For just second time ever, Aruba is at the World Series

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Players from Aruba, representing the Caribbean Region, play a game together at the Grand Slam Parade picnic at Penn College on Tuesday. This is just the second time Aruba has made it to the World Series, doing so by winning the Caribbean title.

After winning the Caribbean Regional in late July, the Aruba Center Little League team was greeted by a crowd of over one thousand people upon arriving home.

In a country where Little League baseball means everything, the excitement surrounding its historic accomplishment was palpable.

The team out of Santa Cruz, Aruba had punched its ticket to Williamsport for the second time in its nation’s history – first since 2011. The reaction from the community matched how big the accomplishment was for the team, as it looks to make its country proud a long way from home.

“It’s a very, very special moment for us after 13 years,” said Aruba manager Elwin Rincones ahead of the event. “We always had this No. 2 team, losing by a run or two every year to Curacao and Dominican Republic. It was painful every time, but we keep growing, keep progressing and this year, we knew we had a very good team.”

In a stacked Caribbean Region, Aruba has had its fair share of shortcomings, most recently falling just one win short of its regional final in 2022.

Teams like Pabao (Curacao), Pariba (Curacao), Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico make every round a challenge, with each country taking the sport very seriously and even producing MLB talent from time to time.

“I believe that we have a very competitive region because everybody that comes in, comes to win,” said Rincones. “Puerto got the free pass this year, but normally we have four or five very competitive teams. So, we have to do the things right.”

“Baseball is not a game of perfection. It’s a game of imperfection actually, so the one who does less mistakes wins, and you cannot do mistakes against certain powers of Little League baseball,” he added.

Both teams from Curacao are great examples of the talent this region has brought to the tournament through the years, with Pabao producing three World Series runners-up since 2019. They’re a testament to the region, and a team that Aruba ran into multiple times throughout its regional run.

With Curacao also hosting the tournament, it wouldn’t be easy to topple them.

But rather than throw everything that it had at the powerhouse, Aruba chose to reserve its best arms for later in the tournament. Even then, it managed to keep things close, losing 3-1 in their first matchup and 4-3 in their second.

“If we started with our big pitchers, it was another game,” said Rincones. “But our plan was just to put ourselves in the semifinals by beating St. Martin and then in the semifinal, put it all in.”

After defeating St. Martin 10-0 to keep their run alive, they’d match up with Pariba in the semifinals.

Aruba started slow, falling behind by six runs from the jump. But in front of a crowd of over 4000 people – many of which were cheering against them, they didn’t feel the pressure, rallying back with five runs in the ensuing inning.

“Then, it was a whole new game,” said Rincones when describing it.

From there, Aruba would outscore Pariba 7-2, defeating it by a score of 12-8 in front of its home crowd and carrying that momentum into the final, where it bested Dominican Republic, 2-0.

As it stands, the country of Aruba has yet to pick up a win at the event, something the team expects to change on Wednesday. Aruba faces Mexico at 1 p.m. at Volunteer Stadium.

“It’s gonna be a strong competition,” said Rincones. “We have to play well.”