Livescore
There were free lattes, cappuccinos and matcha drinks for parents. There was a truck filled with eye testing devices to help kids with vision issues or missing glasses. There were free gloves, T-shirts and other attire to hand out to kids. There was a food truck offering free burgers and french fries.
There were autograph signings with one of baseball’s best left-handed pitchers and one of baseball’s best hitters. There was a raffle for Dodger tickets, gloves and signed balls. There was a batting cage to take swings. There was the Dodgers’ 2021 championship trophy.
The Fried Foundation, Harvard-Westlake and other sponsors outdid themselves on Saturday in Encino trying to give 80 members of the Altadena Little League and their parents affected by the Eaton fire an afternoon of distraction and comfort at O’Malley Family Field.
“We saw a need and decided to act,” said Jonathan Fried, the father of New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried, a Harvard-Westlake graduate who was taking photos and signing autographs.
The appreciation was real if not just for friends to finally get to see each other after weeks of no interaction because of the fire that began on Jan. 7.
“Is your house OK?” one boy asked.
“Nah. My mom’s house is gone. My dad’s house is OK,” another boy responded.
March 1 is supposed to be opening day for the league. Final tryouts still haven’t happened because the fields are unavailable, but Chris Swan, a board member, said at an emergency meeting of the board, “Everybody was all in to play.”
Max Fried, who played at Encino Little League, said, “This is nothing to do with me. I’m just helping a community we all grew up in.”
His good friend, Christian Yelich, the 2018 National League MVP of the Milwaukee Brewers, also dropped by to sign autographs.
The event organizers were the mothers of Harvard-Westlake baseball players — Casey Kim, Natasha Tronstein, Monica Kirchner and Donna Tetreault. They were running around as their sons played a winter game. By the end of the day, more than 300 people would end up being fed.
Most important, it was a chance for the kids to see other.
“I kinda of want to see my friends,” said 10-year-old Louis Bradshaw, who has been out of school for more than two weeks.
The event was kept secret until Saturday so that it would be strictly for kids and parents.
“The kids are happy. That’s the most important thing,” Kirchner said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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