The odds of a youth baseball team reaching Williamsport for the Little League World Series are almost impossible to fathom: roughly 1 in 650 for an American squad and 1 in 450 for an international club. The fact that our region produced two of them this summer — separated by just a few miles and an international border — truly defies the odds.
They are now eliminated from the competition, but Sweetwater Valley and Liga Municipal de Tijuana have captured the heart of our baseball-loving region.
Wouldn’t it be fitting to give these local kids one more game, facing each other on the big stage? The Padres could make this happen by hosting an exhibition between Sweetwater Valley and Tijuana as part of a Sunday doubleheader after a home game — an unforgettable celebration of our shared baseball culture.
Surely we can make room for these teams at Petco Park. I know I’d buy a ticket.
— J.S. Simpson, San Diego