It takes a Little Leaguer to give new meaning to 'charging the mound'
Sports own a prominent spot in our world for many reasons.
Take your choice. There are lessons in following rules, improving fitness, gaining life experience, and just going out and competing to prove who’s the best on a given day.
All are important and keep us coming back for more.
Moreover, sports are great theater.
There’s something about the drama of games and how athletes react under pressure that is so enticing. Reactions in the heat of the moment live forever.
We love the emotion — sweet emotion — of our games. From youth contests to professional events, those shots of adrenaline and in-the-moment reactions are the big stories that last forever. The winners revel in the memories, while losers remember the pain.
There is something special about unfettered emotions that makes sports show-stopping. It’s that “thrill of victory and agony of defeat” concept that is so unpredictable.
It's not the NFL’s touchdown celebrations, which have become so choreographed. Those moves have become more practiced than the plays themselves.
Spontaneity is the key for good show-stopping emotions. They are non-scripted and spur-of-the-moment acts that live forever, thanks to social media.
One example is the pure joy Cleveland Guardians reliever James Karinchak exudes after a successful inning of work.
He psyches himself up for each performance and releases it after a successful completion. His display isn’t for everyone, but it’s become his trademark.
Locally, that huge rush of emotion came after the final pitch of the South Penn Baseball League championship series at North Hagerstown. That had both sides — thrill and agony — at the same time.
Just after the final pitch, Cashtown reliever Anthony Lippy threw his glove straight up in the air after securing the title for the Pirates.
There were many factors in this celebration.
For Lippy, it was probably the last competitive pitch he’ll ever throw because he was planning on retiring as an adult-league player.
For Cashtown, it was a case of slaying the dragon. The Hagerstown Braves were the preeminent team of the league in 2022 — undefeated before the championship series — and knocking them off was the top of the mountain.
On the other side of the field, the Braves walked off quietly.
They had the air of invincibility through the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. Because of the swagger of their success, Hagerstown had a love-to-hate image surrounding it — like Tom Brady or the New York Yankees.
But over the course of four games — the final four of the best-of-five series — the Braves became mortal. It’s tough to be undefeated because there’s no place to go but down.
The king of emotional moments, though, came last Tuesday in a Little League Southwest Regional game in Waco, Texas. To say it was an emotional first is an understatement.
It began when Pearland, Texas, pitcher Kaiden Shelton lost control of a pitch, striking Tulsa, Okla., batter Isiah Jarvis on the front of his helmet.
It seemed like a tragic moment. Jarvis fell in a heap on the spot, with first the umpire, then trainers and coaches rushing to his aid.
As the now-viral video shows, Jarvis eventually got up and shook off the shock and pain of the incident. He actually went to first to continue playing.
The shock of the play shattered Shelton. He became distraught over what he had done and lost his focus and maybe his will to keep playing.
In an emotional twist, Jarvis dropped his helmet at first base and headed to the mound. In many cases in baseball, that’s not a good thing.
Players have been known to charge the pitcher because of errant pitches — especially for one near the head.
But Jarvis strolled to the mound leisurely, walking over and embracing Shelton and telling him, “Hey, you’re doing great. Let’s go.”
After the game, Jarvis said he would have been “pretty scared” if he was Shelton.
"If you're throwing hard and you just hit somebody in the head, it's got to be a scary thing," he said. "So, I just wanted to go over there and make sure he was all right. Make sure he knows that I'm all right. And really just encourage him."
As usual, in the heat of an emotional moment, the voice of reason comes from a most unlikely source. In this case, the person was the one hit by the ball.
A moment that could have been tragically remembered, and could have scarred everyone in that Waco, Texas, diamond for life, became a powerful moment of sportsmanship.
In this blue-red, left-right, right-wrong, divided world, this is one time everyone can be in agreement.
This all happened in a week when the world of baseball was celebrating players for their historic play.
San Diego’s Juan Soto was being compared to Ted Williams for the ability to draw walks.
Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani was matching Babe Ruth’s milestones.
Jarvis may have topped them. His actions could be compared to Gandhi.
Nonviolence was the answer to a volatile situation.
Sometimes the best emotions are the ones you keep in check.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Parasiliti: Sports' ecstasy and agony remain great theater
