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Chicago's Little League champs return as heroes
LLWS Chicago Champion Heal WEB
Fans cheer during a rally at a ballpark for the Jackie Robinson West All Stars baseball team Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2014, in Chicago before the team headed out for a parade to honor their play at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa. The all-black team claimed the U.S. title in the Little League World Series. (AP Photo/Theresa Crawford) - photo by Associated Press
CHICAGO — The ballpark gleams, exactly as the home of the Little League World Series national championship team should. Free of graffiti and absent so much as a kid's initials carved in the grandstand benches, Jackie Robinson Park is outfitted with a digital scoreboard and mechanical pitching machines. It sits in a tidy neighborhood of brick one-story homes and manicured lawns on Chicago's South Side.