Head Down

THE SPORTING SCENE about Little League baseball in Maine, and about the Bangor West team, which won the Maine State Championship. Tells about a batting practice for Fred Moore and writer’s son Owen. Dave Mansfield is the head coach of the team; he is a loud, restless man who happens to love baseball and the kids who play it at this level. Tells about the All-Star games they play against other teams in the district. There is no admission charge to Little League games; the charter expressly forbids it. Instead, a player takes around a hat during the fourth inning, soliciting donations for equipment and field maintenance. Writer describes an amusing incident in which one of the team members forces a car to make a pit stop on the way back from a game. Bangor West reached the 1989 Maine State Little League Championship Tournament. The state is divided into five districts, and all five send teams to Old Town, where this year’s tourney is to be held. The participants are Yarmouth, Belfast, Lewiston, York, and Bangor West. All the teams but Belfast are bigger than the Bangor West All-Stars, and Belfast is supposed to have a secret weapon. Their No. 1 pitcher is this year’s tourney wunderkind. Bangor West comes from the district in which the tournament is being held this year, and the team will not have to play until two of the five teams have been eliminated. This is called a first-round bye, and right now it’s the biggest–perhaps the only advantage this team has. Tells how they went on to win the tournament.