The month of August typically marks the beginning of back to school sales, back to school shopping and the end of summer fun as students know it. However August 1-7, approximately 1050 Detroit and metro- Detroit youth (male and female), ages 8 to 19, chose to live in the moment by involving themselves in fun, family, and baseball as they took part in the 2013 Detroit Tigers Hometown Championship.
The Detroit Tigers Hometown Championship, originally the Hometown World Series, began in 1995 as a baseball tournament hosted by the Youth Development Commission, featuring 28 teams from Detroit and surrounding areas. Every year since, the tournament has been successfully run, as it now accommodates 69 teams in seven respective divisions: machine-pitch (8 & under), 10 & under, 12 & under, 14 & under, 14 & under softball (girls), high school boys, and 19 & under softball (girls).
Along with the Youth Development Commission, the Hometown Championships are put on in partnership by the City of Detroit Department of Parks and Recreation, as well as the Detroit Tigers Foundation.
The Detroit Tigers Foundation, which is an affiliate of Illitch Charities, has been a part of this ‘Play Baseball Detroit’ initiative since 2008, and a huge part of the success of the program both financially and collaboratively, as stated by YDC Out-of-School program director Audrean Williams.
“They give us a grant to implement the championship tournament. We put in a proposal and say what we think it’ll cost and what we need to make it successful and they give us the funds, then Sam Abrams (from the Detroit Tigers) and I work together to make it absolutely wonderful,” said Williams.
At five o’clock p.m. on Aug. 1, the Hometown tourney officially kicked off at the beautiful Detroit Balduck Park, with the opening ceremony (being held) on the field. Alongside tournament players, family members, and friends, the ceremony also featured the Boys Scouts of America Color Guard, the Detroit Renaissance Drum Line, and songstress Arnesia Jones who sang the National Anthem. The Mayor of Detroit, the honorable Dave Bing, was also on hand to offer words of encouragement to the children and to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Mayor Bing, who fancies himself as “a (darn) good baseball player”, stressed the significance of teaching the young people the game of baseball, as well as the elusive elements of sports that can be used on and off the field.
“I think it’s so important that our young people have a chance to learn about sports, and sportsmanship,” Bing said. “It’s not just about winning, it’s about understanding how to play the game, because you’re not always going to win.”
One of the Hometown Championship’s efforts to teach players ‘how to play the game’ was by this year adding the Boys High School Showcase. The Showcase took place on the Wayne State University (WSU) campus on August 1, with Wayne State’s baseball coaching staff and players overseeing all of the action. The idea of this showcase was to attract players who have their sights set on playing baseball on the collegiate level, then giving them the opportunity to challenge themselves in a college setting while receiving fundamental skills training from college players and coaches.
Heading up this event was WSU assistant coach John DiLaura. DiLaura, who according to wsuathletics.com, is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan and one of the newest additions to the Warriors’ coaching staff, felt it was a great thing for the players to be able to come out and display their skills.
“It was good to give these kids the opportunity to showcase their ability,” DiLaura said. “It was good for Wayne State to partner up with the Tigers and give these kids a chance. Overall it was just a great experience.”
According to Coach DiLaura, there were about 50 kids in attendance, with ages ranging from 14-18. For the younger players, he explained that it was great for them to be out there getting experience early. The same can be said for the tournament participants in the machine-pitch, 10 and 12 & under divisions that competed in the Pitch, Hit, and Run competition.
As we all know, no child likes to be left out, so while the High School Prospects had their showcase, the PHR competition presented the younger athletes the same opportunity to show off their throwing arms, hitting power, quick feet and running ability.
Coordinating the competition was Steve Brown, who serves as the head coach of the baseball squad at Henry Ford Community College. Coach Brown has been involved with the Hometown Championships since its inception and has seen the growth over the years. One of the things he mentioned about the growth of the program was the Pitch, Hit, and Run competition as he iterated that “having the competition, added another piece where kids were able to display some of their individual skills and (you know) have some fun with it.”
As Brown confirmed the kids’ excitement in participating and his excitement in hosting PH&R, he also spoke on the event in terms of it being a teaching tool for the young players.
“I thought it would give them some things to work at, in terms of the different skills; whether it’s their speed, their swing, or their throwing and their accuracy…so it was just good overall,” Brown stated.
To continue to live up to the billing of the DTHC being a ‘good (or great) overall experience’, the Detroit Tigers and YDC held their Community Fun Day on August 3, which also took place at Balduck. There from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., an estimated 200 fun day attendees of all ages were treated to an extraordinary day of fun in the park with food, arts & crafts, games and more.
“We had not only all of the ball games going on, but at Balduck park we had a tent with arts & crafts, MY TV20 (media partner) supported us with bouncers, the kids did face painting, and (we had) popcorn and ice cream,” Williams (of YDC) said. “It was just a way for the community to come in and take part.”
Williams explained that Community Fun Day was their way of giving back to the community, but as it turns out, having a youth-centered group of events with a plethora of positive reinforcement is a gift within itself. It gives kids a platform, in which they may strive to do something good (and fun). Also, it gives parents and family the opportunity to support all the children and enjoy the City of Detroit.
“It was good to be down here to see this side of the city. Balduck was good, this field (Woodbridge Community Center) was good; heck of a time. Everybody was great. Everything (was great): the free popcorn, the family day with the bounce houses, everything. They really did a great job, they really did,” said Mike Kelly, a parent from St. Claire Shores.
“First of all, the facility (U of D Mercy) is a beautiful facility; we had one game here before. Today was a challenging day. Both teams played to the best of their skill, but in the long run, the (Butzel) Phoenix were the winners, which everybody kind of knew they were going to be (laughs),”inputted Detroit parent, Sherry Billingslea.
No matter which teams the parents (family and friends) rooted for, the one resounding fact was that they were there, involved, which is something the mayor credits the Hometown Championship for fostering in the community:
“Anytime that you have something like this, in the community, the community gets engaged. Whenever the community gets engaged, you’re looking at success,” Bing added. “So not only do you have the young people involved, but you have a lot of parents involved and community people involved. It’s important in helping to bring our city back.”
The Detroit Tigers and Youth Development Commission collaborated to organize the awesomeness that was (and is) the Detroit Tigers Hometown Championship; however the unsung partner in this three-headed effort was the City of Detroit Department of Parks and Recreation. Every field in use during the hometown championship was located within the city limits, something which attracted Maheras-Gentry site coordinator Rhonda Adams to join the DTHC team.
“I think it’s actually awesome,” said Adams. “I grew up playing baseball and softball so it’s really cool to start bringing this stuff back into the City of Detroit.”
While the three championship sites were located at Woodbridge Community Center, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne State University, the DPR had the honor of hosting every single tournament game. Those three host fields were the previously mentioned Balduck Park, Maheras-Gentry playfield and Stoepel Park, which are the home fields for the Eagle Sports Club, Think Detroit PAL, and Rosedale Grandmont baseball leagues, respectively.
All three of the leagues provided top quality, manicured fields which allowed all the players the opportunity to give their all on the field. Though it may have seemed like just a small task, preparing the field of play was almost as important as organizing the actual tournament.
Nonetheless, the Eagles Sports Club and Think Detroit PAL (as well as Rosedale Grandmont) expressed their gratitude, as well as excitement, for the games that were played on their respective sites:
“It was a great experience to have kids playing at Maheras-Gentry. It was exciting hosting it and having kids from different parts of the city come play on Detroit PAL’s site,” said Greg Hicks from Think Detroit PAL.
“It’s always exciting to see baseball, at its’ best, being played inside of the City of Detroit,” said Terry Brennan of Eagle Sports. “Over the course of four days, Balduck Park saw many exciting games, hundreds of kids and families having fun, all thanks to the Detroit Tigers and YDC.”
In addition to the opening ceremony and community fun day, Balduck Park was also the place for tournament action in the machine-pitch and 10 and under divisions. The machine-pitch tournament took place from Aug. 2-5, featuring 10 teams competing in a double-elimination format, with the championship pitting the American league champion Lac St. Clair Bulldogs up against the National league champs, Lincoln Park North (at Woodbridge Comm. Center). In the Championship game, the Bulldogs were victorious; however, as head coach Chris Ritter put it, “the most important part of the day was getting ice cream.”
“This was actually our first year – we’re just getting involved and what a great tournament. Thank you (Detroit Tigers Hometown Championship) for having us, and we really had a nice time,” said Ritter.
Eleven teams comprised the 10 & under division, which did battle from August 1. to August 5., when the Detroit Bees (American League) defeated the Detroit Dreamers, the champions of the National League, at Woodbridge. The 12 & 14 and under divisional tournaments both lasted August 1-6 and concluded with the Detroit Bees and Southfield Cardinals capturing the crowns in the respective divisions.
At the University of Detroit-Mercy, the 14 & under and 19 & under girls softball tournaments (August 1-6) both closed out in a championship doubleheader on the campus’ softball field. In the 14 & under title game, Love Train bested the Orioles in convincing fashion, which is something 14-year-old Detroiter Brooke Thomas says was a great feeling.
“I feel like I’ve proven myself sort of,” Thomas said. “I think it was really a lot of fun, just coming out here and playing with these girls and having them put their all out there on the field.”
In game two (19 and under), the Butzel Phoenix outlasted Taylor Baseball in a close two-run game; a game which went back and forth, with no lack of competitiveness, as Alexis Powell, a 19-year-old Canton native pointed out.
“This last game was great competition. I think we all needed that,” said Powell. “I think it’s really special for some of these girls. We may not all get the ability to play on these fields every day, so when we do, it’s a real blessing. The win was just icing on the cake.”
all of the winning teams during the DTHC were honored at the August 15th Tigers game at Comerica Park, in a special on-field ceremony before the game.
The final game of the 2013 Detroit Tigers Hometown Championship resided in the baseball diamond at WSU on August 7, between the Motor City Prospects and the Detroit A’s. In the contest, the M.C. Prospects, who Coach Ward Elliott said are a collection of scouted players from Detroit and surrounding area, ultimately were too much for the A’s to handle, as the Prospects claimed the High School division.
Even in the defeat, Detroit A’s head Coach Ray Stephen had nothing but kind words for the DTHC, calling it “a well-planned, well-organized championship”. Also, Coach Stephen expressed his gratefulness to the Detroit Tigers Foundation’s initiative, ‘Gloves for Kids’, for helping his program by supplying them with baseball equipment for the season.
“The Tigers have been real good to us in that respect,” Stephen said. “I call Sam, I tell him what I need and he tells me to come on down.”
After the game, 17-year-old Motor City Prospects pitcher Damon Ellis (from Detroit) said, “It helps just getting better every day so colleges can notice me. I hope to play college baseball one day so every day I got to put in my work so I can get better.”
The showcases, competitions, and the tournaments allowed the players the chance to get better, in addition to the opening for exposure, which is something that Prospects coach and Chicago Cubs Associate Scout Ward Elliott found was crucial to discovering the underrated talent in the city. Ward, who trains some of the state’s best players at the Redford Cage (12592 Inkster Rd.) in Redford, MI, mentioned that showcases like the Hometown Championship were important because, “it allows scouts to really get to know the inner-city players. It allows them to get out there and really judge the talent.” “There’s a lot of talent in Detroit, especially for baseball,” said Elliot. “We only have like 4-6 get drafted per year, but we have outstanding talent in the City of Detroit.”
Above everything else that the Detroit Tigers Hometown Championship had to offer, it offered the players the chance to be better, by doing more and seeing more. The Pitch, Hit, and Run Competitions, H.S. Showcases, and the tournaments themselves gave the players added repetition along with the chance to be coached by coaches that take time out of their schedules to be there and teach players the game of baseball, on top of life through baseball, because as Coach Ray Stephen so insightfully indicated it, “the way you live should be the way you play the game.”