Big League flavor

The Little Leaguers are the show, and rightfully so, but there was a big-league flavor to the District 55 All-Star Tournament Majors Division games taking place on adjacent diamonds Tuesday night at Chapparosa Park in Laguna Niguel.

In the Newport Beach National Little League’s third-base dugout was former Major League infielder Jeff Gardner, an Estancia High and Orange Coast College product who is the team’s manager.

Only a soft toss away in the first-base dugout of the adjacent diamond was Laguna Niguel Manager Mike Witt, a former standout pitcher with the then-California Angels.

Both Newport Beach National and Laguna Niguel lost and were eliminated from the double-elimination tournament.