Little Leaguers Get to World Series
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Author: Louis J. Aboud (Saudi Aramco News)
Released 15 August 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 13, 2008 -- The Arabian American Little League (AALL) baseball team visited here from July 30 to Aug. 2 on its way to playing in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The team secured a spot in the series by winning the Middle East/Africa (MEA) regional tournament July 24-29 in Kutno, Poland, defeating teams from the UAE, Kuwait and Uganda. The team was 4-0 in the MEA tournament, outscoring its opponents 39-3.
Players from the Arabian American Little League team watch a Washington Nationals Major League game as the youngsters get ready for their first Little League World Series game on Aug. 16 against Tokyo’s Edogawa Minami Little League.Aramco Services Co.’s Washington office organized the visit for the team members and their families.
Their activities while in Washington that included a tour of Capitol Hill and the White House, attending a Washington Nationals baseball game and a send-off dinner at the ESPN Zone, which included about 200 local retirees and “Aramco brats” - former company employees and spouses, as well as people who lived in Aramco communities as children - wishing the team well in its upcoming World Series games.
Players and families also got a brief civics lesson, taking group tours of Capitol Hill and the White House. The group wasn’t satisfied, however, with just taking in information. Wearing team T-shirts while on their tours, they did some outreach of their own, answering questions from curious guides and other tourists about the AALL team.
“As part of recognizing Saudi Aramco’s 75th Anniversary, we brought together company annuitants and ‘brats’ and this year’s Little League All-Stars to highlight the history of success and accomplishment that binds generations of ‘Aramcons,’” said Jack Moore, director of the Washington office. The recognition of Saudi Aramco’s past and present meant a lot to the families and the players, Moore said.
The AALL team win in Kutno extends an impressive record, reflecting in its own way the company’s 75th anniversary theme “Energy for Generations.” AALL teams have now made it into the Little League World Series 14 of the past 15 years and 18 of the 23 years of its franchise. The AALL players are chosen from teams in Dhahran, Ras Tanura, Abqaiq and al-Khobar and are mostly the children of Saudi Aramco employees.
At the ESPN Zone send-off, the audience of Aramcons was greeted by Mike Ameen, a former Aramco employee from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s, in a recorded video message from his home near Houston, Texas.
Ameen briefly managed recreational sports before moving on to government affairs. He told the audience about how Little League play and recreational sports helped promote teamwork and cooperation, which supported Saudi Aramco’s many accomplishments over the years.
“Organized recreational sports like softball and the Little League helped bring people from the different camps together and helped keep morale high. It was also a lot of fun and fostered friendships that have lasted over many years.”
Ameen remembered the friendship he formed with Ali I. Al-Naimi, now Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, in the early 1950s when Ameen coached a softball team on which Al-Naimi played second base.
Ameen noted that the hard work and tenacity the minister displayed as an athlete were critical in his rising to become Saudi Aramco president and CEO, then Minister. In 2003, Al-Naimi recalled the team and the pleasure of working with Ameen in a letter congratulating him on his 80th birthday.
This year’s Little League World Series, which is held annually in Williamsport, is scheduled for Aug. 15-24. AALL’s first game will be Aug. 16 against Edogawa Minami Little League from Tokyo, Japan.
(Article by Louis J. Aboud)