With showboating and grandstanding all the rage these days, displays of sportsmanship are often hard to come by. Enter the Little League World Series. Always a source of feel-good stories and inspiring teamwork, Monday night’s face-off between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic will be remembered as much for what happened after the game as what happened during it.
Emotions understandably ran high in the sudden death matchup in Williamsport, Pennsylvania that saw Venezuela prevail in walk-off fashion. While the team certainly had much to celebrate in the aftermath of its victory, the Venezuelan players and coaches alike instead turned their attention to the losing pitcher in a moment that is sure to warm your heart.
Venezuela’s Omar Romero stroked a walk-off triple that ended Monday’s nail biter in highlight reel fashion. As the winning runs crossed homeplate, Edward Uceta, the losing pitcher from the Dominican Republic, could be seen laying face down in the grass, overcome with emotion over his team’s loss.
Rather than greet their team at homeplate, the coaches of team Venezuela headed straight to the pitcher’s mound, lifting an inconsolable Edward off the ground and congratulating him on a game well played. Soon after, Omar could also be seen comforting his one-time rival. As the players lined up for the customary handshake, nearly every member of the Venezuelan team paused to either pat Edward on the back or offer him a hug.
“Those two will be friends for life,” the ESPN announcers remarked as Omar and Edward shared a warm embrace. “Edward has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.”
It was sportsmanship at it’s finest and a display of grace that most professional athletes would benefit from seeing.
(H/T: 2017 FlashTrendinG)