Make No Mistake, This One Was The Best Ever
I've seen no-hitters.
I've seen games that have gone into the wee hours of the morning.
I've seen 13-year-olds hit home runs more than 400 feet.
But I've never seen anything like what I observed Saturday afternoon.
Let the record show that the epic Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series championship game at Diethrick Park - the 14th in Jamestown since 1980 - will be the measuring stick for any future tournament games played here.
''It was made in Hollywood,'' said Russell E. Diethrick Jr., World Series Committee host president, after Bryant, Ark. outlasted College Point, N.Y., 13-12, in eight innings.
Then he corrected himself.
''No,'' he said, ''it was made in Jamestown.''
The kids from 10 miles south of Little Rock will always have top billing in any discussion about the all-time most memorable games played on Falconer Street.
''This is the first time an Arkansas team has done anything like it, at any age,'' Bryant manager Jimmy Parker said. ''We've been close in years past. We're proud of where we come from, we're proud of Bryant and we're proud of all these coaches that helped these kids get where they're at.''
Still, not even the most ardent Bryant rooters - and, believe me, there were plenty of those screaming their lungs out in the bleachers behind the third-base dugout - could have scripted anything like it.
See KINDBERG, Page C-2
From Page C-1
''This was the greatest game ever played in World Series history,'' host committee vice president Felix Muzza said, ''and one of the best World Series we've ever had here. It was so intense, there was so much competitiveness and it just came out to that last inning. It was just incredible.''
Let the record show that Bryant (6-0), which trailed in every game of the tournament, finally took the lead for good when Tryce Schalchlin singled home Daniel Richards with the eventual winning run in the top of the eighth inning.
And that was only made possible when winning pitcher Tyler Nelson managed to wiggle out of a bases-loaded, no-out pickle with the game tied, 12-12, an inning earlier.
Nelson's best Mariano Rivera impersonation left him in tears upon arrival in the dugout.
One could understand his emotion.
The crowd, estimated at 1,400, was exhausted just watching.
All told the game lasted 3 hours, 17 minutes, during which there were 25 runs, 29 hits eight errors, 16 walks and only four strikeouts. It finally ended when Marcus Wilson, the World Series Most Outstanding Player, tracked down a drive to left field by Joseph Morel, the tournament batting champion, with the tying run on base.
''Marcus used his speed to get to the ball,'' College Point manager Nelson Santiago said. ''He got to the gap.''
Bryant got to celebrate.
''That game was unbelievable,'' Santiago said. ''The heart of both teams was incredible.''
After the awards were presented, the Bryant All-Stars posed for a photograph in front of one certain 1922 Pierce Arrow, which had been driven onto the infield.
The vehicle was once owned by a man known as George Herman Ruth.
Had the ''Babe'' been in attendance at Diethrick Park yesterday, he would have been proud to have his name attached to a game so magnificent.
''That was awesome,'' Diethrick said.
