two-story homes, Giancarlo Stanton eyed one stunned pitcher on the Nevada club, telling him, ¡°Hey, I saw you pitching the other day.¡±
¡°Hanging out with them was really cool,¡± Stanton said. ¡°They had those questions for us, just the curiosity of what this means for us and what it¡¯s like playing in the big leagues, the steps that it takes. Just to be able to converse with them and hang out with them was cool.¡±
Juan Soto, Anthony Volpe, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón engaged players in banter; Cole said the best part of being a big leaguer is that ¡°we get to play a kids¡¯ game.¡±
No one connected more firmly than Jazz Chisholm Jr. By day¡¯s end, he¡¯d be calling young Russell McGee, a pitcher/infielder on the Henderson team, ¡°my little brother,¡± having already exchanged Instagram follows and cell phone numbers.
The big leaguers visited Lamade and Volunteer Stadiums, high-fiving players from Australia and Aruba as they took the field, then watching from the stands as the squads from Washington and Pennsylvania faced off.
¡°I always wanted to make it to Williamsport,¡± Cole said. ¡°It took me a little longer than I wanted, but I made it.¡±
Then, of course, there was the hill. Sliding down the bumpy slope at Lamade Stadium has become a Little League World Series tradition, albeit one some big leaguers have been hesitant to tackle for fear of injury. Austin Wells insisted upon a trip down the hill, nudging Volpe to accompany him.
There they were, playing like kids, their bottoms skidding on cardboard boxes that had been holding flat-screen televisions a few days prior.
¡°I don¡¯t think we even went down the hill, but Wellsie really wanted to do it, so he convinced everyone,¡± Volpe said.
The late defeat, in which Clay Holmes coughed up his Major League-leading 10th blown save just one out from victory, made the evening bittersweet. But like the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa, three years ago, the Yankees refused to let a heartbreaking conclusion spoil their entire journey.
Judge said he had just one regret: that the day had to end.
¡°I wish we got to spend more time with the kids and hang out with them,¡± Judge said. ¡°We got rushed around a little bit. But the moments we did get to spend with them ¡ that, for me, was definitely the best part. Maybe next time we come back, we¡¯ll have some more time.¡±