Little League: Thousands turn out for US champions

CHICAGO — Chicago crowned its newest kings Wednesday, as thousands turned out to celebrate Jackie Robinson West’s improbable run in the Little League World Series last week.

The players — most of whom had just started preschool the last time the city hoisted a baseball trophy — were cheered and applauded along a 13-mile parade route that snaked from the far South Side to Millennium Park. Fans shouted their names the entire way, in loud appreciation for the joy the boys brought to a summer too often devoid of it.

DJ Butler. Lawrence Noble. Jaheim Benton. Ed Howard. Cameron Bufford. Brandon Green. Darion Radcliff. Marquis Jackson. Josh Houston. Eddie King. Prentiss Luster. Pierce Jones. Trey Hondras.

They are Chicago sports royalty now, talented athletes who won the U.S. Little League crown despite the odds and united an entire town along the way.

“This is something that has galvanized the city,” White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams said. “Everyone has rooted for these kids and they are to be celebrated.”

And Williams wasn’t the only one genuflecting before the players during the three-hour celebration.

Chance the Rapper thanked them for a lesson in humility. Rev. Jesse Jackson promised them a trip to Disney World. And Cubs President Theo Epstein hinted he may see some of them in the 2023 MLB draft.

“They are not just Chicago’s team,” White Sox TV announcer Hawk Harrelson said. “They are Major League Baseball’s team. They are the NBA’s team. They are the NFL’s Team. They are the NHL’s team. They are America’s team.”

Wearing sunflower yellow T-shirts, crowds poured into Millennium Park this morning to celebrate the city’s first baseball championship since the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. Many carried homemade signs in honor of their favorite players.

“Welcome home,” one sign read. “Make being heroes a lifetime occupation.”

The boys seemed to take the adulation in stride as they waved and tipped their hats to the crowd. Their coaches, however, found it difficult to contain their emotions. Darold Butler, the team’s typically stoic manager, fought back tears as he addressed crowds in both Washington Heights and Millennium Park.

He talked about living in a bubble at the World Series in Willamsport, Pa., where the coaches had infrequent access to cable TV or the Internet. It wasn’t until someone showed them a clip of Chicagoans celebrating the team’s success on State Street over the weekend that they began to grasp just how much the team meant to the city.

“We got a chance to watch a clip of a watch party,” he said. “It was bananas. Bananas.”

The festivities began at Jackie Robinson Park, the team’s home field in Washington Heights. Fans filled the bleachers and lined the outfield fence, as they chanted the players’ names and snapped pictures of them on their cellphones.

Sharee Becton, 45, of Bellwood, rose at 4 a.m. to make it to the park on time, a journey which required her to catch a train and bus before sunrise.

“These boys may not be my children but I love them like they are,” she said. “They are all our kids and they have shown such confidence and teamwork. I knew I had to be here.”

Becton got to the rally in time to get a front-row bleacher seat. Wearing a bright yellow shirt, she leapt to her feet and waved her printed congratulations sign as the team stepped on to the field. The excitement in the crowd pushed away any fatigue she may have felt, she said.

“These kids have not only brought our city together, they brought together our state and our country,” she said. “They have given us something to smile about.”

Years ago, Wrightwood resident Willie Barbe coached Little League baseball. But he said he saw nothing like the victories of the Jackie Robinson West team and wanted to show his appreciation.

“We have to come out here and represent for our kids because they represented for us,” said Barbe, 64. “We have to show them that we back them up and we love them.”