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Venezuelan Little Leaguer spawns imitators with unusual batting stance

He was in a tighter crouch than the catcher positioned behind him. The top of his helmet was nearly even with the catcher’s mitt. His backside was resting on the backs of his shoes.

Plop down on a curb, and you still might not be as close to the ground as Venezuela’s Deivis Ordonez was during an at-bat this past weekend at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.

Batting in the fifth inning Saturday against Australia, the 5-foot, 80-pound Ordonez squatted down into one of the most unusual stances baseball has ever seen. Whether his intention was to shrink his strike zone or unnerve the pitcher is uncertain.