Sports

‘Big Al’ is the hero America has been waiting for

Bob CollinsBob Collins Aug 15, 2018
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Dismiss the value of trivia if you wish, but we take some comfort in the fact that “Big Al” Delia has risen above the daily nonsense to capture America’s attention, especially since there’s little chance he’ll be subsequently tainted by scandal.

Al was able to do what Minnesota’s high school hockey players can only dream about when they look into the camera and shake their flow every spring.

And all he had to do was introduce himself before an ESPN broadcast of a Little League World Series tournament game over the weekend.

Alfred, 12, “gripped it and ripped it” as an SB Nation blog described it.

He hit a dinger in the game on Friday but his team lost. Al, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel last night, didn’t seem terribly busted up about it.

Delia revealed that he’s known by several nicknames, including “Cookie” because he once tried to heat up a chocolate chip cookie on a plastic plate in the microwave.

The kid is “The Sandlot” in real life.

Honestly,” Angela Delia, tells Yahoo Sports, “he’s 12. He doesn’t understand the bigger aspects of it. He just did what he did. He’s chill about it. He’s out playing right now. We understand it. He just understands it as ‘This is what I did and people like it.’ ”

She’s created a Twitter page for him and is pushing the Big Al merchandise while riding the wave.

He’s back with his New Jersey travel team now, playing in Cooperstown.

He hit a dinger on Monday.