LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES : Waiting Is Tough Part for Irvine : These ‘Beastie’ Boys of Summer Will Face Taiwan for Title Today

Steve Mendoza, right fielder for the Northwood Irvine Little League All-Star team, will have to go above and beyond the call of comedy this morning to keep his teammates loose for today’s World Series championship game against Hua Lian, Taiwan.

“I don’t have a radio, so I’ve got to make some new things up,” Mendoza said Friday on the eve of today’s 1 p.m. (PDT) final. “I can do it, though.”

If he had a radio/tape player, Mendoza, the team’s DH (designated humorist), could easily ward off all those butterflies. He would just slip in a tape of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right (to Party),” throw on a pair of shades and drive his teammates nutty with his lip-sync act, just as he did on the team’s video.

That’s right, these guys have a video. No championship team leaves home without one.

They made it during the Western Regional tournament in San Bernardino last weekend. It opens with the 14 players doing their own rendition of “La Bamba,” featuring a guitar solo (substituting a baseball bat for a Stratocaster) by Aron Garcia, who will pitch today.

Mendoza takes over for a one-man finale, a perfect Beastie lip-sync, complete with a series of funny faces and an array of windmill air-guitar moves that would make Pete Townshend proud.

Unfortunately, radios aren’t allowed in the barracks of the Little League complex. So Mendoza will have to come up with some new material.

“My job is to keep everyone loose,” Mendoza said. “I make a bunch of jokes, faces and keep everyone laughing. I’ll try to get their minds off baseball for a while.”

That’s going to be one tough task, considering that Irvine will be shooting for the championship of the planet. This tournament, which began seven weeks ago, spanned the globe, with 7,500 teams worldwide.

And don’t think the players don’t realize what’s at stake.

“The butterflies are really cooking now,” said Bob Garcia, team manager.

Added his son, Aron, who has hit two home runs in series play: “I’m a little nervous today (Friday). But I’ll be a total wreck tomorrow (Saturday).”

Sometime this afternoon, Little League’s world champion will be crowned, signaling the end of a long, long season for the Northwood players, who began regular-season play in early April. All-star competition started on July 11, and, since then, Irvine has won 18 straight games.

For the parents, relatives and friends of the players, tonight also will conclude a long week of partying in Williamsport. If you thought the kids were having a good time, you should see the parents.

“Let’s just say they’ve had their fun and we’ve had ours,” said Don Tuttle, father of reserve infielder Didgit Tuttle.

Hugs have far outnumbered hits in Williamsport for the Irvine contingent, which numbers about 80. Many of the parents, who live in a small section of North Irvine, already knew each other, but the tournament has brought them even closer together.

“It’s like a second family, our Little League friends,” said Donna Greinke, mother of shortstop Chris Greinke.

Through all the games and travel and the nights spent together, the players also have developed into a very close-knit group.

“They’re a mesh of different personalities,” Bob Garcia said. “We have comedians, like Mendoza; spark plugs, like Didgit Tuttle; calming influences, like Chris Greinke and Loc Tran. It’s hard to describe the kids.

“They’re 11- and 12-year-olds, so they’re slobs. They lose things. You have to baby-sit them. But once they’re on the field, because they’re so close-knit, they all help and complement each other.”

Most of the players wish the season could go on forever.

“We’ve gotten to know each other better, and we all get along,” Jeff Greinke said. “We’ve had a great time.”

Added Aron Garcia: “I don’t want it to end. It’s been a lot of fun. We’re all good friends, and playing for my dad has been fun.”

His dad is ready for a break, though.

“The notoriety has been nice, but I’m tired,” Bob Garcia said. “I haven’t slept more than two or three hours a night since this thing started. I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

Who knows when that will be?

Friday, Garcia received a call from Angel publicity director Tom Seeberg, who said the Angels would like to honor the team at a game in September. Channel 4 sportscaster Fred Roggin also spoke with Coach Bob Jones Friday and invited the team to the KNBC studio for interviews.

Northwood Pizza in Irvine, the team’s home pizza parlor, plans to throw a big bash Sept. 12, with Irvine Mayor Larry Agran and the city council attending.

Some parents are even talking about having annual reunions.

“I don’t think it will ever end,” Bob Garcia said.

World Series Notes

In the resumption of Thursday’s game, which was suspended because of darkness after seven innings, Taiwan scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning Friday to defeat Moca, Dominican Republic, 4-0, in the semifinals. Wang Chih-Kwou and Chu Shish-Chang each hit a home run for Taiwan. It was the first time in the 41-year World Series history that a game took more than one day to complete. . . . Irvine’s Chris Greinke, who had to leave Thursday’s game in the third inning after being struck by a pitch on the left shoulder, is fine and will start at shortstop today. . . . Aron Garcia, Irvine’s starting pitcher today, has a 10-0 tournament record with nine shutouts, including Wednesday’s no-hitter against Dover, N.H. He has allowed only one run in his last 60 innings pitched. . . . Irvine will attempt to become the first American team to win the Little League World Series since Kirkland, Wash., defeated Chia-Yi-Hsien, Taiwan, 6-0, in 1982. . . . It has rained all week in Williamsport, but Saturday’s forecast calls for sunshine. . . . The Irvine players and coaches will return home Sunday morning on USAir Flight 25, which is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport at 11:40 a.m.