On Sunday morning at Penn Field in Oak Bluffs, Little League umpire Wally Gold asked for some water before the major league championship game began. He wasn’t thirsty, not yet at least. Instead, he wanted to make some mud.
Mr. Gold poured the water on the dirt, mushed it around a bit and then massaged it into a few brand new baseballs.
“It takes the sheen off,” he said. “Makes the new ball easier to grip.”
Mr. Gold should know. His son Tad Gold came up through the Martha’s Vineyard Little League ranks and a few years ago was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles. Now Tad’s name is uttered in hushed tones in dugouts all around the Island, as little leaguers look to become the next Tad Gold.
Wally Gold threw the ball out to Nico Arroyo, the starting pitcher for the Pirates. Leadoff batter Finn Lewis of the Cubs took some practice swings while watching Nico warm up.
A young ballplayer sitting in the stands remarked that the Pirates looked more relaxed, while the Cubs appeared tight. But looks can be deceiving. After the warmup pitches ended and the Star Spangled Banner was sung, the Cubs wasted no time jumping on young Nico for five quick runs in the first inning.
Coach Chris Roberts of the Pirates changed it up on the mound by putting in Toby Roberts, his son. Toby started out a bit wild and another run scored in the second inning to bring the score to 6-0.
Mr. Roberts walked out to the mound to have a chat with his pitcher. The infield players started walking to the mound too as is often the custom in cases like these, where pitchers are given supportive words by the entire infield community. But Mr. Roberts waved the other players off. It was father and son time out there, just the two of them on a beautiful Sunday morning under sunny skies and soft breezes, while everyone else — parents, friends, teammates, dogs, the whole community it seemed — watched and wondered from the sidelines.
Whatever combination of coach and fatherly skills Mr. Roberts used out there on the mound will unfortunately never be known. The talk worked so well it could have been used as a template for so many father/son/coach combinations. Toby settled down, threw strikes and pitched three scoreless innings to help keep the Pirates in the game — sort of.
Cam Napior, on the mound for the Cubs, was not going to be denied his moment in the sun. His father Jason is a coach too but no journeys out to the mound were needed. Cam pitched nearly five flawless innings, with no runs scored against him.
The Cubs eventually found their groove at the plate again and returned to storming the castle. They scored three more runs in the fifth inning to lead 9-0. And then Keaton Aliberti took the mound for the Cubs, resembling quite closely some mythic dragon; he throws serious heat.
Due to a sore back, Keaton had not pitched much at all during the regular season. He made up for it on Sunday, shutting down the Pirates one by one with ease, as his proud father looked on from the dugout. Cub's head coach Andrew Aliberti is the former league president and has done more than perhaps anyone to raise the level of the league. Plus, it had been a few years since he had last won a major league championship.
Final score: Cubs 9, Pirates O.
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