In Cumberland, R.I., the two ends of the baseball spectrum are the most visible ones, at least recently.
In 2014, a whole nation watched the boys from Cumberland American make a spirited run to the Little League World Series and then, when the run was over, wiped away tears as coach Dave Belisle delivered a postgame speech that touched on everything that’s special about baseball, competition and friendship.
Go back five more years and there’s native son Rocco Baldelli roaming the outfield for the Boston Red Sox, in the latter stages of a big-league career that would last seven exciting seasons, mostly with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The start and the finish. Baseball alpha and omega.
And, in Cumberland, there’s plenty of stuff in between.
