Young Irvine Ballplayers Open Season With Tribute to ’87 National Champs : A Little Inspiration

With a color guard of U.S. Marines standing at attention during the national anthem, the city’s Northwood Little League opened its 1997 season Saturday by paying tribute to the local team that won the national championship 10 years ago.

Eight members of that squad, along with their families and coaches, were on hand for ceremonies to inspire this year’s young athletes by the example of the history-making team from a decade ago.

About 600 Little Leaguers ranging in age from 5 to 15 gathered in the outfield to hear Bill Beebe, president of Northwood Little League, praise the championship team’s players.

“If you can follow the examples of these young men, you’ll be very successful in anything you do,” he said, speaking from the pitcher’s mound of the baseball diamond in Harvard Community Park.

Irvine Mayor Christina Shea thanked the families, volunteers and the team for putting Irvine on the Little League map. “Baseball is truly an all-American sport, a family tradition,” she said.

Though other Orange County teams have made the Little League playoffs--Cypress in 1990 and, most recently, Yorba Hills in 1995--the 1987 Irvine team has been the only one to play in the final World Series game.

After a winning streak of 18 games, 12 of which were shutouts, the team of 11- and 12-year-olds faced a team from Taiwan in the World Series, played that year in Williamsport, Pa.

Steve Mendoza, now 22 and a student at San Diego State University, recalled how he felt when he entered the stadium that day and tried to warm up in front of the crowd of 35,000.

“That was the first time I felt pressure,” said Mendoza, who was right fielder and back-up catcher.

The Irvine players lost 21-1 that day, but they still returned home to a heroes’ welcome.

Left fielder Chris Curry, now 22, said the joy of having been on the team was rekindled by Saturday’s reunion. “We were the national champs,” he said, and in retrospect, the honor has “just gotten bigger.”

Community and family support was crucial to the team’s success, said Donna Greinke, whose son Chris, now 22, was one of the players. Though every game was an “emotional roller coaster,” she said, everyone worked together.

“The kids were taught to get along, respect each other and their parents,” she said. “It’s part of the success of who they are today.”

But winning isn’t everything, some parents of this year’s players said. Fun is also part of the formula.

Patti Shanbrook, whose 5-year-old son Dane is playing T-ball this year for the first time, said, “It’s hilarious. The kids are running to third base first, and after they hit the ball they just stare at it to see how far it goes.”

For Stephen Marlow, whose 5-year-old son Stephen Jr. is also on a T-ball team, offering children a chance to grow in a structured environment is important.

Being on the team “allows him to develop his physical as well as social skills,” Marlow said of his son. “It also gives him self-confidence and pride.”