It's a good time in Major League Baseball.
Teams are settling into their stride, and the St. Louis Cardinals are currently tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the National League Central Division.
But there's still a long way to go before the tense postseason weeks. Baseball's a happy game right now.
It's also always a happy game on the Little League field. This has been the first spring in years that I haven't spent blistering mornings or oddly chilly evenings at the Tempe Sports Complex, watching one or more of my four younger brothers play the game.
Little League baseball can capture most of the magic of the big game.
Watching the Tempe South All-Star team play against their Scottsdale counterparts for a chance to go to the world series in Williamsport, Pa., was every bit as nail-biting and ultimately heartbreaking as those four nights in October 2004.
Little League baseball, especially when it's at the T-ball or machine-pitch levels, is also comedic. Kids (mostly boys, but usually at least one girl) run out of their shoes on the base paths or run into each other while trying to make an out.
As the grown-up sports world settles into its late-spring calm, it's worth stopping by a park and watching a crew of uniformed children have the time of their lives.
Reach the news editor at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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