Little League player is easy to spot at 6-8

Saudi Arabia's Aaron Durley, right, smiles after hitting a single Sunday at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. (CAROLYN KASTER / AP)

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Aaron Durley towers over the competition at the Little League World Series.

The 13-year-old first baseman for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, stands 6 feet 8 and weighs 256 pounds.

"I was standing next to him and I was up to his elbows," Scott Kingery, a 4-9 Phoenix shortstop, said after meeting Durley.

At the dorms where teams stay during the tournament, Durley has become as much of an attraction as the swimming pool and the video arcade.

Durley, who wears size-19 shoes, also played in the LLWS last year — when he was a mere 6-4.

"I'm more confident this year, ready to do what I need to do," Durley said recently. "Hit the ball out."

The Arabian American team from Dhahran has played in the LLWS in 12 of the last 13 years. Most of the players' parents are employed by oil companies.

Note

• Manager Nick Doscher and one of his Staten Island, N.Y., players were reprimanded by LLWS organizers after an incident Sunday during the team's 1-0 loss to Lemont, Ill. The player yelled a profanity in the dugout, and Doscher responded by striking him.

The profanity was clearly heard on ESPN's telecast of the game.

Doscher and the player apologized Monday. ESPN officials have decided to use a five-second delay for remaining Little League broadcasts.