CHICAGO — If there's one thing as big as baseball at the Little League World Series, it's the longtime tradition of kids trading custom-made pins usually representing participating teams.
And this year, there's a cold-hearted — and tacky — pin commemorating the Jackie Robinson West cheating scandal that's getting plenty of attention.
The limited-edition "Jackie Robinson West Cheetah Pin" features a cartoon character that looks a lot like Cheetos mascot, "Chester Cheetah," wearing a yellow shirt with "W for West" and a ball cap with "42" on it just like the kids playing in the South Side league wear. The mascot's leaning on a trophy that says "Little League Cheetah" and flipping a gold medal into a trash can that's already stuffed with a clipboard that says "RULES."
"This Little League team was stripped of its US Championship in 2014 for violating rules and regulations. This is a new design for 2015 and very few were made," according to the description on an Ebay.com auction out of New Port Richey, Florida that ended with a $23.63 bid.
If you're in the market to buy a JRW Cheetah pin online you might be out of luck.
But at least one of the pins has been spotted at the Little League West Regional tournament in San Bernadino, California, according to a source close to the pin-trading culture.
So, according to people who know about these things, that means your best shot at scoring a cheating scandal keepsake is making a trip to Williamsburg, Pennsylvania for the World Series.
And if you go, bring your best pins to swap.
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