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Thousands Of Miles From Chicago, Hazleton Sees World Series As Home Game

Nam Y. Huh
/
AP Photo

 

As the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians head to the diamond for the final games of the World Series, Carmine Parlatore will be in her living room, on the edge of her seat. Parlatore hasn't been waiting for a Cubs win since 1908 like some fans. Just since 2015, when her brother, Joe Maddon, became the manager of the team. 

Now, her family — and the city of Hazleton — is on board with Chi-town. 

"There's a little bit of Cubs fever here right now which is awesome," said Parlatore. "Normally around here you see Yankee fans and Philly fans and Boston fans, and right now they're all Joe fans and they're all rooting for him."

There are Cubs signs and Maddon jerseys around town, and watch parties popping up at bars and restaurants. All of Joe Maddon's old Hazleton haunts are filling up to hopefully watch their hometown hero make history. Most of the Maddon family is heading to Chicago for the final games, but Parlatore and her husband will be staying in Hazleton — the town where it all began for Joe Maddon.

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Keystone Crossroads is a statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania's cities. WPSU is a participating station.

Eleanor Klibanoff was WPSU's reporter for Keystone Crossroads, a statewide reporting collaboration that covers the problems and solutions facing Pennsylvania's cities. Previously, Eleanor was a Kroc Fellow at NPR in DC. She worked on the global health blog and Weekend Edition, reported for the National desk and spent three months at member station KCUR in Kansas City. Before that, she covered abortion politics in Nicaragua and El Salvador, two of the seven countries in the world that completely ban the procedure. She's written for Atlanta Magazine, The Nicaragua Dispatch and Radio Free Europe.