Governor Chris Christie was honored by Little League with an induction into their Hall Of Excellence during the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Governor Chris Christie throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the Little League World Series Championship game
Governor Chris Christie throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the Little League World Series Championship game (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
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Christie, who was inducted with his longtime friend author Harlan Coben, noted that his team from Livingston was on game from the LLWS when he was 11-years-old according to the Star Ledger. "So for the last 40 years, I was one game away and I finally got here," he said on the field, surrounded by his family.

"From my perspective there are not many greater moments than to be standing on this field with my family and my friend of 40 years and today go into the Little League Hall of Excellence together,' Christie told the crowd, adding that he and his brother Todd texted during the governor's ride to Williamsport the names of players on their Little League team.

Christie was a catcher and Coben played first base during their time in Little League where the governor, wearing a Rutgers golf shirt, remembered the lessons learned playing baseball. “It taught me right from the beginning that both winning and losing are temporary,” he said according to the Star Ledger.  “The lessons that you learn from winning and losing stay with you for the rest of your life.”

Davie Jane Gilmour, the chairman of the Little League International Board of Directors, said that those lessons have guided Christie throughout his life. "The Little League hallmarks of teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play have guided Governor Christie throughout his professional and personal life,” said Gilmour in his introduction of Christie.

What sealed the induction for Gilmour was Christie's "“impassioned efforts" on rebuilding following Superstorm Sandy.

Governor Chris Christie (L) and author Harlan Coben (second from the right) are inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence
Governor Chris Christie (L) and author Harlan Coben (second from the right) are inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence (Little League via Facebook)
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Christie and Coben are the 46th and 47th members of the Hall of Excellence. Among the other members from New Jersey: Bruce Springsteen, who was inducted in 1997, former National League President Leonard Coleman Jr. who joined in 1996 and former Senartor Bill Bradley who was inducted in 1989.

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