Just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, Bayonne police halted traffic by the diner and bistro at the corner of Broadway and Ninth Street. Two parade floats pulled up, and the city’s 12-year-old Little League All Stars hurried atop them. A siren sounded; the parade stepped off.
Block after block, residents stood on street corners and stuck their heads out of third-floor apartment windows to fete the first team from the peninsula to reach the Little League World Series. Children held up signs emblazoned with “Bayonne vs. Everybody”; one house had “14A All the Way” banner above its porch. Players threw mini balls to supporters, and grew more competitive as they proceeded. Velocities leapt.
“Easy, easy!” Jaime Rincon, an assistant coach, said…