Curaçao won the Little League World Series (LLWS) this weekend in impressive fashion, defeating Henderson, Nevada, by an 11-2 score.
But while parents are never happy to see their kids lose, especially badly, some U.S parents have taken particular exception to how the Curaçao team behaved during their title run.
Pariba Little League from Willemstad went undefeated in Williamsport.
However, the controversy centered on, among other things, the Curaçao team constantly showing bunt on every pitch they faced. The move was intended to freeze the pitcher and steal a walk. A strategy that had already proven effective in their previous game against Japan.
Despite the move being legal and effective, US fans were audibly annoyed, with loud groans echoing through the crowd.
The Caribbean team advanced to the LLWS by bunting five times in a row.
To show the effectiveness of the strategy, the Japanese team had only one error the entire tournament before this inning.
The strategy proved equally effective against the team from the U.S., where bunting has become something of a lost art. Not just the bunting, of course, but also defending the bunt. Apparently, small ball has not become a lost art in the Caribbean.
Not only that, the Pariba Little League squad had a 12-year-old throwing 75 mph from only 46 feet away. A speed and distance that would be comparable to triple-digit speeds in the major leagues.
A factor that led to much humorous commentary online.
Controversy wasn’t restricted to non-American teams during this year’s tournament. Last week, New Jersey’s Mason Rincon riled the nerves of spectators when he made this gesture while rounding the bases after hitting a walk-off home run against Massachusetts.
Curaçao has now won two Little League World Series titles. The first came in 2004. To dethrone them, the rest of the world may need to spend a lot more time practicing bunting and defending bunting.