Little League World Series

[pzarquon]

Anyone else following our kids (http://starbulletin.com/2005/08/22/sports/story1.html) in the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania? According to this site (http://www.littleleague.org/), the Ewa Beach team won a big game (http://www.littleleague.org/series/2005divisions/llbb/gamestories/22monday/game17/LLWS17.htm) a little while ago, 10-0 over Southeast Maitland, Florida. Imua!

[Palolo Joe]

Games have been televised on ESPN, so there's no excuse for not tuning in and rooting for our keiki. There are two other youth teams playing on the mainland right now, I think... another Little League team and a Babe Ruth team.

[Surfingfarmboy]

I caught a little of the Eva Beach-Maitland, FL game yesterday..about the time Eva had it wrapped up 10-0. Tony Gwynn and Harold Reynolds had been looking forward to this match up, with the baseball heritage the Maitland team has...sons of Dante Bichette and Mike Stanley on the squad...and the "flat-out hitting power" the Eva Beach team owns, as Gwynn said about them during the Barrigada,Guam-Russia match Friday night. I figured Maitland was going to be a tough nut for Eva to crack; I never figured they were going to trounce them by 10-0 though!

[newroots]

i watched a little bit of that game.. those kids looked so happy. it was funny.
they hit alot of homers and had some good defense. hopefully guam and ewa beach challenges. who do you think would win

[Surfingfarmboy]

i watched a little bit of that game.. those kids looked so happy. it was funny.
they hit alot of homers and had some good defense. hopefully guam and ewa beach challenges. who do you think would win

If it comes down to Guam and Eva Beach, let the game go into extra innings..let it go into so many extra innings, the the umps and the Little Officials decide that this year there will be two co-champs. I wouldn't want to see either team lose it. A Guam-Eva Beach match-up would be neat.

[newroots]

that would be awesOmE .. but honestly i think hawai'i gots a better team. both teams play tomorrow

[Pikake]

WOW! Way to go Ewa Beach Little League!!!:cool:

I am not a big fan of the sport. My husband has been trying to get our son into a league. My son (who has been playing football for 3 years now) repeats after his football coach and says baseball/softball should be named pussyball.:(

[jdub]

as someone who works in the media monitoring, i've seen a lot of this story, and i have to say that it is one of the best feel-good stories of the year...as much as the local stations like to fluff up the angle, this a genuinely newsworthy event in HI...let's hope the little bruddahs can go all the way...but even if they don't, they'll come home heroes...

[Linkmeister]

If you're gonna get one hit like they did yesterday, it's a good thing to make it a home run. The funny thing about that is, the night before the same thing happened in the major leagues. Some poor pitcher gave up only one hit, but it was a homer and he lost 1-0. This sort of thing is pretty rare.

[Palolo Joe]

My son (who has been playing football for 3 years now) repeats after his football coach and says baseball/softball should be named pussyball.:(
Have the coach don the "Tools of Ignorance" (catcher's gear, for all you non-baseball players out there) and take a couple shots from runners trying to score at home plate. Or get him to stand in the batter's box and take a couple of pitches high and in without running away like a little girl.

Baseball isn't golf, that's for sure.

[Pikake]

Have the coach don the "Tools of Ignorance" (catcher's gear, for all you non-baseball players out there) and take a couple shots from runners trying to score at home plate. Or get him to stand in the batter's box and take a couple of pitches high and in without running away like a little girl.

Baseball isn't golf, that's for sure.

Nah - you can tell um...http://eteamz.active.com/InterbayFootballClub/

I think he is entitled to his opinions...so is everyone else.

K-den Shaka Brah!

[cezanne]

Woot! They won! 6-1 or something like that. Watched the tail end of it. :)

[lurkah]

Woot! They won! 6-1 or something like that. Watched the tail end of it. :)
They sure did (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Aug/27/br/br08p.html). Imua Ewa Beach!!

[kimo55]

no, the tv sed it wuz:

Eeee- whuh.

[Palolo Joe]

If you watched the whole game, you would have noticed that Musburger pronounced it both ways. Reynolds said it correctly a number of times.

[Royce]

Congratulations Ewa Beach team! What an awesome and suspenseful game all the way thru the not-since-1971 extra innings game bottom of the 7th solo homer!

[jdub]

oh, hell yeah...the best HI news story of the year...

[TurquoiseDuck]

Congratulations Ewa Beach team! What an awesome and suspenseful game all the way thru the not-since-1971 extra innings game bottom of the 7th solo homer!

It was great ! My ol' man is a sports fanatic and he was watching every second.

Turquoise Duck

[lavagal]

Just what Hawaii and the good ole US of A needs. And those Curacao boys, defending champs, were a class act as they congratulated our boys. A fine positive development in this broken world of ours.

Safety to our friends in Hurricane Katrina's wake!

I guess those Curacao boys will be staying stateside for a little while, at least until the storm is through.

[adrian]

My Mom knew one of the Moms on TV there, one of them lives in my neighborhood, and my cousin is a classmate with one of the players, so we'll try and have a big party (probably the rest of Hawaii also).

CONGRATS! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/adri1456/smilies/beer2.gif

[1stwahine]

WOW! What a wonderful and exciting news that is! Congratulations to the players, coaches, parents and everyone who were involved in making this dream come true! Chicken skin for all America!!!!!!!!!

Auntie Lynn

[Mocha]

Watched the game from the beginning and have to admit that there were times
that I just couldn't watch! My men though stuck it out, I finally sat down at
the bottom of the 6th and as the Ewa Beach team chipped away at the score
I yelled louder than anyone!
Congratulations to the coaches, the families that supported the team, and to the team itself. The boys did themselves proud, the first baseman Layson
Aliviado is really a cutey! :D

[Palolo Joe]

Was pretty cool when they won... all the houses in my neighborhood erupted in screams and cheers. Neat to see all those different people tuned in and cheering on the boys.

[FishPond]

Congratulations to the Ewa Beach boys, their families, coaches, team assistants, and supporters (who are all of us)! Big Mahalo to the Mainland folks who put up the families during the Series. I heard they ate a lot of good food and taught some folks how to eat pork over there.

This is unimaginably huge for these families, the players and all of us.

I tuned in to some of the games, but not all. But I was glued to the screen watching those 67 mph pitches in the final. Jeez, those Ewa boys can play some ball! And those home runs! Holy cow.

I gotta think, when those players came back from being behind twice, and won, that's some major character building those boys got. They learned some huge, life-building lessons today.

But for now, it's gotta be food and good times for them, and well-deserved!

A-fricking-mazing, and one of the better baseball games I've seen, regardless of age or level of players.

[Pikake]

:) Yeah Baby!!! Great Job!!!:)

[waioli kai]

It is interesting that the last 2005 Little League World Series playoff was earned by two teams from small islands in different oceans; one Pacific island (O'ahu 1+ million people) the product of United States' economic imperialism, one Atlantic island (Curacao 150,000 people) the product of Netherlands' economic imperialism.

From cia factbook (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nt.html):

Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields.
.

[Menehune Man]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching that final game! More fun and excitement than I've had over a sporting event in a long time. Way to go Ewa Beach Boys!

[Palapala]

Way to go Ewa Beach..you rock...best games ever.....Champs of the world :D

[shaveice]

not likely but does anyone know if the final game will be retelevised? (yup, i missed it :eek: )

[scrivener]

Well. Would you look at that consensus opinion about this thing. Everyone seems convinced it's the local feel-good story of the year.

I've been avoiding this thread because I know that what I've got to say about it is going to draw flames; however, since not a single person seems to have a little problem with this, I'm going to dive in and take the hit.

First, I gotta emphasize the fact that I love baseball. I love it more than just about anything else in this world. I almost always watch the Little League World Series when it's on television, and I watch a lot of games at the park near the school where I teach. It's a wonderful game full of valuable lessons to teach its participants.

However, I've totally avoided all discussion about this year's team and have refused to watch the games.

Doesn't anyone else have mixed feelings about this father who quit his job so he could watch his son play baseball? I mean, on the one hand, it's supposed to make you feel good all over that he walked away from 60K a year to support his child, and I suppose the message, taken the best way possible, that this boy receives is "Hey. I'm there for you no matter what."

On the other hand, I confess to feeling very uncomfortable with this message. Sure, I understand that family is much more important than work, but not seeing your boy play a ballgame so that you can continue to meet your obligations is NOT telling your kid that work is more important than family; it's telling your kid that work is more important than play.

I know that a lot of you had parents like mine, who worked very, very hard and who sometimes had to miss significant events in our lives while we were growing up so that they could continue to provide for the very lifestyles that permitted such significant events. And I know that yeah, some things are so important that you should find a way to get off work so you can attend them, but does a bunch of baseball games qualify as so important that a man should walk away from his job?

I think I'm uncomfortable, too, because you hear stories like this every so often, and they're always about competition in sports. Why do we never hear about parents quitting their jobs so they can watch their kids compete in national robotics competitions or so they can observe their kids' participation in national peace conferences? Because those things aren't as important as baseball?

I find it ironic that on the one hand, we celebrate a man who seems to have his priorities in order, quitting his job so he can travel with his son in this once-in-a-lifetime experience, but on the other hand, we glorify a man like Cal Ripken, Jr., who showed up for work healthy and ready to play for 2300 consecutive baseball games. Come on, baseball fans. Which is it going to be? Admire a man who does his job every day, or admire a man who doesn't let work get in the way of a family member's activity?

[Palolo Joe]

Sounds like you've never been a father. Me neither, but I think it's admirable that this dad was willing to quit his job in order to be there for his son. I also think he's doing it with the hopes that his employer will want to avoid negative PR and give him his job back.

I don't think you understand how big it is for the boys from Ewa Beach to win the Little League World Series and be the first ever from Hawaii to do it. It's been 17 years since a team from Hawaii played in the U.S. Championship.

But I can see where you're coming from. Maybe some of the fathers out there can shed a little light on what was going through that one guy's mind when he decided to walk away from 60k a year.

[pzarquon]

What father are we talking about, here?

I don't even think I need to know. He made his own choices, as we're all free to do. On the scale of "poor choices," I don't see how this even rates.

And sure, we glorify sports stars more than we do academic stars. Oh well. It's hardly just a local or even national phenomenon. At least this story isn't about some jock who quits school because he was offered seven figures before even putting on a jersey.

Some kids from Hawaii made history, hit the top of their game on the world stage, and had fun. Good for them.

Hell, I can come up with a basketful of things about, say, Christmas that trouble me. I suppose I could say I'm "very uncomfortable with the message." But something that generally brings joy to so many people is certainly not something I'm going to "avoid all discussion about" or "refuse to watch." It's part of the community I live in, and their happiness is my happiness.

And while I can be sensitive to people who are not fans of Christmas (I might even be one of them), I know there's a time and place for debating deep sociological issues, and a time and place for just being happy for someone else. I'm sure not going to rag on Santa while the kids are still opening their presents.Sounds like you've never been a father.You think? Consider the converse. Your son's team makes it to the World Series. You think to yourself, "Ideally, I should be there, but practically, I should stay home and work." Imagine how proud your kid is, and yet how intimidated he might be about getting on that plane. Well, I don't think there's a loving dad on earth that wouldn't give that trip some serious, serious thought. I need my job, but I can't tell you that I'd be able to just pat him on the back and wish him godspeed from his gate at HNL.

Deciding to "be there no matter what" is not a practical decision. But neither is having kids.

[lurkah]

On the other hand, I confess to feeling very uncomfortable with this message. Sure, I understand that family is much more important than work, but not seeing your boy play a ballgame so that you can continue to meet your obligations is NOT telling your kid that work is more important than family; it's telling your kid that work is more important than play.
I'm reminded of the movie, Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams, in which teacher John Keating tells his students, "'Carpe Diem, lads! Seize the day! Make your lives extraordinary!'"

I know where you're coming from in regards to staying responsible and holding on to your job so that you can meet your long-term financial obligations, but this was no ordinary ball game -- this was going to be a once in a lifetime father-son life experience opportunity in which the father decided he needed to go for broke and seize the day so that he and his son, along with all the rest of his family and friends, would be able to revel and share in the experience and memories that would last them the rest of their lifetimes.

The father quit his truck driving job because his boss wouldn't let him take leave without pay. I'll tell you what, if he came and applied for a job at my trucking company and told me the reasons why he had to quit his last job, it wouldn't bother me a bit. :D

[Moto]

Let me just say that I probably would not have made the same decision as Mr. Enos, however, despite the message that his decision was not the best in terms of responsibility, I believe his message to his son that he will be there for him was a larger message. Nobody knew how big this would be at the time Mr Enos quit his job. Hindsight being 20/20, Mr. Enos would have been kicking himself, had he stayed back home. There's also the story of another one of the parents, where they came back home after the Northwest Regionals because they were out of vacation time. Their friends saw that they were not at Williamsport, PA during the early broadcasts and donated money to these parents so they could go back to be with their son. In this case the companies that they worked with were supportive and allowed them to attend the game while being on Leave without pay.

On the other hand for Island Ready Mix Concrete, who looks to be the bad guys in all of this, I would say that I understand their decision too. As much as I would have wanted them to show compassion, their decision was strictly a business decision and being a small company, they may have had no other options but to take the hard stand. Another way to look at this is, what if Mrs. Enos was gravely ill and he wanted to take some time off to be with her, would the company have let him take the leave? Now, if you could afford to have him gone for that reason, what is the difference here? Now you're making decisions based on what you (Island Ready Mix management) belive is a good reason or not. Now that it is over, if I was them, I would reoffer Mr. Enos his job back. I understand that Mr. Enos, has had many job offers since the new broke.

Bottom Line, this was a case where parents had to weigh the pros and cons of the issues. I wouldn't have made the same decision as Mr. Enos, however, I admire him for standing up for what he had to do.

[cezanne]

Mr. Enos did what he felt he had to do. Sure he walked away from a 60K job... but the way things are going in Hawaii's construction industry now, he more than likely will have a job when he comes back. Might not be the same company but he'll definitely be getting the same check every week.

Congratulations to Ewa Beach! Great job representing Hawai'i and the US!

[LikaNui]

I watched the entire game and loved it! Thought it was over for our boys when the umpire made the bad call on tagging the Curacao kid sliding into home plate, but the Ewa Beach boys fought back beautifully.
Congratulations to all the kids, and more congrats to all the coaches who volunteered their time and to the parents (all of them) who supported them.
:D

[lurkah]

Nice pat on the back (http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050829/COLUMNISTS02/508290368/1120/NEWS) this morning for coach Layton Aliviado.

"He had installed the microchip of faith in each one of them long, long before that moment, strengthened that connection in countless sweaty hours on an 'Ewa-side ballfield, so that when he looked those kids in the eyes and said, "Let's go," they simply did."

[Linkmeister]

not likely but does anyone know if the final game will be retelevised? (yup, i missed it :eek: )

Check ESPN2. Since Disney owns both ABC and ESPN, and since ESPN2 sees fit to televise billiards and poker, maybe it'll show a replay to fill an hour or so. :D

[pzarquon]

I heard there was a bit of a flap on the East Coast, where ABC cutaway from the game just as it was tied in the sixth to cover the hurricane. I think a lot of folks will be looking forward to a rebroadcast, somewhere.

So where is the story of this gave-up-his-job dad? Wherever he is, major PR points go to the first company that hires him at 61k. Heck, his old company should make the gesture. The industry doesn't strike me as one that's short of job openings right now...

[Exit 6]

ACK!!! My DVR recording stopped at 1230pm at the start of the 6th inning. Does anyone have a copy of the game for at least the last couple of innings?

Shoot me a PM if you do.

Mahaloz!!

[LikaNui]

Does anyone have a copy of the game for at least the last couple of innings?
I'll bet the kids parents do!
:D
All you've gotta do is figure out how to contact them.

[scrivener]

We can at least agree that there are perhaps some jobs that you would never quit in order to watch your son play in the Little League World Series, yes? For example, you didn't see any soldiers in Iraq leaving their posts for this.

Teachers are in an interesting spot; we're free to leave if we must, but when we do, we totally screw hundreds of students and the administrators. When I agree to do this job at the start of the year, there's an implied commitment that I'll be there at least through to the end of the year. You can bet that if I'd quit my job now, in the second week of the school year, to see my kid play baseball, it's not the kind of thing that makes other schools line up for my services, and they certainly wouldn't be offering me a thousand bucks more than I made at the school I quit!

As for the guy getting his position back, I'd like to know what you'd tell your other employees. Is there some kind of line beyond which an event is important enough that you could tell all your employees that you'd hire them back? Last year, the Moanalua High School orchestra played Carnegie Hall. For a performing musician, it doesn't get much more once-in-a-lifetime than that. Are all you people who fully support this father's decision saying you'd support him doing the same thing to watch his kid play Carnegie?

[Palolo Joe]

Are all you people who fully support this father's decision saying you'd support him doing the same thing to watch his kid play Carnegie?
Sure, but you're talking about apples and oranges. These kids from Ewa Beach were the first group ever to make it to the LLWS final. They were the first ever to win the whole thing.

A kid from Hawaii playing in Carnegie - it's happened before. A special experience, definitely, but not ground-breaking.

And if a dad wanted to take off from work to see his kid play at Carnegie, we would be talking about a trip that lasted only a few days, not weeks as was the case for some of the Ewa Beach parents.

[jdub]

i think scriv's got a salient point, but i guess it's up to each parent to make their own choices...and i think we all know how parents feel about being told how to raise their kids...

i was watching one of those talking-heads sports shows, and the question came up about whether or not ABC should have showed the losing Curacao kids bawling after their loss...i figure, hell, it's part of the game ain't it? how 'bout it?

[Moto]

I think it just showed how much those kids really wanted to win this game. It could also reflect some frustration because they were just 3 outs away from being the repeat champions of the world and it slipped away. I hope that most of the viewers realized that the team from Curacao had nothing to be ashamed of. They played a great game as did our team from Ewa Beach. It is a shame that one team had to lose.

I don't believe it was shown with any malice, but it was shown to indicate how much the game meant to both teams and the contrasting difference between the two teams after the game. believe capturing the footage would be in line of the old ABC Wide World of Sports depicting the agony of defeat.

[pzarquon]

Indeed. "The agony of defeat" is very nearly as big a part of the picture as the "thrill of victory." Maybe you don't want to dwell (and maybe that was the complaint), but I would think that in any competition, it would actually be weird to show only jumps for joy and high-fives and not the long faces on the other side.

I think we all felt for Curacao, as we felt for our own kids. The mix of emotions is what makes the experience that much more amazing.

[Kilinahe]

I don't really like sports. I don't really get emotional about games on TV and I really can't form an educated opinion about teams or strategies or anything.

But dammit if I didn't cry during the news when they were showing footage.

[Surfingfarmboy]

I heard there was a bit of a flap on the East Coast, where ABC cutaway from the game just as it was tied in the sixth to cover the hurricane. I think a lot of folks will be looking forward to a rebroadcast, somewhere.

You are correct. ABC did cut away from the broadcast for hurricane coverage here in the Northeast. Fortunately, I have cable here, so I just switched over to ESPN, who picked up the broadcast of the game, and was able to watch the remainder of the game.

[Kekaha Roots]

We can at least agree that there are perhaps some jobs that you would never quit in order to watch your son play in the Little League World Series, yes? For example, you didn't see any soldiers in Iraq leaving their posts for this.

Teachers are in an interesting spot; we're free to leave if we must, but when we do, we totally screw hundreds of students and the administrators. When I agree to do this job at the start of the year, there's an implied commitment that I'll be there at least through to the end of the year. You can bet that if I'd quit my job now, in the second week of the school year, to see my kid play baseball, it's not the kind of thing that makes other schools line up for my services, and they certainly wouldn't be offering me a thousand bucks more than I made at the school I quit!

As for the guy getting his position back, I'd like to know what you'd tell your other employees.

You have some extremely valid points in this thread, scrivener, but I'll add my .02 worth:

We don't know (well, at least I don't) what kind of financial position Mr Enos was/is in. Perhaps he & his family are financially stable and they could afford to take some time off of work without having sacrificing their well being. I don't know the terms of his employment condition when he left, either. Did he just outright quit at the last minute, or did he give his company notice that this event could happen, or was he given sometype of personal leave?

Many people-oriented companies will work with their employees in special circumstances like this given that there is plenty of notice. I think I read that he was in the construction industry, so he might be involved with a union. If that's the case, then it's probably a lot different. Nonetheless, in my management career I have always accommodated people with personal leaves as long as there has been advance notice. For example, a few years ago I had an employee who wanted to adopt a girl in the Phillipines, but this meant that he had to leave for eight weeks. Since he gave me plenty of notice I was able to approve his request.

To answer your question about "What do you tell your employees when he comes back?":

That can be very tricky & difficult if it's not handled correctly. I would say that if an employee is brought back w/o an official opening, it's going to create some resentment, or even the perception of favoritism. If there is an opening and he qualifies to get his job back, then there shouldn't be a problem. However, if this happens, then a discussion between the manager & employees needs to take place to explain everything, IMHO. If not, then some employees could still view this as favoritism.

[Pikake]

...Now...I reckon a movie based on this LL Championship will be in production next. Heck, they may even throw in the part about the dad who quit his job to watch his son play.:rolleyes:

[Moto]

We don't know (well, at least I don't) what kind of financial position Mr Enos was/is in. Perhaps he & his family are financially stable and they could afford to take some time off of work without having sacrificing their well being.From what ABC reported in the World Championship game, Mr. Enos took out a hefty loan (I believe it was in the range of $12,000) to pay for this trip.I don't know the terms of his employment condition when he left, either. Did he just outright quit at the last minute, or did he give his company notice that this event could happen, or was he given sometype of personal leave?From what was reported, he asked for leave of absence without pay to go and watch his son play, and was denied. Therefore, his decision to quit.Many people-oriented companies will work with their employees in special circumstances like this given that there is plenty of notice. I think I read that he was in the construction industry, so he might be involved with a union. If that's the case, then it's probably a lot different.From what I understand, Island Ready Mix concrete is a subsidiary of Ameron Concrete. Amaron is a unionized company, however, Island Ready Mix Concrete is not.Nonetheless, in my management career I have always accommodated people with personal leaves as long as there has been advance notice. For example, a few years ago I had an employee who wanted to adopt a girl in the Phillipines, but this meant that he had to leave for eight weeks. Since he gave me plenty of notice I was able to approve his request.Being a small company, Island Ready Mix, must have made a business decision and probably could not afford to have Mr. Enos gone for the extra 2 weeks. This is speculation.To answer your question about "What do you tell your employees when he comes back?":

That can be very tricky & difficult if it's not handled correctly. I would say that if an employee is brought back w/o an official opening, it's going to create some resentment, or even the perception of favoritism. If there is an opening and he qualifies to get his job back, then there shouldn't be a problem. However, if this happens, then a discussion between the manager & employees needs to take place to explain everything, IMHO. If not, then some employees could still view this as favoritism.
On the other hand, I wonder how his fellow employees feel about what happened to him and how it could affect them in the future (should they want to take unexpected leave of some sort)? Because of the result of the team, they have become island heros (Justifiably so, with their never quit attitude).

Not easy decisions on both sides of the fence. I fully understand why Mr. Enos did what he did. I also understand why Island Ready Mix Concrete may have done what they did.

[mel]

Doesn't anyone else have mixed feelings about this father who quit his job so he could watch his son play baseball?

I've been monitoring this thread for the past week or so and haven't commented on it until now.

I am not a big sports fan and did not watch any of the games. However I have to congratulate the Ewa Beach baseball team for a job well done and winning that championship. This is probably the feel good story of the year for Hawaii, especially when we have other issues that have been bad for the state manifest themselves in recent months and weeks.

That said, I have to agree with Scrivener on the issue of the father who left his high paying job just to go on a trip to watch baseball. Sure his team won, he was there with not only his son, but his entire family, as he took out a $12,000 loan to finance the trip to the mainland as news reports have indicated.

However on KITV 4 news last night it was also mentioned by his former employer, that 1. this man used up all of his vacation time as well as other time off options and 2. the employer had to be fair to all of his other employees in not allowing this person additional days off. I can understand that. If you use up all of your allotted time off, you are not entitled to more.

The firm he was working for is a small business and they have to do what they have to do to meet their contractual obligations.

It is lucky that Ewa Beach won the national title and world series championship. The person in question now has offers from other firms to drive trucks for them. The Governor even stated that someone else will hire him.

However, what if Ewa Beach had lost in the early rounds of the playoffs and had to come home a few weeks earlier? Would this guy have been fortunate enough to get the kinds of offers he got? I don't think so.

It all boils down to financial responsibility IMO. He should have stayed home and kept his job. I doubt the new offers would pay as much as the cement company he worked for.

Lastly, this is a point that Rick Hamada at KHVH also agreed on. So finally someone is in the same company as Rick other than myself on this board. Way to go Scriv! :)

[LikaNui]

I had hoped the Ewa Beach kids might look in on this thread as yet another source of numerous congratulations for their hard-earned championship, but with all the father-bashing I now hope they don't. I wonder how the son of that man might feel in reading messages about his father. Here the young man has just won a world championship -- a WORLD championship! -- but instead of celebrating that fact, a few folks have gone to analyzing the behavior of someone they don't know. The issue is, perhaps, a legitimate question, but I guess I just wish this was a kinder, gentler thread. It's about the KIDS.
Maybe we could transfer those posts to another thread?
And in response to an earlier question, it appears that KITV is indeed looking for a time spot to re-air the game. Hooray!

[Glen Miyashiro]

I had hoped the Ewa Beach kids might look in on this thread as yet another source of numerous congratulations for their hard-earned championship, but with all the father-bashing I now hope they don't. I wonder how the son of that man might feel in reading messages about his father. Here the young man has just won a world championship -- a WORLD championship! -- but instead of celebrating that fact, a few folks have gone to analyzing the behavior of someone they don't know. Someone like... say... Tiny Tadani? :rolleyes:

[Kekaha Roots]

Nonetheless, in my management career I have always accommodated people with personal leaves as long as there has been advance notice. For example, a few years ago I had an employee who wanted to adopt a girl in the Phillipines, but this meant that he had to leave for eight weeks. Since he gave me plenty of notice I was able to approve his request.

I forgot to clarify one point when I initially wrote the above: I could only allow for someone's personal leave if I have the appropriate staffing levels to still run the business effectively. Obviously, if I'm short staffed and someone's temporary departure would adversely affect my operation, then I wouldn't be able to approve this type of request.

Mahalo.

[Moto]

Sorry, in my response to Kekaha Roots above, I attempted to respond to the questions/statements individually, however, my responses were incorporated into the quote section, making it difficult to segregate my response from Kekaha Roots statements.

This is what my full response was:

We don't know (well, at least I don't) what kind of financial position Mr Enos was/is in. Perhaps he & his family are financially stable and they could afford to take some time off of work without having sacrificing their well being.

From what ABC reported in the World Championship game, Mr. Enos took out a hefty loan (I believe it was in the range of $12,000) to pay for this trip.

I don't know the terms of his employment condition when he left, either. Did he just outright quit at the last minute, or did he give his company notice that this event could happen, or was he given sometype of personal leave?

From what was reported, he asked for leave of absence without pay to go and watch his son play, and was denied. Therefore, his decision to quit.

Many people-oriented companies will work with their employees in special circumstances like this given that there is plenty of notice. I think I read that he was in the construction industry, so he might be involved with a union. If that's the case, then it's probably a lot different.

From what I understand, Island Ready Mix concrete is a subsidiary of Ameron Concrete. Amaron is a unionized company, however, Island Ready Mix Concrete is not.

Nonetheless, in my management career I have always accommodated people with personal leaves as long as there has been advance notice. For example, a few years ago I had an employee who wanted to adopt a girl in the Phillipines, but this meant that he had to leave for eight weeks. Since he gave me plenty of notice I was able to approve his request.

Being a small company, Island Ready Mix, must have made a business decision and probably could not afford to have Mr. Enos gone for the extra 2 weeks. This is speculation.

To answer your question about "What do you tell your employees when he comes back?":

That can be very tricky & difficult if it's not handled correctly. I would say that if an employee is brought back w/o an official opening, it's going to create some resentment, or even the perception of favoritism. If there is an opening and he qualifies to get his job back, then there shouldn't be a problem. However, if this happens, then a discussion between the manager & employees needs to take place to explain everything, IMHO. If not, then some employees could still view this as favoritism.

On the other hand, I wonder how his fellow employees feel about what happened to him and how it could affect them in the future (should they want to take unexpected leave of some sort)? Because of the result of the team, they have become island heros (Justifiably so, with their never quit attitude).

Not easy decisions on both sides of the fence. I fully understand why Mr. Enos did what he did. I also understand why Island Ready Mix Concrete may have done what they did.

[Linkmeister]

KITV said several times last night that they were trying to get permission to rebroadcast the entire game, so keep watching. They're also doing a 1/2-hour special Friday night; more info will probably be provided then.

[scrivener]

...but with all the father-bashing I now hope they don't. I wonder how the son of that man might feel in reading messages about his father. ... but instead of celebrating that fact, a few folks have gone to analyzing the behavior of someone they don't know.
I don't think it's fair to say that the tone of my contributions or mel's contributions really qualifies as "father-bashing." All we said was that we have mixed feelings about this and thought it was worth mentioning. The media is painting this sacrifice one way, and I think there's another way to look at it without bashing the father. I guess what I'm trying to get at is an analysis of our priorities. OUR priorities (as evidenced by the public's reaction to this story) and the media's priorities (as evidenced by the way the story is presented).

As for whether or not we should be concerned about what the team thinks if they should look upon this thread, I guess that's debatable. We didn't seem to care what Malia Song or John Berger thought, and they didn't have tons of positive media coverage to counteract whatever might have been said here.

I said it at the start of my first response: What the team did is wonderful. The boys and girls should be proud of their accomplishment. Someday, I hope they find other, more mundane things to be equally proud of, including a commitment to a family and to co-workers and employers.

[scrivener]

I would like to add something else here about the media's response to this World Series victory. At the end of Marisa Yamane's report last night, Yamane said that the team learned an important lesson: That persistence pays off.

Do you understand why I'm annoyed at the news reports? The lesson here should not be that persistence pays off, otherwise if the team had lost, the lesson would be that persistence doesn't pay off. There were two very, very good teams in the finals, and there were several very, very good teams in the entire World Series. Every team there played hard, was devoted, made sacrifices, and played as a team; that's how all the teams got there. Yamane's statement implies that since persistence pays off, the teams that lost weren't persistent enough. That's baloney, and we all know it. There are ten kazillion wonderful, valuable lessons baseball can teach us, whether we win or lose, but the media is focusing on the winning, and that's the wrong lesson.

I'm happy they won. It's a huge thing. They learned a great deal. But howsabout some perspective here?

Also, and this is a very small, very petty thing: Marisa Yamane, in her recap of the game, said that it was tied at the end of regulation, so the game went into "overtime."

[Kekaha Roots]

Sorry, in my response to Kekaha Roots above, I attempted to respond to the questions/statements individually, however, my responses were incorporated into the quote section, making it difficult to segregate my response from Kekaha Roots statements:

Mahalo, Moto.. ;)

[scrivener]

Lastly, this is a point that Rick Hamada at KHVH also agreed on. So finally someone is in the same company as Rick other than myself on this board. Way to go Scriv! :)
I'd like to ask that we look at it a different way: That Rick has finally had enough sense to agree with me. We should be welcoming Rick Hamada aboard, not me! ;)

[LikaNui]

I don't think it's fair to say that the tone of my contributions or mel's contributions really qualifies as "father-bashing." Sorry, I was in a hurry this morning. You're right, it's not been "bashing" and that was too harsh of a term for me to use. But I did feel it brought a bit of negativity into something that should be celebrating the kids victory. In hindsight, probably should've been a separate thread, that's all.

We didn't seem to care what Malia Song or John Berger thought True, Scriv, but they're adults and are used to the pitfalls of being in the limelight.
Carry on, folks. I guess I just wanted to keep this all kid-friendly.

What the team did is wonderful. The boys and girls should be proud of their accomplishment. Someday, I hope they find other, more mundane things to be equally proud of, including a commitment to a family and to co-workers and employers. Point well taken.
:)

[Palolo Joe]

It all boils down to financial responsibility IMO. He should have stayed home and kept his job.
And I'm willing to bet you've never been a father.

[dabvz01]

Congratulation to the Ewa Beach baseball team and their supporters.

Looks like you guys won us :D
Hopes to see Ewa Beach Next year again, curacao will be back for sure :D

Good play

you can find more info about those curacao boys here www.curacao.com (http://www.curacao.com)
they made a little ection about them
I guess those Curacao boys will be staying stateside for a little while, at least until the storm is through.Nopes they came back monday in the afternoon :)
It is interesting that the last 2005 Little League World Series playoff was earned by two teams from small islands in different oceans; one Pacific island (O'ahu 1+ million people) the product of United States' economic imperialism, one Atlantic island (Curacao 150,000 people) the product of Netherlands' economic imperialism.Carribean Island , true we got around 100.000 to 150.000 people
I watched the entire game and loved it! Thought it was over for our boys when the umpire made the bad call on tagging the Curacao kid sliding into home plate, but the Ewa Beach boys fought back beautifully.I think he didnt touched the curacao kid , almost touched ,that was a good play
i was watching one of those talking-heads sports shows, and the question came up about whether or not ABC should have showed the losing Curacao kids bawling after their loss...i figure, hell, it's part of the game ain't it? how 'bout it?
Well we didnt lose everything , we won the international Champion
I think it just showed how much those kids really wanted to win this game. It could also reflect some frustration because they were just 3 outs away from being the repeat champions of the world and it slipped away. I hope that most of the viewers realized that the team from Curacao had nothing to be ashamed of. They played a great game as did our team from Ewa Beach. It is a shame that one team had to lose.

Last year we was the first carribean island that won the World champion and if we did won we would be the first ever to win 2 year in a row

Both teams played great, both pitched great.


But did you guys saw 1 of the homerun of the curacao, the ball when over the second wall

Good play hopes to see both teams play again ech other again

[LikaNui]

I think he didnt touched the curacao kid , almost touched ,that was a good play The replay clearly showed the catcher's glove hitting the Curacao kid on the lower leg, hard enough that you could clearly see his leg get knocked over from the tag. No question about it at all.
But fortunately, in the end the umpire's error didn't matter.
:)

[Linkmeister]

KITV said several times last night that they were trying to get permission to rebroadcast the entire game, so keep watching. They're also doing a 1/2-hour special Friday night; more info will probably be provided then.

It's gonna be on ESPN Classic either Friday or Saturday (I think Saturday, but I didn't pay that much attention). Watch KITV for updates.

[lurkah]

"Offers pour in (http://starbulletin.com/2005/08/31/news/story3.html) for jobless Little League dad"...and game rebroadcast info.

[Linkmeister]

It's gonna be on ESPN Classic either Friday or Saturday (I think Saturday, but I didn't pay that much attention). Watch KITV for updates.

From the S-B story linked above:ESPN Classic (Time Warner 23 or digital 218) will rebroadcast the World Series championship game at 2 p.m. Friday.

[pzarquon]

From Link's link:His resignation from a well-paying job has raised eyebrows, but he's not being faulted.Except on HawaiiThreads, I guess.

Overall, I think it's interesting that the debate Mr. Enos' decision has spawned has been a more practical one - fairness to employers and coworkers - rather than the initial concerns our dear Scrivener raised about the broader call of priorities: staying and earning a living, or being by his son's side on the Mainland.

Mr. Enos does express some discomfort with all the money and job offers being thrust at him, and that only makes sense. His story is noteworthy only insofar as the media seized upon him as a symbol of a larger story arc they wanted to tell.

I'm glad also to see that Francis Kuhn's situation at Island Ready-Mix is also getting acknowledgement. Though I imagine the only reason why Kuhn felt compelled to issue a formal statement was because his role in the story was initially being depicted negatively.

[lurkah]

From Link's link:
Link's link? Which Link's link? Oh! You must have me on Ignore too! http://allthingshawaiian.com/lurkah/smileys/smileylaughevil.gif No biggie.

[Palolo Joe]

You must have me on Ignore too!
Wow, you've pissed off that many people already?

[lurkah]

Wow, you've pissed off that many people already?
Adono...maybe it's my MQ (Moke Quotient). And I don't even live on Ahe St. http://ohanalanai.com/lanai/images/smilies/sparkle.gif