by Kevin Cody
The Manhattan Beach Little League celebrated opening day on Saturday, February 21, by bringing back its traditional opening day parade to the downtown for the first time since the pandemic. The MBLL parade dates back to 1960 when current City Treasurer Tim Lilligren remembers lining up with his team, the Breaker’s Beavers, in front of the downtown Kuhn Brothers Lumber Yard, where Vons is today.
This year’s staging area was in front of the Shade Hotel, which put out coffee and rolls for the Little League families, and the broader community.
During conversations at the coffee, Lilligren was asked by a tall Little League dad, new to the community, what his favorite football team was. Lilligren said the Rams, having failed to notice the dad was wearing a Chargers baseball cap. It was an uncharacteristic, foot-in-the-mouth moment for the veteran politician, which he would soon regret.
The Mira Costa Marching Band and Color Guard led this year’s parade, followed by city dignitaries riding in classic cars.
As Manhattan’s longest serving politician, Lilligren rode in the back seat of the first car, a 1967, midnight blue Pontiac GTO convertible owned and driven by Henri Couderc. Lilligren served as City Clerk in the late ’80s, as a City Councilmember through the ’90s, and as City Treasurer since the turn of the century.
The tall dad with the Chargers cap walked with his wife, son, and his son’s team, the AAA Red Sox.
After the parade arrived at the American Martyrs School baseball field, and the league’s 23 teams were seated on the infield grass, MBLL co-presidents Craig Snyder and Lee Bauman thanked the league’s volunteers and sponsors,
Snyder said bringing back the parade was an important step in restoring MBLL’s pre-pandemic reputation as one of the largest, most talent-loaded Little Leagues in the country.
The pandemic led to a drop in the number of players and suspension of the parade.
Still, MBLL currently has three former players in Major League Baseball. Chase Meidroth plays shortstop for the White Sox. Kyle Karros plays third base for the Arizona Diamondbacks. And Jared Karros plays with the AA Tulsa Drillers, a Dodgers minor league team. The Karros brothers’ dad is Eric Karros, a former MBLL coach, and a former Dodger first baseman, team home run leader (270), and 1992 Rookie of the Year.
For opening day’s keynote speaker, parade organizer Jeff Briggs called on a parent known in professional sports as the “Comeback Kid” for leading his teams to come-from-behind victories.
When the speaker approached home plate, Lilligren recognized him as the parent in the Chargers hat.
The kids recognized him as Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh.
After 14 seasons as a National Football League quarterback, Harbaugh became a head coach known for turning around struggling programs at San Diego State, Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers, and now the Los Angeles Chargers
Harbaugh began his talk by challenging the Little Leaguers to “attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.” It’s what his dad, also a college coach, told him every morning before sending him off to school.
“Enthusiasm Unknown to Mankind,” is the title of Harbaugh’s book, which emphasizes leadership by inspiration, not intimidation.
“Just give it your best, and you’ll feel good about what you’ve accomplished…. Winning isn’t everything. I can think of 10 things more important. At the top of that list is having fun and making friends,” he told the Little Leaguers.
In a shout out to the Mira Costa Marching Band and Color Guard, Harbaugh recalled what he told players he coached at Stanford and San Diego.
“Nobody works harder than the band. They practice late at night, after the players leave the field, and they practice on their own. Make the band your example. Practice today and you’ll be better than you were yesterday, and better tomorrow than you are today,” he said.
Returning to the importance of enthusiasm, he asked, “Do you want a tip on how to be enthusiastic? Act enthusiastic.” He clenched his fists, crouched like a shortstop waiting to field a ground ball, and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Oh boy! Am I enthusiastic!”
Then he thanked parents and civic leaders by noting, “There are no better fields in all of America than right here in Manhattan Beach.”
Harbaugh ended his talk with the “call and response” he delivers in the Chargers locker room before his players run on to the field. .
“Whose got it better than us,” he screamed.
“Nobody,” the young Little Leaguers screamed back.
For more information about the Manhattan Beach Little League, visit MBLittleLeague.com. ER
