After the L.A. fires, Altadena's Little League almost folded. Then, they had the season of a lifetime

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Little League baseball wasn’t necessarily top of mind for Altadena after the Eaton fire destroyed their town.But as springtime rolled around a few weeks after the fire, the idea of a season without baseball felt like another blow the community simply couldn’t take.

Another loss their children shouldn’t have to bear.So the parents and coaches and organizers of Central Altadena Little League took on what would become a herculean task: They had no field, most kids had no gear and families were almost all displaced, scattered across the L.A.

Basin in temporary rentals or extended family’s homes.But by some miracle, hundreds of kids signed up.

A flood of donations funded free gloves and bats and balls and neighboring leagues partnered with the program to provide field space.On opening day last year on March 1, almost 20 Altadena-based teams kicked off what would become a historic season no matter the outcome.

Then, somehow, the league’s Braves team of 10- and 11-year-olds pulled off a string of playoff victories no one thought possible.“Kind of like when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl after Katrina, we were like, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if some special moment happened this year?’” said Robert “Trey” Milton III, a lifelong Altadenan and former Central Altadena Little League player who helped organize the league’s post-fire comeback.“And then it did,” Milton said, shaking his head, still in disbelief.

“It was exciting.”The highs and lows from the season — both on the field and off — are captured in a new documentary that follows the community shaken by immeasurable tragedy, and how baseball becomes refuge, providing a space for unbridled joy, unrelenting grit and, perhaps most important, hope.“Going for Home” premiered earlier this year at local film festivals, including in Santa Barbara and Pasadena, but will make its community ...