Louis Lappe knew the ball was gone, he said, when he hit the now familiar walk-off home run to win the Little League World Series last month.
“I was floating around the bases,” Lappe said in an interview right before his team headed over to El Segundo’s Main Street on Sunday, Sept. 10 just before the city’s residents rolled out to applaud them one more time.
For the players, their families, the coaches, the local league — and the entire town — it was the culmination of a long journey.
From the baseball fields of El Segundo to the hallowed Little League fields in South Williamsport, Penn and back home, the El Segundo Little League All-Stars and the town that supported them throughout the journey, celebrated their world championship with Sunday’s official civic parade.
The team and coaches traveled from Imperial Highway to El Segundo Boulevard, a similar route when their homecoming was celebrated with a Main Street procession on Aug. 28.
This time they were led by cheerleaders, the El Segundo High marching band and throngs of powder-blue-clad fans, a tribute to the uniforms they donned as “West” and tore through the prestigious tournament.
Everyone wanted in on the action: From the high school girls who festooned themselves in bright blue and yellow wigs to the toddler egged on by his mom to shout, “Go Gundo!” as he waved a gold pom-pom.
A Player Recognition Ceremony following the parade included speeches from Manager Danny Boehle; Jamin Griffiths, El Segundo Little League president; and El Segundo and other dignitaries including LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi.
And now, about 15 more people have the symbolic Key to the City of El Segundo, at least a dozen of them still in middle school.
The players and coaches were all presented with the honorary keys on a stage on Stevenson field.
Boehle said the most important thing the team did this year was “we became a family.”
“You play as a family and you play together,” Boehle said at the ceremony. “Even if you lose, you still win and you still have these guys behind your back.”
Boehle, riding in the parade earlier in the day, was seen removing his sunglasses and wiping away tears.
What the youth accomplished in capturing the World Series, with a dramatic sixth-inning homer by star player Lappe on Aug 27, was nothing short of miraculous.
According to the Little League website, there are 6,500 leagues in the United States alone and leagues in more than 80 countries.
There are more than 2 million players from 4 to 16 years old who play Little League ball around the globe.
In the United States bracket of the World Series, which first took place in 1947, there were 53 teams that competed. That included two from California and Texas, one from the District of Columbia and one team from the rest of the 48 states.
El Segundo, which formed its Little League in 1954, made its way past more than 440 teams to represent California’s southern region in the United States bracket. They fought back after losing to a team from Texas on Aug. 21.
On Aug. 27, they took home the World Championship after defeating Curaco, representing the Caribbean, 6-5 that to the dramatic homer off of Lappe’s bat which followed a grand slam which had tied the game.
“Every time Lappe comes up, he’s gonna hit the ball hard no matter what, even if he gets out, said Brody Brooks, another star on the El Segundo team.
Brooks said, going into this year, he never expected the team to do this well. Just making it out of California, he said, is an accomplishment in itself.
“I knew we were going to play hard and play strong and that’s what happened,” Brooks said.
El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles said before the festivities the “buzz is phenomenal.”
“The level of support for these kids is unbelievable, great parents, great coaching, and the whole community rallies behind them,” Boyles said.
“What this has done is it pulled back the curtain to the rest of the world how wonderful the community of El Segundo really is,” said Councilmemember Carol Pirsztuk.
El Segundo Councilmember Lance Giroux was president of El Segundo Little League for three years and on its board of directors for five years.
Giroux said the team has been playing together since they were about 9 years old and “you could see this group of boys was going to be a little bit more special than the ones who have come before them.”
Terry McRoberts, player Declan McRoberts’ grandfather, was on the parade route. He and wife Ellen have been at every tournament game, he said, from San Bernardino to Williamsport.
The elder McRoberts agreed that there was something special about these boys.
“We knew were were good,” McRoberts said. “We’ve been having conversations about this since they were 9 years old.”
And it was the fact that boys attend the same school and live in the small, tight-knit community that made this so sweet, agreed Councilmember Ryan Baldino.
“So they’re real local boys, it’s not just like cherry-picked players to make the best team,” Baldino said. “It’s kids from the community that came together.”
The adoration of the community wasn’t lost on Grandfather McRoberts who had traveled from Cota de Casa in Orange County.
“We love El Segundo, ” McRoberts said. “We love coming up here all the time.”
The journey to the LLWS has taken the local boys from a hometown baseball diamond to a homecoming fit for champions at LAX and in El Segundo when they returned home from their victory on Aug. 28. It’s put them on national television. It’s gotten them honored by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Despite the national and international spotlight, the team seemed happy to be back home amongst 2,500 of their neighbors on Sunday. That’s the estimate El Segundo Police Chief Jaime Bermudez gave for attendance on Sunday.
The thrill of regular little leaguers making it all the way to the world’s stage was something parents could relate to, Bermudez said.
“So many parents have kids who have played baseball,” Bermudez said as he waited for the parade. “So, we can all relate to how momentous this is.”
City Manager Daryl George said his staff “pulled out all the stops” for the Sunday celebration.
As far as a law enforcement goes, Chief Bermudez said he wanted to be overprepared as the earlier homecoming event had people rushing vehicles to get close to the players. He credited other South Bay agencies for pitching in.
“It’s part of our small-city charm,” Bermudez said.
The hard work and people’s willingness to plan, said Bermudez, is what makes living and working near the coast great.
Most people at the parade understood the magnitude of what they were witnessing.
“This could be a once-in-a-lifetime event,” George said, with the emphasis on the “could.” He didn’t want to put any pressure on the team, he said, but maybe the boys could do it again next year?
Indeed, it was a monumental undertaking and the boys made the city proud.
Little Leaguer Ollie Parks summed it up at the ceremony.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” Parks said. “Our town just helps us so much for this great accomplishment and we couldn’t have done it without you guys. So thank you.”
— Lisa Jacobs contributed to this story.
