Love The Little League World Series? Head To Longview!

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite times of summer is when the fantastic teams of the Little League World Series head to Williamsport, Pennsylvania to compete for an international title. Whether or not a team from Washington or Oregon is competing in the tournament, it remains one of my favorite sporting events all year.

What do I love about this amazing event? We get to watch kids from around the country and the rest of the world compete for true love of the game. Of course, many of these young athletes dream of a future Major League career but they are playing for passion. A young passion that is undiluted by the often harsh realities of making a career out of sports or the rampant commercialism of sports which can often dampen the youthful enthusiasm.

We see the future athletes of the world play hard, in amazingly competitive games, often won or lost at the last moment or in heartbreaking fashion (see South Dakota’s gut-wrenching out of the baseline call to lose to Washington earlier in the tournament), then get up and immediately congratulate their opponents in a show of sportsmanship that many of our professional athletes can learn from.

All of these elements are just taken over the top when there is a team from the Pacific Northwest to root for.

If you are like me and love the Little League World Series, you should make your way up to Longview this weekend. Starting today, the Babe Ruth World Series for the 13 to 15 age division will be taking place at Longview’s Story Field at Lower Columbia College.

An older age division than those seen in Williamsport, the Babe Ruth World Series brings ten teams from around the country in to the great Pacific Northwest to compete for their own championship. Even better, teams from Washington make up the field of ten. Woodinville won their regional to earn their spot in the tournament. In addition, it is Babe Ruth tradition for the hosts of the tournament to earn an invite to the tournament. As such, both Longview and Kelso are fielding teams in the tournament, giving fans of the Northwest plenty of teams to support.

There are plenty of ways to catch these games. All games will be broadcast on KLOG 1490 AM. Games can be streamed online at Tofervision. Of course, my personal preference (and where I will be) is in the stands of Story Field itself, taking in the delightful weather of southwestern Washington and watching kids play for love of the game.