From the archives: Bush to let LI kids play on his lawn

This story was originally published in Newsday on May 2, 2002

Move over Yankees.

President George W. Bush is throwing out the first pitch for a new team these days: The Uniondale Long Island Sluggers.

In an effort to bring positive attention to Little Leaguers nationwide, the president has invited the Uniondale T-ball team to take on a Trenton, N.J., team Sunday on the South Lawn of the White House.

The game will be just like the ones that the 5- to 8-year-olds play every spring at Uniondale Field: no runs, no losers.

The only difference will be that this time, the backdrop will be the White House and the first pitch will be placed on the tee by the president of the United States. Former Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. will act as the honorary baseball commissioner.

"We are just tickled pink," said coach Gene Officer, whose daughter Bianca, 6, will play on the team.

The Uniondale Sluggers, a 12-person team made up of players selected by lottery from all of Uniondale's T-ball teams, were originally supposed to play at the White House Sept. 16. But the game was postponed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and not rescheduled until last month.

"We were upset about not going, but the reason was understandable," said Uniondale Little League president Robert Rodriguez. "We couldn't think about playing baseball at that time."

Sunday's game will be the fourth played on the White House Lawn since Bush, former managing general partner of the Texas Rangers, started inviting Little League teams to play there last year.

The Uniondale Sluggers were chosen from among all the leagues in the country in honor of Hispanic Heritage month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15), because they are a predominantly Hispanic league, Rodriguez said. Of the eight teams that have been chosen so far, only three, including the Trenton team, have not been from the Washington, D.C., area.

"It's going to be really, really fun," said Dominic Torres, 8, of Uniondale, who will be making the trip with his family Sunday.

Other kids don't quite understand the importance of the capital and the president. They're just excited to hit the ball.

"I just want to play," Bianca Officer said.

Staff writer Ken Fireman contributed to this story.