Broadway-Bound Brewers
Win Father/Son Tourney
Labor Day Weekend, 2008---The Tri-State
48+/55+ Senior Baseball League, LLC
held its annual Father/Son tournament over the Labor Day weekend.
The field for the popular tournament swelled to eight teams this
year, with more than 135 players. This total included four wives
and ten daughters. The youngest son was 13 years old.
Steve Lopes of the South Jersey Indians in the Tri-State MSBL started the tournament
in 2005. We pattern the event after the MSBL National events
including all established rules.
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Front, left to right: Dane Walter, D.J. Hyatt, Kevin
Lagowski, Matt Trate, Nick Morales
Back, l to r: Martin Walter, Duane Hyatt, Ken Lagowski, Ken
Bilicke, Bert Talley, Chris Trate, Joe Morales |
The Broadway-Bound Brewers of the Delaware
30+ MSBL managed by Ken Lagowski (League President) entered
the field this year and went unbeaten to claim the championship. The
Brewers disposed of the Fein’s (a team made up almost entirely of
immediate family members of Daryl Fein (Manager of the league
champion Langhorne Phillies) by an 8-1 score to move into the final
round.
The Brewer’s outlasted the Barsky’s
(Managed by Jerry Barsky) by an 8-5 score in the semi-final
encounter. Their opponents in the championship game were the
Abington Dodgers (Managed by Jack Galante). The Dodgers beat
the Mariners (Managed by John DeBenedictis) 12-3 and BuxMont
(Managed by Joe Gabel) by 20-9.
In the championship game, the Brewers
quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on
five consecutive singles. The Dodgers answered in the bottom of the
second narrowing the gap to 3-2 on a two-run single by Jack
Galante. The game remained that way until the Brewers scored 3
more runs with 2 outs in the fifth. The big blow was Nick Morales'
2-run triple. He subsequently scored on Dane Walter's single. The
Brewers broke the game wide open by adding 2 in the seventh and 2
more in the ninth to account for the 10-2 final. Brewer pitchers
Matt Trate and Duane Hyatt held the Dodgers at bay from
the second inning on while Flaco Santiago went the route for
the Dodgers. Joe Morales and Chris Trate had 3 hits
each for the Brewers while Jack Galante, Zach Galante, and
Shea Kelly had 2 hits apiece for the Dodgers.
Other preliminary action saw the BuxMont
team win their first game over the Pool team by a 10-7 margin,
holding on after building a 10-2 lead. The Mariners dropped their
two games by 12-3 (Abington Dodgers) and 24-3 (Pool Team). The
Fein’s also lost twice by 8-1 (Brewers) and 13-9 (South Jersey
Indians) scores.
More Photos are below
The Reviews Are In
Based on feedback from individual
participants, the tournament was a huge success and we would
encourage other MSBL leagues to do the same. Excerpts from some
thank-you notes follow:
Thanks again for putting together the
Father Son/Daughter tournament. I can't tell you how much fun we had
and my kids actually have a different attitude toward me after that.
It was a wonderful thing you did. Can't wait to do it
again!...........Ken Jacoby
First off, thank you for all your
efforts in organizing and managing the Father Son tournament. After
our 2nd game, my most prevalent question to every player was: "Did
you have fun playing baseball?" The resounding answer was "yes." To
me that is all that mattered. I watched fathers play baseball with
their kids, talking baseball with their kids, supporting their kids,
and it was really great to see. To me, the tournament was a huge
success…….Joe Gabel
I can only concur 100% on all fronts.
I've been playing baseball at all sorts of levels for the past 45
years and to play alongside my son was the greatest thrill I've ever
had……Ken Lagowski
I would also like to add how much Ross
and I enjoyed the weekend. I've been encouraging Ross to play
baseball since he was 5 and the last few years he has lost some
interest. He loves playing the game but in today's world if your
kid isn't playing ball in some highly competitive league all year
round he is not likely to be playing on the local school team. That
goes for most sports. There was a day when you played during the
season because it was fun and played other sports (or goofed off)
with your friends the rest of the year. That's what this weekend
reminded me of. Putting together a bunch a friends and having fun.
Thanks for the opportunity to play side by side with him. As said
before it was a thrill. And for me a very proud moment to see him
playing hard and enjoying the game. I also want to say how much I
enjoyed meeting all the other sons and daughters. What a great
bunch. All the dads should be proud………..Grady Ragsdale
Thanks for including me in this past
weekend's tournament. I enjoyed meeting more of your family, and it
was a lot of fun to play ball with so many nice people, and so many
kids of all ages…….Skip Probst
You already know how I feel about this
father-son event, PRICELESS! ……………. I want to make it very clear to
you that you've definitely done something for the benefit of
mankind. With this event, you've supplied an opportunity for many
family and friends to have fun and moments that will be remembered
for the rest of their (our) lives. What a living legacy you've
created. BRAVO! Thank you so very much,…….Ed Tom
I want to also thank you and Steve for
putting on this tournament. You gave me the opportunity to play on a
team, for the first time, with both of my sons and my son in law. It
was fantastic. My wife and future daughter-in-law were there taking
pictures, which we will treasure. We can't wait to do it again next
year………………Gary Adams
I, for one, appreciate everything you
do for the league. I especially enjoyed the Father-Son tournament
last weekend--my son and I had a blast………..Bruce Kelley
My sons and I had a great time and my
grandson and granddaughter had a great time at the park. We look
forward to next year…………Paul Nichol
My daughter and I will remember this
weekend for a long time. Not only did we get to play some baseball
together on the same team, but Joe batted all of the families
sequentially in the batting order. So, many of us also had the added
fun of being on the base paths at the same time. My thanks to all
who participated in making this happen. What a GREAT
event!!!................Chuck Resnick
My son Mark and daughter Jill (first
time playing hardball for Jill) had a great time, and the pool team
worked out well I thought. I've been playing on the same team in
the Delco 28+ with Mark for the past two years, and frankly nothing
is more fun than that. Not to mention that he is beginning to
appreciate how hard a game this really is, and what kind of shape
you have to stay in if you want to do it well……….Ron Surkin
My daughters have been following me
around baseball fields their entire lives and have always wanted to
participate with and rib dad when he doesn't "use two hands." This
weekend was the first time we had that privilege to play together
with other great families………….Jim Toth
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Chuck Drummond at bat. |
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Ilyse Resnick bunting |
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Ilyse Resnick rounding third; third base coach is Mike
Levin Jr. |
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Paige Jacoby at bat. |
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Pete Jacoby at bat |
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Amanda Toth at bat |
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The
Genesis of A Tournament
The
original spark that eventually led to the Tri-State 48+/55+ Senior
Baseball League, LLC putting
together a Father Son tournament came from MSBL, when Val Lewis
championed the establishment
of a Father Son tournament during the MSBL World Series in
Phoenix, Arizona. John DeBenedictis, president of the Tri-State
league, entered Father-Son teams in Phoenix for several years.
Highlights of those years were many, he says. One was playing with
his nephews and even an older brother who had very little experience
in the game.
Another was the opportunity to play with Dick Fitzgerald ("the best
50+ pitcher I ever faced," says DeBenedictis) and his very
gentlemanly and talented son Jon.
Many
Tri-State players still participate in the Father Son tournaments in
Phoenix.
It was Steve Lopes, manager of the South Jersey Indians (who won
back-to-back championships in the Tri-State league) who decided to
start a local Father Son tournment, even though he only had two
teams in 2005. From that modest start and through word of mouth, the
tournament expanded each year and the league got behind it in 2007.
In 2008, the tournament grew to eight teams and two divisions,
including one team from another league and one team that had no
manager and was designated as the "Pool" team. The league organized
them and some players stepped up at game time to do the managing.
Lopes, DeBenedictis et al patterned their Father-Son tournament
after established MSBL rules and protocol. "We do not use it as a
revenue generating event. The fields are donated and each team
collects from the players whatever is required to pay the umpire
each game. Our minimum age is 13 years and we encourage females to
participate. Females and 13 year old boys are allowed to use metal
bats. All others use wooden," explained DeBenedictis.
Anyone with questions or needing advice on planning and holding such
an event can feel free to contact John DeBenedictis via email at
mailto:johnadebenedicts@verizon.net
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