I had forgotten the implications of being an out during the last inning when your team is losing an elimination game or what it was like to misplace your glove between innings. And until I spent this week hanging out in Lexington, SC at the Dixie Youth World Series, Big League Chew had been a distant memory. With 36 teams from 11 different states competing on six fields, I was surrounded by baseball for six days out at Ball Park Rd. There were some special moments. The third baseman from one of the South Carolina teams who gave high fives to the Mississippi batters who strung together three consecutive home runs. The Florida/SC championship game that ended in a run-down and the Alabama pickle break. The nailbiters, the mercy rules and the rain delays.
I shot a handful of assignments for the The State and Free Times and here's my 50 favorite moments from the 2014 Dixie Youth World Series that weren't published in those outlets. For more photos follow the link to the gallery below or click an image.