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LOUISVILLE SLUGGING — We know there are people here who are going to debate the merits of the bat flip and whether a grown man should be excitedly tossing his stick into the sky after hitting a home run which — in the case of professional baseball players — is just doing their jobs.
For fans of the Little League World Series, though, this isn't a job. It's a fun hobby.
Baseball is supposed to be fun, and no one was having more fun than Nicaragua's Luis Garcia after launching a three-run shot to left field in the Little League World Series.
Garcia launched a fourth-inning bomb that he knew was good as soon as he made contact; and with two hands on his bat, he heaved it over his shoulder in a ceremonial celebration that would make Jose Bautista proud.
But that wasn't all he did. Here's how the official Little League Twitter account characterized it:
The bomb
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 23, 2022
The bat flip
The griddy#LLWSpic.twitter.com/FOgG6B2nDj
We're not sure what is better: the bat, the bomb or the griddy. Maybe even the Hulk Hogan-style ear cup. The answer, of course, is yes.
Nicaragua went on to win 8-1.
When you're playing on the biggest stage in your sport, you deserve to have a little fun. The moment was especially cleansing after a viral moment Saturday, when the Midwest team from Iowa had a 6-3 lead over the Northwest team from Washington with two outs in the sixth and final inning. But a questionable walk visibly upset Iowa, whose coach called every player to the mound — and a hot mic picked up one player explaining to his pitcher that the late rally was "because ESPN likes it."
"It's all ESPN," the player is heard saying.
ESPN hot mic catches Little Leaguer blaming bad call on ESPN fixing the #LLWS 😆 pic.twitter.com/svPSWfroul
— Brandon Contes (@BrandonContes) August 22, 2022
Fortunately, for ethical purposes, the Iowa coach wasn't having any of it as he settled his team down before clinching the 6-3 win. The same Iowa team went on to eliminate the Mountain region team from Santa Clara — the first-ever Utah team to qualify for the Little League World Series — with a 10-2 win Sunday.
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