WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Mets manager Carlos Mendoza did not know until he got on the plane from New York on Sunday morning, but the day’s trip to the home of the Little League World Series would have extra personal meaning.
Yes, the Mets would be playing the Mariners in the eighth annual Little League Classic at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.
But Mendoza soon learned that Cardenales Little League from his hometown of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, was representing Latin America in the LLWS.
The team was waiting for the Mets outside Williamsport Regional Airport, and Mendoza rode the bus with them to the LLWS Complex.
“It was just kind of like, ‘Who’s your coach? What part of the town are you from? Favorite players? Would you like to be a major-league player? What are you doing to do that?’” Mendoza said. “Tell them school is important. But it is so much going on around them that I’m talking to one kid, and Juan Soto walks by or Francisco Alvarez walks by. Like it was hard to maintain that conversation. But in general, just keeping it light and keeping it fun.”
Mendoza had no direct connections to the Venezuelan team, but he talked to them about mutual friends and shared familiar faces.
Said Mendoza: “It was just pretty cool overall.”
McLean knows the fun of both pitching and hitting
A day after earning the win in his MLB debut, Nolan McLean had a unique trip in store.
While Shohei Ohtani’s two-way stardom is a novelty in The Show, pitchers who also hit are a commonplace in Little League.
McLean was a two-way star at Oklahoma State and had 143 minor-league plate appearances last year. While watching LLWS games, he was able to think back on his time as a two-way player.
“I think it’s awesome,” McLean said. “You got to let kids be kids and play the game on all facets as long as they can because at some point they might have to give one side up. I hope they get to do it as long as I did because I had a lot of fun doing it. But I think the best thing is just letting them play. Let them have as much fun as possible. And that’s playing every position, pitching, hitting, catching, you name it.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins’ teams.
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