Who would ever group the town of Chelsea and the town of Akiachak, Alaska in the same sentence? Nobody, right? That's beginning to change as the legend of 5 year old Eli "SmashMouth" Williams begins to grow at the Chelsea Baseball Park. Akiachak, just happens to be the birth place of "Smashmouth." Williams was born in 2005 to Alaskan polar Bear hunters Ezra Matteson and Manny Consuelo. In the summer of 2008, "Smashmouth's" best friend from the village, U.S. foreign exchange student Garifoy Jarickson, showed him his Playstation 2 which happened to have a baseball video game with it. Life immediately changed for "Smashmouth." He just couldn't get enough of that baseball video game.Two years and about 15 homeruns later and "Smashmouth" is living the dream in Chelsea.

His family in Alaska knew that "Smashmouth" was not going to grow up and be a polar bear hunter by the time his 4th birthday rolled around. "It is tradition that on the child's 4th birthday in the village, they must kill a seal," Consuelo said. "When it was time for Eli to kill the seal with the harpoon gun, he just dropped the gun and went and started talking to the seal as if they had been friends for 20 years. We knew he would have a tough time growing up in Eskimo country." It was not easy but Matteson and Consuelo knew that SMASHMOUTH wanted to live in a warmer climate so he could play baseball. Ironically, her sister, Monica Williams, had recently moved to Chelsea. Well Alaska's loss has been Chelsea's gain, as enough of that baseball video game.

"Smashmouth" has not only thrived in his first year playing for the Chelsea DirtDawgz, he just happens to be the most popular player at the park. "I really can't say that I've seen anything like it," DirtDawgz head coach Mike McNamee said. "I remember last year when David Ingram coached the "Raw Dawg" 8 year old all-Star team and just had this whole town in a frenzy due to their popularity. I'm not so sure that Smashmouth has not taken it a step further." Williams was first introduced to baseball in the fall under baseball coach Steve Gongwer. Known around the park for his disciplinarian and brash style, Gongwer admittedly had to change a few things with Smashmouth. "What can you tell a kid that has that big a following," Gongwer said. "I mean every time he gets up to bat, there's 300 people chanting his name. In just six months time, "Smash" has just become a rock star down there." So just what is it that draws everybody to this Alaskan Assassin on the diamond? "The Kid is just a freakin library of knowledge," McNamee said. He can tell you everything from the number of Teletubbies in a square dance to the size of Uncle Jessie's shoes on Dukes of Hazzard. And—don't even try to bring up Star Wars with the kid. You start mentioning Luke Skywalker and you better have your lunch packed, because you're going to be there a while."

Smashmouth will be the first to admit that life has been much easier lately with the addition of his new best friend, Walker Chambless, or "C" as friends call him. "Yeah, when I first moved here, I was having trouble getting to know people because I did not speak the language very well," Williams said. "But I met "C" in the outfield during a game against the Cardinals three weeks ago and we have been best friends ever since." McNamee believes the friendship between the two has done wonders for the team. "We were just on a train headed to nowhere," McNamee said of the Dirtdawgz season before the friendship blossomed. "We had parents completely out of control, kids not showing up at school. For the most part this was just a rogue team." Not anymore according to McNamee. "Thanks to Smashmouth and "C", this group of kids has come together. Those two have really taken the rest of the kids under their wing and we are currently on a 27 game winning streak."

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