BIGREDIOWAN Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 6-foot-8 13 year old towers over foes By GENARO C. ARMAS, Associated Press Writer Sun Aug 20, 6:21 PM ET SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Aaron Durley towers over the competition at the Little League World Series. The 13-year-old first baseman for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, stands an imposing 6-foot-8 and weighs 256 pounds. ADVERTISEMENT "I was standing next to him and I was up to his elbows," Scott Kingery, a 12-year-old, 4-foot-9 Phoenix shortstop, said after meeting Durley. At the secluded dorms where teams stay during the tournament, Durley has become as much of an attraction as the pool, the pingpong table and the video arcade. The soft-spoken Durley doesn't mind the attention. He even lets opponents snap pictures with him during down time. But Durley, who played at the series last year, too — when he was a mere 6-foot-4 — is crystal-clear about his top priority in South Williamsport. "I'm more confident this year, ready to do what I need to do," Durley said after a practice. "Hit the ball out." Fittingly, his favorite major leaguer is David "Big Papi" Ortiz, the Boston Red Sox slugger. Durley scored a run in his 2006 series debut last week. His next shot to belt a homer came Sunday, when his Arabian American squad from Dhahran was scheduled to face Saipan. In early games Sunday, Columbia, Mo., routed Portsmouth, N.H., 14-5; Columbus, Ga., beat Phoenix, 4-1; and Beaverton, Ore., defeated Lake Charles, La., 9-1. Arabian American is a fixture at the World Series, having qualified the last seven years, and 12 of the last 13. The players' parents primarily work for oil companies in the Middle East. Dhahran might have had the longest road to Pennsylvania, qualifying for the series by winning the Transatlantic region tournament in Kutno, Poland, in late July. The team has a peculiar baseball superstition — the players dye their hair blonde for the World Series. As if Durley wasn't easy enough to pick out in a crowd. Columbia, Mo. manager Jeff Echelmeier watched Durley attract attention while the player was standing on a porch near a path to the cafeteria. "About four teams came through, and everyone wanted to know how tall he was," Echelmeier said. "He said 'About 6-foot-8' about 40 times in a row." He's still growing, too: Durley only shared the tallest-player designation last year. Series sponsors who shower players with free equipment didn't have new spikes readily available for Durley, who wears size 19 shoes. Dhahran coach Tom Timoney said Durley takes the attention in stride. "He's just a great kid," Timoney said while watching an infield practice. "Very good-natured." A little out of breath after running sprints with his teammates, the mild-mannered Durley didn't say much after the practice. Baseball isn't necessarily his favorite sport. "It's kind of hard, because I like basketball," he said. "When it's offseason for baseball, it's basketball. When it's offseason for basketball, it's baseball." Quote Link to comment
HSKRNOKC Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Someone check his fake birth certificate....ah cough... I mean birth certificate. Quote Link to comment
gamecocks Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Probally getting some NBA scouts to come check out baseball this week. Quote Link to comment
AgMarauder04 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Great Googly Moggly! Quote Link to comment
HuskerfaninOkieland Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Hell that kid standing next to him has bigger eye brows than me! Quote Link to comment
BIGREDIOWAN Posted August 21, 2006 Author Share Posted August 21, 2006 Yeah I don't know about this one?! Sometimes they can get away with putting older kids in, but look at this guy!!! Quote Link to comment
AgMarauder04 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 All of a sudden a certain scene in "The Benchwarmers" comes to mind... Quote Link to comment
HuskerfaninOkieland Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Benchwarmers...that's a funny movie! Quote Link to comment
AR Husker Fan Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Probally getting some NBA scouts to come check out baseball this week. Screw baseball and basketball - does the kid play football, and is Nebraska recruiting him? Quote Link to comment
AgMarauder04 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Probally getting some NBA scouts to come check out baseball this week. Screw baseball and basketball - does the kid play football, and is Nebraska recruiting him? Nope. Quote Link to comment
NU fan in Denver Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 So is anyone in Williamsport going to check this out, or do they believe this kid is legit. Quote Link to comment
BIGREDIOWAN Posted August 21, 2006 Author Share Posted August 21, 2006 Man I don't know how he is!!! I don't think I've ever heard of 6'8" 13 year old!!! Quote Link to comment
NU fan in Denver Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Man I don't know how he is!!! I don't think I've ever heard of 6'8" 13 year old!!! Not only is he 6'8", he is not a beanpole, he weighs close to 260 or something. That is another Shaq in the making. Quote Link to comment
ttheKid1*18 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Shaq was pretty big at this age, but I don't think he was this big. Quote Link to comment
T-BONE Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 nebraska should offer him for football ! Quote Link to comment
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