Pitch, Hit, Run 

@ Municipal Stadium 

(editor’s note – the following letter was written to the Observer by Waterbury resident Bill DeMaida, who is involved in planning and organizing a Pitch, Hit, Run competition at Municipal Stadium)

    Over the years, our Municipal Stadium has been witness to the development of our local sports scene. This venue, after our latest renovation project, will be second to none. We hope to bring attention to this complex with not only scheduled local sports but also with varied programs that might bring more than just local citizens to our home.

    I have been a Parks Board Commissioner for three terms and understand the importance of our 1,000 acres of parkland. We have many hidden gems within our city limits….one of them, not so hidden….our Municipal Stadium. We hope to bring some attention to it on May 7th when it will host our local 7-14 year old baseball enthusiasts to Major League Baseball’s Pitch Hit & Run Competition. It is a free competition.

    I am also a founding member of the Spirit of Waterbury, a local group of citizens who have hosted our downtown fall festival and our Halloween Mardi Gross celebrations over the years. As an avid baseball fan, I find myself on MLB.Com often. I read of their national PH&R program and wondered if there was a local franchise. Waterbury Pal had been involved and has tried to get kids to participate. I applied to MLB and also received the go ahead to host. Ede Reynolds of John Bale Book Co. on Grand Street, also a founding member of the Spirit, and I went to PAL and decided to join forces.

    We have contacted all the local youth sport associations, have printed index card size invitations that have been delivered to the Education Department for distribution to our local schools and eventually to homes of our students. We decided that if possible, we wanted to give a free lunch to all that wanted to participate and our volunteers. With the help of some sponsors, we now have enough funds to feed the first 150 children who sign up. Many thanks to our sponsors…Spirit of Waterbury, Waterbury PAL, Ryan Gomes Foundation, Neighborhood Council, VFW Ladies Auxiliary, The Hit Club of Thomaston, Kenecticut True Value, Frankies and of course, The City of Waterbury.

    It will be a family day, with activities for the young ones, information booths, a bounce house for the kids and of course, lots of sunshine, as there is no rain date, due to MLB time restrictions. Which leads me to my next point.

    Abbey Lane of MLB contacted us and inquired if we would consider hosting the Sectionals, which is the next level of this competition. There are four levels involved. The one after the Sectionals would be the Regionals, which will take place in a Major League park! The winners of that competition will go to the finals on All-Star Weekend, July 12th at the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

   So of course, we gladly accepted, and we will be the Sectional host Sunday, May 22. Attached is the notice from MLB to us for the event. Also, I am including a registration form and a copy of our poster.

   I am hoping you find this of interest and will inform your loyal readers of this event.

Bill DeMaida
Pierpont Road
Waterbury, Ct

 

The winning kids from Waterbury will go on to a sectional competition, also at Municipal Stadium, May 22nd.

 

Waterbury, CT Sectional Competition
Sunday, May 22, 2011

Your Pitch, Hit & Run Sectional Competition will be hosted by:

Waterbury PAL/Spirit of Waterbury
Sectional Coordinator –Gary Roosa
Phone –  (203) 228-6617
 Email – groosa@wtbypd.org

The competition will be held:

Sunday, May 22, 2011
Registration –  12:00 p.m. Competition – 12:30 p.m.
Location – Waterbury Municipal Stadium
      1200 Watertown Ave

Reminders:

– Arrive to Sectional site early for registration
– All participants must provide a copy of a valid birth certificate or baptismal record for age verification
– Parent or guardian must sign a registration/waiver form
– All girls will use a softball and follow the softball guidelines and ALL boys will follow the baseball guidelines
– All participants will compete in all three elements of the competition with all scores starting at zero
– No metal spikes