All meet at 10:15 a.m. to make the transition over to their knew host families. The NMV Moms were awesome, if a tear was to be shed, backs where turned so Sam did not see. There were a couple of Dad’s that had the cloudy eyes going on and more than a few of the kids were emotional to moving on. I guess I should not be surprised how close they all got in a week, but the NMV folks all loved “their” kids.
When they arrived, the total bag count was 22 for the whole group. We went to the meeting spot for the Ladera Ranch (LRLL) parents, with the vans full of folks, and a over flowing pick-up truck filled with bags. What did not make the move yet is all the stuff in the garage of VN’s NMVLL hosts yet, will be another truckload, how this is going to get on Lufthansa this coming Monday is besides me. Typical VN, “Sam no problem, all will be fine”.
On my front porch when I get back to the house, are two huge boxes filled with slightly used MLB baseballs, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the copied on the this email is a scout for the team. He has removed a great many of the vowels than in a normal Lithuanian name, but to his core he is still proud to be a Lit and supports baseball there in anyway he can. So if you would, next time you see a Ray game on TV, keep a good thought for them, unless of course they are playing the Angels, then all bets are off.
Back at the LRLL fields at 3:00 p.m. for practice and then a 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. double-header against Tijeras Creek LL.
First game against the Angels, there was a I gather some confusion with the plate umpire, so of course always having my gear with me, we dressed out Arnie and he called the game from behind the plate. The couple of you on the list that have called games with him before, even though he is now the District Administrator (DA) for Lithuania, he has not lost a step. He called a great game. The Lits as has become the custom did not play well the first game and were mercied 10-0 in five innings, VN not a happy camper. The Angels gave them all an Angels mug and a few other goodies.
Between games, TCLL bought out the local McDonalds, burgers, fries and sodas, Lits loved it. TCLL of course did a great job, bunting all around the outfield fence, red-yellow-green balloons everywhere, (Lithuanian colors), announcing all the players etc. TCLL has also given them a set of their all-star jerseys and enough adult t-shirts with the TCLL logo on it, so when the kids wear the uniforms, the parents will also have TCLL logo stuff to wear, very cool. Anderson Bats also donated a box of t-shirts with their logo on it, these will be worn with pride.
Second game against the Red Sox. Lits of course play much better, going into the fifth inning, Lits ahead 6-2. The Sox come alive and a few defensive miscues, Lits lose 12-8. VN happier, truly believe he does not care if they win, but expects them to play their best and keep the errors to a minimum. Of course he and the kids want to win, but if they play well and still lose, oh well, that’s baseball. Sox give them a goodie bag of baseball related items, forgot to look truthfully, so cannot tell you what they received.
A number of their last week hosts from NMV come to watch them play and good number of LRLL hosts families also in attendance. Already starting with LRLL, “that’s my kid who just spanked the ball etc.,” NMV and LRLL hosts comparing notes on their kids, food likes etc.
Last double-header of the trip tomorrow against NMV, single games the rest of the trip. There are some great pictures posted at www.vll.org and www.smvll.com also on the www.smvll.com click on the link to the You Tube video, very cool.
