Little Leaguer comforts pitcher who hit him in the head

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Little League World Series batter teaches master class in sportsmanship after being hit by pitch

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 8/9/22

They say that chivalry is not dead, and in the same vein, neither is sportsmanship. That can be easy to forget when considering the incredible amount of pressure kids are under these days to succeed athletically early and often. Or how about the stories of parents fighting in the stands while their kids simply just try to play a game?

It can be disheartening at times, but this video coming out of the Little League World Series should renew your faith both in sportsmanship and the youth. They're not all young punks without a cause, are they?

After getting hit in the head with a pitch, this little leaguer showed a true act of sportsmanship by comforting the pitcher pic.twitter.com/AbzXaLL5uz
— ESPN (@espn) August 9, 2022

OK, let's go ahead and break this down.

First, there's the batter, who clearly got his bell rung by a pitch high and inside. That's a spot no hitter likes, but it's the sweet spot for pitchers looking to regain control of the plate. This one clearly got away from the pitcher, though. So much so that his opponent lost his helmet and fell to the ground clutching his head.

Some players may be tempted to rush the mount here to exact their pound of flesh in revenge. This batter, though, realized that the young pitcher was clearly upset about the fact that he could have severely hurt a fellow kid.

The two met at the mount and the aggrieved batter went in for a hug.

Wannabe internet tough guys may not like the show of compassion by the batter, but the Little League World Series is a game, after all, and youth sports is much more than winning and losing.

It's about learning, and a master class in sportsmanship was certainly taught here.

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