Just like Little Leaguers, the Cardinals and Pirates ended the Little League Classic with handshakes
It's a classic element of almost all youth sports: When the game is over, you get in line and shake hands while telling your opposition "Good game." By the time you advance to the professional game, when wins and losses have become more important, the handshakes are long gone.
But at Sunday's Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa., the Pirates and Cardinals brought back the move following Pittsburgh's 6-3 win.
Sure, the players are older and receive paychecks instead of an allowance, but it's still the same game. And sometimes, like on Sunday, good sportsmanship is just as important as the impact in the standings.
"It was something that was thrown to us, talked about, in the last week, 10 days," Clint Hurdle told MLB.com's Adam Berry. "The spirit of Little League Baseball, give the kids something different. It's not something you can do [for] 162 games, but that's probably something that I would try and get in front of to do a lot."
"I just respect how teams in hockey, even football you'll see it done as a sign of respect," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "Midseason, outside of a venue like this, I'm not a big fan of it. Postseason for sure. Guys go at it, acknowledge the other side. I noticed that probably got the best rouse out of the crowd when the guys lined up to shake hands. I think it's a good move."
Additional reporting by Jenifer Langosch and Adam Berry / MLB.com
