Chicago’s own Jackie Robinson West Little League baseball team brought home the United States Championship title on August 23, 2014. The team had an outstanding 6-0 record in the Great Lakes Regional Tournament; that championship win lead them to a trip to the World Series where the team had a 5-2 record.

Chicago has not been represented in the World Series finals in forty-seven years until the Jackie Robinson West team rolled in. The city of Chicago was thrilled to have inner city boys compete for something so big across the country. Not many people believed a group of boys from the “not so great” South side of Chicago would be able to do so well in the tournament. Those boys proved many wrong.

Winning 6 straight games in the Regional tournament proved the team had what it takes to be in the Little League World Series. They ended the series with a 5-2 record and a United States World Series Championship title. Pierce Jones led the team offensively with 4 home runs, the most home runs in the 2014 series. With Jones hitting well, Marquis Jackson became the untouchable pitcher until he was no longer allowed to be played. Jackson’s average pitch clocked in around 77 mph which is 99 mph in the MLB, this made Jackson a threat defensively. Due to rules on the number of pitches a player can pitch in a number of days, Jackson was not able to pitch the last two games. This dynamic duo was a great asset to a team of extremely strong players.

Despite the outcome of the tournament, Jackie Robinson West Baseball team had captured the hearts of many people across the nation. The inner city boys showed many Americans that there is good in the middle of all evil. One of the many examples of sportsmanship and respect was when Marquis Jackson realized his ball had flown high over the center field fence and he jumped with excitement as he rounded the bases. After the inning had ended Jackson walked to the opponent’s dugout and apologized for cheering because he felt it was unsportsmanlike. That example just goes to show that these young boys do know respect even if they aren’t always surrounded by the most pleasant environment.

Many people have said that this group of twelve year olds have shown that there is still hope for humanity. Little League has made a huge impact on these children’s lives and now those children have and will continue to spread the heartwarming impact across the nation.