An L.A. suburb evicts its own beloved little league, sparking charges of political payback

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Set us as preferred Samantha Chavez froze for a moment.The 6-year-old watched the ball she had just struck with her pink bat slowly roll along the foul line.“Run! Run! Run!” her parents shouted from the stands.

Samantha dropped the bat and sprinted toward first base.“Nice hit, Sam!” her father hollered.It was a typical game for Santa Fe Springs’ Metropolitan Little League — except for one thing.They weren’t playing in their hometown but several miles away in Downey.Santa Fe Springs officials took the unusual step of revoking the league’s access to its fields after accusing them of subleasing the fields to another nonprofit, a violation of its contract with the city.

The league denied the allegation.The dispute has put the 65-year-old youth sports partnership in jeopardy, and forced league officials to scramble to salvage Sunday’s scheduled games.The city’s actions has led some residents to question whether its decision was politically motivated.Nicholas Razo, assistant city manager, said in a phone interview that the city had previously raised concerns with the league about subletting and took action after learning the practice was continuing.“We understand how important youth baseball is for our community,” he said.“But this is about ensuring that all the organizations that use our city facilities are following the same rules and expectations.”Razo said he hoped to resolve the issue after Monday’s league board elections.Odalys Valladares, president of the nonprofit Little League, denied it was subleasing the fields.

She said the league abides by its contract but that the city hadn’t been fair with the league.She accused the city’s incumbent leaders of targeting the league because she’s running for the City Council.“This is definitely not politically driven,” Razo said.“This is abo...