Lycoming County government will be less active in the next couple of weeks, just as many other organizations in our community will be in full swing because of an annual event that literally put Williamsport on the map — the Little League World Series.

It is often easy to take for granted something that is familiar, which is the case for those who have lived in this area all their lives. But there is a mystic to baseball that other sports just do not have. It is the oldest game that Americans have continually played at all levels. Many aspects of baseball are unique, such as the fact that (in most cases) it is not time-bound. Players are also of various shapes and sizes, more than in other sports.

But most importantly, baseball has been a vital part of American history. During the Depression in the 1920s, 70 percent of the attendance dropped off professional baseball because spectators could not afford it. Baseball owners got creative and invented an ‘all-star game’ as a draw and nighttime baseball for those who could not give up daytime work. Difficulties brought forth innovations, an American trait.

During World War II, many ball players served in the military, 39 of whom were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. These include Yogi Berra (Navy), Ted Williams (Marines), Jackie Robinson (Army), and Joe DiMaggio (Army). They were great role models for the country.

Two years ago, the Williamsport/Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce presented three new statues in Market Square on the corner of Market Street and Third Street in Williamsport to celebrate 75 years of the Little League World Series. The three statues were of Cy Young, Jackie Robinson, and President George W. Bush, hunched over a bar watching a batter, a catcher, and an umpire.

President Bush himself was there for the unveiling and remarked, “When I was playing Little League baseball in the middle of Texas in the 1950s, never did I dream I would be so honored by Little League Baseball.”

It is amazing what baseball can do. This game is truly American and has been picked up by other countries all over the world. In 1994, my youngest son Aaron wanted a baseball game for his twelfth birthday. The problem was that at that time, we were living in the Republic of Latvia, formally part of the USSR, and there were very few Americans there at all, not to mention those who might have baseball bats and gloves.

But we thought we would give it a go, so we asked the folks at the US Embassy and the American Chamber of Commerce if anyone would be interested in getting up a game, and if so, do they have any equipment? We scrapped around and finally had enough players for two teams, two bats, and just enough gloves that we could share. But then we had the problem of where to play the game.

My wife thought that since baseball was brand new to the country, we might try to make a big deal about it and charge money for attendance to go toward her rehabilitation center for children with cerebral palsy. With some pull, she managed to get permission to use the University of Latvia Stadium. We were even offered a sound system announcer.

Well, suddenly, news started getting around the capital city of Riga about the “American Baseball Game” that was coming soon. We even had to prepare to play the national anthem of Latvia and the United States before the game. The uniforms (t-shirts) were provided by two American companies: Team Coca-Cola and Team LuLu Pizza (an American entrepreneur venture).

I asked the US ambassador to throw out the first ball, and when he arrived, I discovered that he wasn’t just going to throw out the first ball but that he wanted to be a pitcher for one of the teams! The game had to be translated over the sound system because these people had never even seen a baseball game before, and the announcer had to explain everything that was happening.

And the rest is history. Young people approached us later and asked how they could play the game themselves. Over the next few years, interest in baseball continued to grow to the point that by 2003, they had an official national team. By 2012, the Latvia National Baseball Team had played in the European Baseball Championship.

Baseball has a worldwide appeal. Watching these young people during the Little League World Series is part of a great global heritage that we are privileged to be a part of in Lycoming County.