WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The moment the Braves stepped off their plane at Williamsport Regional Airport on Sunday afternoon, they were greeted on the tarmac by a crowd of excited 12-year-olds.
High fives and big smiles greeted the entire team before a group of Atlanta stars -- Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Chris Sale, Matt Olson, Michael Harris II and Drake Baldwin -- piled onto a shuttle bus shared directly with Little League players.
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The 15-minute ride to the Little League World Series Complex didn't stay quiet for long. Before the bus even pulled out of the airport lot, the players were already surrounded by Sharpies and baseballs. Kids moved up and down the swaying aisle, handing over bats, caps and gloves for signatures to the big leaguers sitting right in the seats beside them.
Even team mascot Blooper got in on the action, seeing how many Little League caps he could stack on his nose -- lets just say the challenge didn't last long on central Pennsylvania’s back roads.
"It was cool. [Those kids have] a lot of energy," Baldwin said with a laugh after the ride. "I've never been [to the Little League games] in person. Obviously watching it on TV growing up, you see it in the clubhouse every day, pretty much. Being a part of it is pretty cool. So everyone's fired up to be here."
When all of the buses finally unloaded at the complex, the energy picked up fast. Fans swarmed the players for photos and signatures as they walked through the grounds. While some Braves settled into the bleachers to catch part of the Iowa vs. New Jersey game, others headed straight for the hill for a legendary Little League rite of passage: the cardboard mudslide.
Braves outfielder Brewer Hicklen and pitcher Brent Suter grabbed pieces of cardboard and tried their luck navigating the slick, grassy slope.
"The first couple slides were not as good -- 0-2 with two strikeouts," Hicklen laughed. "The scouting report was not very good because these kids said just sit down and slide, and I didn't go anywhere. So I had to get a little bit of momentum and push from Charlie to help me out. But it was a lot of fun."
Suter took a high-flying approach down the hill that ended up a bit wilder than expected.
"So fun. So glad I did it. Don't need to do it again necessarily," Suter joked. "It got a little scary when I was up in the air, twisted around, but it was really fun. Glad we got permission to go!"
Suter and Hicklen wiped the grass off their jerseys at the bottom of the slope, expecting a few high fives or maybe a "You all right?" Instead, the crowd of kids swarmed with one clear mission.
"They didn't care if we were OK," Hicklen laughed. "They have the one-track mind: 'I want an autograph.' That's the only thing they care about."
"It's been a dream of mine [to be in the Major Leagues] since I was 3 1/2, 4 years old playing T-ball," Suter added. "To see the kids light up with baseball, falling in love with the joy around the sport, being with their teammates and hanging out ... it gets me fired up and makes you fall in love with the game all over again. I'm already in love with the game, but it just deepens that much more. It's special."
All across the complex, players found easy ways to connect with fans. Acuña challenged two young fans to a tense five-second stopwatch game, testing who could hit exactly 5.0 seconds on a hidden timer.
Meanwhile, Albies made a point to head over to the international field alongside Ha-Seong Kim to watch Team Curaçao face South Korea. Hailing from Willemstad, Curaçao, Albies beamed as the Caribbean squad took an early lead.
"Super happy, super excited to see them score in the first inning," Albies said from the concourse. "They seem to be really, really fired up. So I'm so excited for them and I'm happy to see them go win today."
From the bus ride with the kids to walking the grounds, the entire event left a lasting impression on the Braves' second baseman.
"It was fantastic," Albies said. "It's a great experience, and I'm happy for all these kids playing this game."
For big leaguers who spend seven months a year under Major League pressure, Sunday offered a grounding reminder of where it all started.
"My whole life it was my dream to be a Major League Baseball player," Hicklen said. "It's pretty cool to take a step back and realize that these kids have the same dreams that I have, but they're 20 years younger than me. It's just really cool to see them chasing their dreams. So those kids just gotta keep working hard, keep their nose down, keep God first and the best will be ahead."