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After watching The Perfect Game, and reading this article, one can only grasp how difficult it must have been for the young, poor Mexican team from Monterrey. I know it was just one game, but having to walk across the border before a baseball game could not have been easy. With the Monterrey baseball league itself being somewhat brand new at the time, I can guarantee you no one expected Mexico to win any games, let alone pitch the only perfect game in the Little League World Series championship. I think it is symbolic to the Mexican experience in a land of privileged gringos. The Mexican team had come a long ways, so far out of their tiny world in Mexico, and their dusty, dirty lot in their small, industrial town. With their town living in Poverty, and their league being brand new, Williamsport could not even be fathomed by most players. "We didn’t even know Williamsport existed" says pitcher Jose "Pepe" Maiz, who led the team of underdogs to winning the Little League World Series Championship in 1957. The fact that they literally started from nothing, gave no excuses, and pitched a perfect game against a very privileged and trained team goes to show that the Mexican spirit and hope can take a team a long way. That is what really made them "Los Pequenos Gigantes".
ReplyDeleteMichael Gonzalez
Being a huge sports fan, I truly honestly thought that both the article and the movie were just so incredible and phenomenal. Even them themselves didn't think that they would make it as far as thy did. It's truly inspiring to see that they never gave up despite the odds. The other boys were much bigger, their visas had expired, they didn't have money for food, you know the list can go on and on, but even so those little boys including the coach went out there and made history. I'm sure when they left Monterrey they weren't thinking about becoming champions, much less making history, they just wanted to go out there and experience playing an actual game. An underdog team that was underestimated by many going out and proving people wrong which resulted a huge turning point for the Mexican culture? Sounds very familiar. Its truly a phenomenal story. We've seen time and time again that were Mexicans and Mexican Americans are fighting for their rights by doing huelgas, or by art or music, or theater, or protesting, but I don't think that people really thought that even a small game of baseball could do such a huge difference. These little boys made a huge statement, without them even knowing. It just proves to show that we, as Mexican Americans can really do anything when you put your mind AND heart into it. These boys had a passion and a dream, and they fulfilled it, and while fulfilling their dream, they made history, and a heartwarming and inspiring story.
ReplyDeletejoanne lopez
After watching ‘The Perfect Game’ and viewing the movie I was really amazed by such an incredible story. I am an enormous fan of sports so of course I’m going to be intrigued into this topic. This unfortunate Mexican team from Monterrey truly inspired many despite all the odds. The sport of baseball has always been huge in the world but I’ve always known that most MLB players are Hispanic or from Mexico which is really amazing to see. These Mexican kids shocked the world by winning 13 games in a row and the Little League World Series in the only perfect game ever pitched in the Championship. These kids, were led by their priest and down-and-out former leaguer embark on a journey through the southern US and up into Williamsport, PA for the Championship game. I’ve always enjoyed in sports where teams have to overcome something in order to succeed and that is exactly what these kids did. They encountered countless of adversities including being deported which was sad and the bigotry that wouldn’t allow them into certain restaurants or travel on certain buses. Despite all the odds, these kids never lost faith and still strived to be the best they could be which is always the right thing to do. This was an incredible story and I am really looking forward to discussing it a little more in class.
ReplyDeleteMichael Garcia
“The Perfect Game” was such a moving film that opened my eyes to the endless possibilities available through faith. The movie left me feeling inspired and touched by the young boys’ determination to win as a team while shining as individuals of Mexican pride. I watched and could not help but become emotional at beholding the sweet story of the Monterrey Little League Baseball team. I sincerely admired that they persistently acknowledged God whenever in need of encouragement and while experiencing everyday wellness. I believe their commitment to God kept them together as a team and allowed them to reach the success they did. Furthermore, as is also seen through the article “The Little League World Series’ Only Perfect Game,” Angel Macias, undoubtedly, displayed loyalty to the team and Coach Cesar Faz throughout their competition despite tension within his family and home. The honorable title of winning a “Perfect Game” is great, yet it is beautiful to see and read of the team’s humble background. The grandeur of their story lies in their humility and faithfulness to God and their strive to exhibit their strengths in front of opposing forces. No one expected for the city of Monterrey to inherit such honor and great recognition, for it took a group of young boys to prove many wrong in a land unfamiliar to them.
ReplyDeleteCeline Brianna Salas
It was inspiring to see this film about the pequeños gigantes of Monterrey, and how despite their circumstances they thrived in a foreign nation. This film reassured me that if you have the drive, discipline and determination, anything is possible. Just like previous readings, I never thought that the idea of playing a sport could drastically change someone’s life. The doors that opened and the new opportunities that these kids received were outstanding. Coming from humble backgrounds, the Monterey team didn’t have the latest baseball gear or new uniforms, they merely used rocks and whatever they could find to play their games. What I find most inspiring is that they just did it for the love of the game, they never expected anything in return, not even a championship victory. When they played in McAllen, I couldn’t help to consider what would the Mexican-Americans living in the Valley think about these kids? What would they be feeling, having these little Mexican kids play with taller, heavier teams, and yet still be in control of the game. I’m sure it would have been a sense of pride, pride in our community and our ethnicity, that we Mexican’s are just as capable of victory. (203)
ReplyDelete-Víctor D. Gaytán
After watching “The Perfect Game” and reading the article it made me sentimental in a good way. It was an incredible, inspiring story. Although I am not really a sports fan, this film got me hooked because of what the story line was. A baseball group from Monterrey, not too fortunate made it through their season. Just because you don’t have all the materialistic things, does not mean that those circumstances should stop you. These little league Mexican baseball players thought otherwise. They had something better than having materials, and that was drive, determination, and persistence. At this point, it brings me back to that famous saying, “No es la flecha, es el indio”. These kids brought all they had to the field when playing with others that were better equipped and skilled. What is even more inspiring is that they did it for fun. They loved playing and just like that, they had control on the field when playing with other teams. Despite the circumstances of deportation, racism, and low income, it did not stop them from being victorious. Their passion for playing out on the field over came those obstacles and it was something inspiring for the rest of the community.
ReplyDeleteGiselle Sanchez
The movie “the Perfect Game” and reading provided was extremely intriguing to look into, especially to see a group of young chicanos display their talent in a foreign nation full of Anglo people who thought they owned the sport. With all of the encounters of adversity that the kids faced, it was very inspiring to see them overcome every obstacle and being able to use that as fuel to demonstrate that despite their ethnicity, they too were just as good as other races who played the game. It was truly amazing to watch the team of Monterrey pitch the only perfect game in Little League Series’ history and acknowledge glory to God throughout the entire process. It really reiterated the fact that if you have determination and faith of a warrior then anything is possible in the game of life. Growing up I had always questioned why most sports consisted of ethnicities other than mine, but as I grew older I came to a realization that one of the sports we truly overpopulated in was baseball. This has become more exciting to me over the years because it’s shown a lot throughout the media and now I feel like young chicanos all over the world are shown that they too can make it there someday if they wanted to.
ReplyDeleteAdrian Martinez
When reading and watching about The Perfect Game” I could not help but relate to when I danced in a little dusty old room back when I lived in Mexico. We would practice with jeans because we would not afford to buy leggings or sport clothes specifically for practicing. We would not have A.C where we practiced, and we would not practice with our dancing shoe, nor tennis shoes but instead with our daily normal shoes because we had to take care of the nice dancing shoes in order for them to be nice looking for performances. However, the most impressive part is that, just as that baseball team from Monterrey, we would not complain because we were passionate and happy about being able to do what we love.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I found very interesting is that these young, passionate, and amazing players were misconceived as bad players because of the way they looked, because they looked different, more Mexican, not white. However, they proved to be just as good, or even better because of their effort and determination. They did not give up when people looked at them with pitty, they did not feel ashamed for receiving donations to eat not they feared deportation as much as they loved playing which united them and strengthened them through the odds, and made them teach the rest of us that us Mexicans can and will be victorious and successful.
Both the article and the movie seem to me very empowering and warm-heartening mainly because of the young age and impressive characters these kiddos had and showed to the world.
Ingrid Davila
After watching the film “The perfect game” I was amused by how inspiring this story was, seeing how a group from Monterrey made it to the final season. It shocking to see that at such young age they were determined to proof a point. For instance, that just because they had low social economic status they knew that with effort and sweat they could make it anywhere. And they did, by shocking the world with 13 games won in a row and the Little League World Series in the only perfect game ever pitched in the Championship. This film also had a huge impact on me because we've seen time and time again that were Mexicans and Mexican Americans are fighting for their rights by doing huelgas, or by art or music, or theater, or protesting, but I don't think that people really thought that even a small game of baseball could do such a huge difference. This inspires me to keep fighting and never gave up because we never know when we can make a difference in our society specially with everything that’s going on.
ReplyDelete(maria leal)
In the article “‘The Little League World Series’ Only Perfect Game”, said that the team was composed of poor kids and not really well experienced kids and ‘when they reached the Little League World Series most of their opponents outweighed them by 35 or 40 pounds. But over four weeks and 13 games beginning in July, they were magical.” I mean even after they were seeing that nothing was stable they still had the determination to do it and prove them wrong. In my opinion they wanted to prove that your skin color doesn’t make you ‘different’ but your attitude towards a turning point in your life that’s never going to happen. The film “The perfect Game” gave me all the feels in how these young Chicanos display their talent in a foreign nation that dint have the same language, values and beliefs. Something that I saw really outstanding was that after they won the game they gave al the glory to God. This is something that is mostly seen by Mexicans or Hispanics because of where they come from. Little did I know that there was racism and discrimination in baseball, I always thought that it was only football or soccer. Both the film and article gave an inspiring attitude to all young Chicanos in sports.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Nicole Cantu
I have already watched the movie “The perfect game” and I have to say that it is a sad story but at the same time it’s inspirational. In this movie we can see many aspects on how was the living back in the days where the man worked large hours and the woman used to stay at home taking care of the children. One thing that surprised me was that I saw the “rural” city of McAllen when the little kids were traveling, literally there was no urbanization yet. It is really sad because at first the little kids were treated different because they were not Americans. Also, discrimination was a big problem in those years, for example when they went out to a restaurant and there was an African-American kid who was sitting alone because the other white kids were not allowed to be with him, then the Mexican kids went to him and started talking to him because they did not have that discrimination habits, that was the scene I most liked. Those kids demonstrated that it does it matter where you are from or your aspect to be successful (like Americans thought they were better than other just because they were white), all that matters is the “ganas” you put and the desire to accomplish the goals.
ReplyDeleteMissael Salinas
I really like the movie “The Perfect Game,” I was amazed by so many things and I could also relate to some of the things that happened in the movie. I like how these young Mexicans were able to show that they have a lot of talent when they came from not having much. The kids played with a baseball and a bat that they made by themselves. These kids didn’t have all the materials that all the other teams had to form a proper team, but these kids did have a lot of determination. Just like the movie “Stand and Deliver,” the students were told that “Ganas” is what they needed to overcome anything, and these students were able to prove the administration wrong about them not being able to get great scores and their exams. I related a little to the movies because as a younger kid I use to play soccer and the whole team spoke Spanish and most of us had brown skin. There were times when we would go up north to play soccer tournaments and sometimes we would get discriminated from the other teams because we spoke Spanish and most of the other teams were white. A lot of time we would beat them and it made us feel good about ourselves because even though we were "different", we proved that we could win.
ReplyDeleteIvan Lira
After watching the film "The Perfect Game", I felt more interested and curious to how much talent comes out of cities like Monterrey. If these boys came from nothing to being put into history books as the first ever Mexicano team to ever to make it the little league world series, then think of all the other talents people might have from there. This movie also made me think about sports in general, and how much of an impact Mexicanos had on them. Just this past week our Astros won the real world series, and most of the credit is given to the two infielders, Carlos Correa, and second baseman Jose Altuve. This movie made more interested in the kind of backgrounds that those men come from, and if their story is as inspiring as these 9 kids. Another things that stood out in this movie was the kind of message Americans got from having an all Mexican little league come out of nowhere and play their kids teams. They saw that as a kind of threat, and thought we came to ruin the tradition of baseball, but putting those kids in the game is what made in such a historical period in baseball history. I also liked the kind of support that the kids would get from locals like the man that gave them donations from a church.
ReplyDeleteHector Chapa
Baseball is my favorite sport. I love the enthusiam, the team work and connection that each player has within one another. Watching "The Perfect Game" had me balling out tears because it's not everyday that you see a team from "nowhere" become something big. You must put in the effort and it's not easy playing the game of baseball. It's hurtful to see people bashing on them because of looks and where they came from. Just because they are Mexican-Americans people quickly came to the idea that they were not going to make it anywhere. It's sad how things have not changed. Recently, the Houston Astros earned history by winning the World Series. People bashed on them because they had never made it to the World Series and they weren't going to win. Don't be deceived by looks. I feel like we can relate this movie because that's our people who are being made fun of and it hurts us because we know we can make it, too. The big part in all of this is how they connect to their religion. I felt so connected to that because our families are like "Dejo en las manos de dios" meaning that he'll take care of us and lead us to the right direction. This movie just shows alot of emotional attachment, historical and relations to our culture.
ReplyDeleteYarazeth Ramirez
The Perfect Game, such an emotional movie. This movie brought back a lot of my childhood memories. I remembered growing up being in a little league softball team and all the joy it brought to my life at such an early age. Throughout the movie we see many of the characters go through their own problems, starting with the coach Cesar who in the beginning was getting looked down upon by his teammates in Los Angeles and later was forced to move to a small town in Monterrey. Also there was a scene in the beginning of the movie that stood out to me where the same story repeat but this time with the kids native to Monterrey and the kids from Mexico City. The kids from Mexico City were looking down on the them because they dint have a field, uniforms, nor proper gear to play in the World Little League. The change in these kids’ lives started from this being looked down upon. During the following weeks they started to practice more and more. It was so nice and inspiring to see them work together to get a field where they could properly practice, and not only that but to see the parents of most of the kids work unitedly and being able to raise enough money to buy gear and uniforms for every single kid was amazing. It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine’s, there was this parent of one of the main characters (Angel) who didn’t want his son to be playing baseball because according to him it wasn’t going to get him anywhere and was a waste of time and energy. As the movie progress and we see them win more and more games we see how many didn’t expect that from them and had to stereotype of them just being Mexican and small they weren’t going to get anywhere far in the competition. To finish this off in one of the scenes towards the final rounds we see how the kids are in a press conference and one of the directors ask Angel if they are afraid of the Anglo kids because of the size difference between them two; his response left me with no words he said, “were here to play baseball with them and not to be carrying them around so the size shouldn’t matter to us”.
ReplyDeleteBrandi Rae Rodriguez
After watching The Perfect game and reading about it, it was an amazing story. There were some sad parts in the movie that made me cry, for example when they had to walk 10 miles to get to McAllen. The fact that the young boys never gave up was really inspiring. The young boys came from poor families so they didn’t have money to buy the proper equipment but that didn’t stop them to play baseball They never lost faith and I feel like that kept them together as a team and accomplished their goals. There was a scene that got me upset was when one of the coaches yelled at his boys telling them that the Monterrey team were wetbacks. Coaches should be the example of sportsmanship. Even some of the parents were against the Monterrey team, they were distraught because the “Mexican” were beating their kids. That was really upsetting that adults were talking about the young boys like that. It was inspiring even with the circumstance the young boys never gave up or lost their faith. At the end of the day the young boys did something with their live some of them got scholarships and other played in the major league.
ReplyDeleteSandy Martinez
After looking at the article “The Little League World Series’ Only Perfect Game” and viewing the film “The perfect game” for the second time, it amazes me how determined the kids had; they did not let anything stop them from being successful in baseball. These kids had to go through a lot to be where they wanted to be. For example, the kids had to deal with the fact that they were going through hunger for some days, they had to deal with the fact that they were “different” and the main obstacle that they had to go through was the fact that they did not have permission to be in a place that they were not in a place were they were fully accepted. They managed to go through these obstacles and they decided to stay strong despite these obstacles, which sometimes the majority will give up without trying. I really enjoyed viewing the film for the second time, because it made me remember and think about the importance of not giving up and to be proud of who you are. I also learned from this that just because you are different, or you do not “fit” in does not mean that you are not able to succeed in what you want. The fact that these kids succeeded in a sport in a place away from home is admirable.
ReplyDeleteGuadalupe Cazares
The film “The Perfect Game” is very inspiring because the faith that these players showed was incredible. What really makes them stand out is the way they were limited socioeconomically and yet they were able to accomplish great things. This is when small teams are able to beat big teams and makes it more possible each day. The way these players were able to show all of their talent from the barrios in a nation where they had obstacles the minute they played there was surprising. There are currently many teams in Mexico that do not count with the economic support that many other teams that live in the wealthy areas do. These are the inspirational stories that impact me the most, the way that these teams are able to make it to the final and face the teams that have every support. The way sometimes the teams that have uniforms, fields, good team support and everything make fun on the ones that don’t have a small part of what they have is sad. In the film, I really liked how the team was able to work together and show that their faith was capable of accomplishing great things. What also grabbed my attention was how they were not intimidated by the Anglo players because of their size. This happened to me in many cases when I used to play soccer and we had tournaments up north because they were usually twice our size but we knew that if we gave it our all, everything was possible. (255)
ReplyDeleteBruno Morales
In motivational movies, the audience always roots for the underdog because they know that they will succeed in the end. Unfortunately, real life is not like this. Im sure it was very difficult to have no one believe you will make it far on top of having many factors against you. Not only did these kids from Mexico succeed but they made history in an inspiring tale that shows that despite our backgrounds, we can all achieve great things. Stories like these are very important to people of color, especially the youth in our communities that want to achieve great things with very little resources. Despite the representation we get in our own culture, I imagine it becomes even more difficult to try to excel in territory that isn’t “ours” like baseball being an American sport. I like the detail that the article goes into detail about the practice and determination that went into what later became a historic experience. I think it’s important to humanize the people that achieve greatness in order to see that we all have the potential inside of us and us too, despite stereotypes and misconceptions that try to constrain us, can do as much as the next person.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Juarez
The film “The Perfect Game” is one of my favorites movies not only because it has an entertainment story about baseball, but also the movie portrays some important social problems, some of them we have discussed in our class. It is incredible how decades had passed and some of those problems still occur in our society. I consider this movie inspirational not only for baseball fans, but also for others, recently a team from Reynosa lost the international championship against Japan in the little leagues, so I think this movie was of course a motivation for them. I think the movie was well directed, since they could demonstrate how back in the days the U.S was functioning, for example there was no borders, and how easily was for people to cross between borders that even the baseball team crossed it with all their equipment. One of the best parts of the movie is when the Mexican team is at the restaurant and all the members decide to join an African-American kid that was alone, I personally think I would’ve done the same action as they did, because I think we all are equal. I think the article is a similarity of what people read the next day in their newspaper about how a Mexican team won the little leagues title with a perfect game from the pitcher in the final.
ReplyDeleteLuis Reyna
“The Perfect Game” and “The Little League World Series” seems all but real! I remember watching the movie, but I just thought it was just another “The Sandlot” version, I didn’t think it was real. I liked it though because it comes to show that even though there is a border dividing the united states from Mexico, they are still making history in the united states. They are showing the country what they are missing on and what they are pushing away. These kids had practically nothing and were giving it their all because they had passion and love for the game, not because they were being forced to do it but because it was fun for them to be out there and do what they enjoyed. It’s more of that saying that I hear every now and then, “work in something that you love so you won’t have to work a single day in your life” or something like that…the point is that these kids were going against their odds to play games and were even expected to just play one when without notice, they won the world series. They knew what they were up against and didn’t let that intimidate them, instead they had to fill themselves with courage, bravery and confidence and trust themselves that they were going to enjoy the game more than it mattered whether they won or lost. That’s what the games are supposed to be like, to be about going out there and doing it for the fun of it and for the love towards the game. Not because the audience is betting money on you or because of what the world is going to say about the results, no, it’s about enjoying it and getting entertained by it; the suspense and breath-taking moments are what makes a good game.
ReplyDeleteAshley Escalante
I had never watched “The Perfect Game” before and I really loved the movie because these kids had low resources and who would have imagined that a Mexican team would win the Little League. These kids had dreams like everyone else and when they were told that they could not be couched because they did not have a field, they built their own field. I loved the part of the move were one of the kids hurt his foot and the couch tells him how he will not be able to play on that foot and he responds with, “then I will play in the other.” His foot was hurt, he was probably hurting, but he did not want to leave his team behind and he was willing to play. Their first game was here in McAllen, I did not expect to see this city on the movie, but this happened super close to us. It is nice to see that these kids won the little league because no one believed in them just because they were Mexican.
ReplyDeleteYadira de Leon
After watching the film “The Perfect Game” I realize that there’s no limit to reaching dreams it don’t matter where you from if you have money or not the only thing that matters is believing in our self. This little league crossed borers to defeat rich kids that apparently had everything. I believe that it doesn’t matter the resources what matters is the determination. With the help of the coach Clifton Collins Jr. he never gave up on them. He guide them too victory, he believed in them that they could make it. In the article “The Little League World Series’ Only Perfect Game” talks about the event of the movie. It shows that in 1957 a group from Monterrey were the first foreign team to win the Little League World Series. I bet their families were super proud of the accomplishment of their children. I liked the part where they defeated La Mesa 4 – 0, La Mesa didn’t even hit the ball outfield. I mean I would have expected more from them because they were from the United States they have better things better “trainers” but I guess not. What that states is that it doesn’t matter the things they have what matter is that they won’t stop trying.
ReplyDelete-Mayra Saldaña
“The Perfect Game”...what a beautiful reminder that we are no less than anybody else. That we have the same qualities and capabilities as everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI think we all at certain point can relate to these kids and the obstacles they had to overcome. I personally felt motivated, it gave me a spark to keep on going...to never give up.
Although I was never in a sports team, I can identify with these children as I come from Mexico. When I first came to this country, I did not know the language and in many occasions my family and I were looked as inferior, like if we were in a place where we did not belong, and just as the Little League wanted to prove that your skin color does not define your capabilities, I wanted to do so. The road to success is not easy, even more for us that have to swim against the currents to demonstrate that we can be as good as everyone else. Nonetheless, it is important for us to go through some struggles in order to enjoy victory just as the team of baseball players from Monterrey that didn’t give up and soon won the Little League World Series Championship.
Rossy Tapia Cervantes
After watching ‘The Perfect Game’ I was really touched by the dedication these little baseball players had. Throughout the movie you come to see the various discriminations these boys had to endure, there was one scene, that although a few seconds, spoke a lot about the obstacles these players had to face. One little boy needed to go the bathroom but was unable to because it was for whites only. I felt really disgusted but the reality is that that was their reality back then. They decided to go against the expectations of failure others had over them and they successfully made their team known. There was this other scene I thought to be inspiring. The boys decided to sit with one black child who was at first sitting alone, for the color of his skin color. The team decided that sitting with him is the better thing to do. They did not care what his skin color was, all they saw was a boy sitting alone. I have always known that racism is something that is taught and in this scene, we see that as a reality. The white little boys were criticizing the colored skin boys, the Hispanic team had no hesitation to make the other little by not letting him feel alone. The strength these boys had carried them in being successful not only in their sport but also in their character.
ReplyDelete-Alma De La Llana