![]() It helped that he was able to locate his pitches for a second start in a row. Jason Vargas took a shutout into the sixth but stumbled to a final line of 5 1⁄3 innings and two earned runs when Carlos Santana hit a two-run home run. ![]() Manager Mickey Callaway invited the players to take batting practice at Citi Field when their season is over. During batting practice, Staten Island’s LLWS team - which is one win away from the U.S. Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Matz spent part of the game in the stands, which were filled almost exclusively with LLWS athletes, coaches and parents. They played at Bowman Field - home of the Williamsport Crosscutters, the Phillies’ short-season Class A affiliate - in front of a capacity crowd of about 2,500. The actual game went smoothly for the Mets (54-69), who find themselves riding something close to a hot streak: eight wins in their past 12 games. I remember being crushed that we didn’t win it.” Said Conforto: “Everybody wants that title. “I felt like we were about to go in the dugout again today and play for a championship.” “It’s what kick-started me to being the baseball player I am today,” he said. The visit was quite the nostalgia trip for Frazier. ![]() When Delia met Frazier, Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Wilmer Flores and Steven Matz - who were just as excited to meet him - he made them huddle up and advised: “Boys, hit some taters tonight.” Big laughs ensued. On the receiving end? Alfred “Big Al” Delia, a 12-year-old from New Jersey who became a viral sensation when he declared on an ESPN broadcast this month: “I hit dingers.” Surrounded by Toms River coaches and teammates celebrating the 20th anniversary of their championship, he threw out the first pitch before one of the Little League games. The unusual locale was a part of Major League Baseball’s wider effort to grow the game among younger audiences, and the big leaguers spending time with Little Leaguers was the theme of the day.Īfter arriving at Williamsport Regional Airport (where they were greeted by youths) and meandering through the sprawling Little League complex (where they were greeted by more youths), the Mets found themselves in a bit of a role reversal: sitting in the stands, watching the kids play.įrazier - a star pitcher/shortstop for LLWS-winning Toms River, New Jersey, in 1998 - was the most in-demand man of the day. At the end of the day, you’re just playing a game with your buddies.” That’s why I say it’s the purest form of the sport, because it’s all about winning games, it’s all about leaving it all out there. “You go back to that time when it was just playing baseball with your buddies. “To me, this is the purest form of baseball,” said Conforto, who played in the 2004 LLWS with Redmond, Washington.
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