Carl DeMaio – Celebrating the Sweetwater Little League Team

Jaime Ramirez, a dugout coach for the team based out of Bonita, found out Monday that he was fired from his job at Altar Produce.

The Sweetwater Valley All-Stars will soon be swinging for the fences in the Little League World Series.

But Ramiez says he’ll worry about finding a new job once the series is over.

“We’re all volunteers and we know that something like this is possible especially when you have to take time off work, but it’s just like the timing couldn’t be any worse”, Ramirez said.

Botterman said Ramirez was out of vacation time and had earlier been told if the team went to the World Series it would be on his own time without pay.

Ramirez worked as a sale representative for Altar Produce based in Calexico on a one-year probationary period. “We can’t jinx but it’s all about fun”, said player Braiz Ramirez. His family is fronting the costs to fly his entire family to the East Coast for the big game.

The team spent eight days in San Bernardino playing in the Western Regional championship, which it won Saturday night. From there, the team flew straight to Pennsylvania to start practice. According to the company, the termination had nothing to do with baseball, that he was on probation and violated the terms. Just to make it clear, this has absolutely nothing to do with your coaching.

A manager of the company told NBC 7 that Ramirez’s time had run out and Altar Produce simply decided to let him go.

The bus left Tuesday morning, August 18, for Williamsport, Pa., carrying the 2014 Great Lakes Champs, for a trip that is filled with mixed emotions for the New Albany baseball players who are going to the Little League World Series, never having had the chance to play in it.