There have been free lattes, cappuccinos and matcha drinks for folks. There was a truck stuffed with eye-testing units to assist youngsters with imaginative and prescient points or lacking glasses. There have been free gloves, T-shirts and different apparel handy out to youngsters. There was a meals truck providing free burgers and french fries.
There have been autograph signings with one among baseball’s finest left-handed pitchers and one among baseball’s finest hitters. There was a raffle for Dodgers tickets, gloves and signed balls. There was a batting cage to take swings. There was the Dodgers’ 2021 championship trophy.
The Fried Basis, Harvard-Westlake and different sponsors outdid themselves Saturday in Encino making an attempt to offer 80 members of the Altadena Little League and their mother and father affected by the Eaton fireplace a day of distraction and luxury at O’Malley Household Discipline.
Gamers from Altadena Little League take a look at raffle tickets throughout an occasion sponsored by the Max Fried Basis at O’Malley Household Discipline on Saturday.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Occasions)
“We saw a need and decided to act,” stated Jonathan Fried, the daddy of New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried, a Harvard-Westlake graduate who was taking images and signing autographs.
The appreciation was actual, and likewise for buddies lastly attending to see one another after weeks of no interplay due to the hearth that started Jan. 7.
“Is your house OK?” one boy requested.
“Nah. My mom’s house is gone. My dad’s house is OK,” one other boy responded.
March 1 is meant to be opening day for the league. Last tryouts nonetheless haven’t occurred as a result of the fields are unavailable, however Chris Swan, a board member, stated at an emergency assembly of the board, “Everybody was all in to play.”
Max Fried, who performed at Encino Little League, stated, “This is nothing to do with me. I’m just helping a community we all grew up in.”
His good buddy Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, the 2018 Nationwide League Most worthy participant, additionally dropped by to signal autographs.
The occasion organizers had been the moms of Harvard-Westlake baseball gamers — Casey Kim, Natasha Tronstein, Monica Kirchner and Donna Tetreault. They had been working round as their sons performed a winter sport. They anticipated to feed greater than 300 individuals by the tip of the day.
Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers indicators autographs.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Occasions)
Most necessary, it was an opportunity for the youngsters to see one another.
“I kinda of want to see my friends,” stated 10-year-old Louis Bradshaw, who has been out of faculty for greater than two weeks.
The occasion was stored secret till Saturday so it might be strictly for teenagers and oldsters.
“The kids are happy. That’s the most important thing,” Kirchner stated.
