Northridge : No Parades This Time for ‘Earthquake Kids’

There was no brass band to greet the Northridge Little Leaguers when they returned home Sunday after losing the Junior Division championship the day before. No confetti, no outstretched hands from cheering fans.

Still, for the Players Formerly Known as the Earthquake Kids, that’s OK.

“We’re a little disappointed but I think we’re over it,” said 14-year-old Peter Tuber from his Northridge home, where he spent Monday watching the preliminary rounds of the 1995 Little League World Series on television.

Last year, the team went all the way to Williamsport, Pa., for the championship match in Little League’s 12-year-old division. They lost 4-3 to a squad from Maracaibo, Venezuela, but returned national heroes, swept away on a whirlwind tour of parades and public appearances with everyone from Mayor Richard Riordan to President Clinton.

On Saturday, 10 of those same players missed the brass ring again, losing 8-2 to South Lake Charles, La., in Taylor, Mich., for the 13-year-old division championship.

“We thought we could win,” Peter explained. “I guess we just didn’t have it offensively or defensively.”

There were no parades or photo opportunities with politicians scheduled this time, just a party parents are organizing.

“We got so much last year and that’s fine with me,” said Nathaniel Dunlap, 13. He said the baseball strike and the fact that his team came from quake-ravaged Northridge probably accounts for the attention lavished on the pint-sized players.

But even with a parade down Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. and a chance to shake the President’s hand, Dunlap counts his time on the mound during the U.S. championship match last year as his favorite memory.

“Just winning that game was terrific,” he said.