With much fanfare Saturday, the Gilroy Little League All-Stars
were welcomed home.
Wearing their purple
”
West
”
uniforms and World Series medals around their necks, the 12
Gilroy players and coaches rode in the backs of gleaming
convertibles, smiling and waving as a police escort led the cars
down Monterey Road past cheering fans holding signs and
balloons.
Gilroy – With much fanfare Saturday, the Gilroy Little League All-Stars were welcomed home.
Wearing their purple “West” uniforms and World Series medals around their necks, the 12 Gilroy players and coaches rode in the backs of gleaming convertibles, smiling and waving as a police escort led the cars down Monterey Road past cheering fans holding signs and balloons.
At the end, the first-ever Gilroy Little League team to make a World Series stood upon a stage in front of Gilroy Tile and Floor that had been set up for the occasion, surrounded by community members.
Wendy and Jim Harrington and their daughter Ashley, 14, who played on an All-Star team for manager Dennis Castro and will play at Gilroy High next spring, were among the sign-holding parade-goers.
“We’re so proud of all of them,” Wendy Harrington said. “We’ve known them since they were babies.”
The parade, organized by Gilroy city councilman Craig Gartman, marked the end of a 22-day road trip for the players that began at the West Region tournament in Vancouver, Wash. and culminated in a sixth-place finish at the Little League Softball World Series in Portland.
“Thank you for your support,” said Castro when he took the stage to say a few words to the community. “I’ll be straight-up with this team. (They) could have won without me because they played as a team throughout the whole tournament.
“No matter what they say, that was interference and the right team went to the World Series,” he added in jest, referring to a controversial call in the West Region final that would have sent Pendleton, Ore. to the Series instead of Gilroy, had it gone the other way.
After Castro, the assistant coaches and players were introduced, and Gartman presented Little League president Christine Drysdale with a check to help pay for the team’s travel expenses.
Upon hearing the team qualified for the World Series, Gartman began raising money for the girls.
“I said ‘I’m going to go shake some trees and see what happens,'” Gartman said at the presentation.
In total, local businesses and donors contributed $7,400, money which will offset travel expenses and help pay for the team’s World Series jerseys, which cost $1,100 for the dozen worn by Gilroy. Drysdale said one of those jerseys will be framed and put on display at the softball diamond – once it is built – at the new Little League fields currently being built on Thomas Road.
Some players sported more glamorous souvenirs: Chunky gold World Series rings, just like the pros.
With half the team eligible to return next year, Drysdale reminded the crowd that this might not be the last time Gilroy sees a World Series-bound Little League team.
“We’ll be seeing them again,” she said.
Castro said that the World Series appearance is just the beginning for his players.
“They’ve got high school, college ball and hopefully the Olympics to compete in, too.”
