<\/p>\n
PHOTO PROVIDED
\nRandal Grichuk is shown competing at the Little League World Series at Lamade Stadium in 2004 in this photo by Little League International.<\/p>\n
Randal Grichuk has lived his ultimate baseball dream the past 12 years, playing Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n
He lived every Little League Baseball player\u2019s dream two decades ago\u2013twice. Grichuk competed for Richmond, Texas\u2019s Lamar Little League all-stars, helping his team win five games in 2003 and 2004 Series appearances.<\/p>\n
He has changed jerseys and is now a Kansas City Royal, but Grichuk always will be a Lamar Little Leaguer. And he could not be much happier these days watching his home town all-stars again carry the league\u2019s torch to Little League\u2019s grandest stage. Lamar is back at the Series, playing its first game Thursday, and Grichuk may be as excited as the team itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think back to the memories you had and the desire you had to be there, playing at the Little League World Series and about all the excitement it brought from those fun summers from the start of the Little League season to the World Series,\u201d Grichuk said. \u201cIt makes me think about those times and I\u2019m really happy for them. For a kid that loves the game like we did and they do, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything that can be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grichuk has watched Lamar play whenever his schedule permits, including twice at the Southwest Regional tournament when it defeated 2019 world champion Kenner, Louisiana to capture the championship. The 33-year-old outfielder sent the team a video congratulating it and wishing it well following its regional title win as well. <\/p>\n
PHOTO PROVIDED
\nRandal Grichuk is shown competing at the Little League World Series at Volunteer Stadium in 2004 in this photo by Little League International.<\/p>\n
He knows as much as anyone how hard it is achieving what this Lamar team has. He also knows how the memories these players are creating will last forever.<\/p>\n
As Lamar started making its run, Grichuk and his former Little League teammates organized a chat room. It was part talking about the current squad and part reliving all the good times they shared. Grichuk and those Lamar teammates all went different directions following high school, but all these years later, they remain together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look back on the times that we were a family and were able to go stay in these hotels as a family and travel and go to dinners and spend so much time together and play baseball, the game we all loved and still love,\u201d Grichuk said. \u201cThe journey of the summers and how long they are with the family are memories that I never forget. I watched the Little League World Series in 2002, and I remember telling my dad that I wanted to play there, and fortunately, we were there able to go twice.<\/p>\n
Being in that environment with my friends, and playing the game that I loved and the whole atmosphere and buzz of Williamsport are things I\u2019ll always remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grichuk made quite an impact in his two Series, helping Lamar reach the U.S. Semifinals in 2003 and the national championship a year later. Grichuk hit a go-ahead home run in the 2003 semifinals against Massachusetts as Lamar erased a 10-2 deficit before losing a thriller, 14-13. A year later, Grichuk shined bright among a field which included current Major Leaguers Michael Conforto and Jurickson Profar. There, Grichuk the U.S in home runs and RBIs.<\/p>\n
Lamar finished third in the world that summer, and while Grichuk and his teammates would have loved capturing the championship, the wins and losses fade as the years go by. The experiences they all shared remain crystal clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe memory of it all is what you appreciate,\u201d Grichuk said. \u201cLooking back, you remember the fun trips with your parents and sister and the good memories of bonding with friends that have become lifelong friends who I still talk to today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grichuk has hit 211 career home runs, including three postseason dingers while with the St. Louis Cardinals, while producing 626 RBIs. Along the way, countless players, especially those in and around Richmond, Texas, have cheered him on, looking up a Grichuk for what he has achieved and how he has played the game.<\/p>\n
The ironic part is Grichuk and his Royals teammates are looking up at the Little Leaguers these days. Since regionals started, Grichuk said he and the Royals have been watching all the games they can on the clubhouse television. They exchange stories about their own Little League experiences but Grichuk\u2019s story tops them all. There, he is the team\u2019s lone Little League World Series alum.<\/p>\n
It was one of the early chapters in his baseball journey, but what a story it was. What a lesson it provided as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those times where you\u2019re a small-town kid that gets to travel around the world and experience what a celebrity has to deal with in terms of autographs and pictures,\u201d Grichuk said. \u201cIt\u2019s starting a foundation of work ethic, drive and passion and love for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grichuk has seen the Lamar Little Leaguers display those qualities each time he has watched it play. He last played Little League Baseball 21 years ago, but Grichuk and the current players now are linked not just by what they achieved, but how they achieved it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey play the game hard, and they have fun. That really stood out when I watched them play, and I\u2019m super excited for them,\u201d Grichuk said. \u201cIt brings me joy to see the Lamar Little League jerseys and hats and to seem them celebrate is awesome.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into words.\u201d<\/p>\n