Laround the league and it sounds like it had one of the best seasons ever, if not the best season.
Brick American President Tom Nerney is not hesitant to talk superlatives about its unprecedented season, the first for both leagues in the Cal Ripken program after switching franchises before the start of this season to Little League.
Nerney said the township is drafting a proclamation to be presented sometime around Labor Day honoring the accomplishments of both leagues.
“I thought we would do well but did not expect we would go through the month of July,” said Nerney, whose 11-year-old All- Stars dramatically pulled together in early August to win the Mid-Atlantic Region championship, 6-5, over Central Perkiomen. The team needed to win three games in a littlemore than a day in Washington Township to stave off elimination and claim its firstever region championship.
For Brick National, it was a sweep of three district titles in the 10-, 11- and 12- year-old divisions. Its 10-year-olds reached the region finals losing, 1-0, in extra innings to North Jersey champion Branchburg in Troy, N.Y.
“There’s been a good response around town. We had a little more success than expected,” said Hulse who often speaks in understatement. “We’ll have fundraisers in the fall. ” With that success came a $7,000 price tag for the teams to play in the postseason, with the 10-year-olds bearing most of the cost. And with Brick National carrying a $4,000 monthly mortgage expense on its 3-year-old indoor facility (Brick American also has a mortgage on its relatively new indoor facility), the overhead extends beyond sponsorship of the teams and fees for registration scheduled for the end of the month.
“With the success of both programs in town, you have to prepare for this,” said Hulse.
And it apparently does not look like a onehit wonder. Brick American’s 12s and 14s won district titles and Brick National’s Big League team won its wooden bat league district title for 18-year-olds, the only team in town still franchised under Little League. Five of those players were selected for the District 18 All- Star team that won the state and region title and went on to the World Series, dropping all four games. Hulse said Brick National wanted to sustain the team, which is only carried on that age level under Little League, out of loyalty to the players who had come up through the echelons of Brick National. Whether that will continue “will be looked at on a year-to-year basis,” said Hulse.
With Cal Ripken offering World Series tournaments for the 10s and 12s, Nerney said the organization will consider at its presidents’meeting whether to expand the brackets for the 11s and 9s to a World Series “next year,” said Hulse.
Both presidents said their programs’ success probably would not escalate sponsorship by local businesses, which covered every team this season despite the challenging economy. And the numbers of kids in the programs will
not change. “We’ve gotten every kid in town who can play,” said Nerney. “Those numbers are staying about the same.” Both programs next year will go into full compliance with Cal Ripken standards, which increases the distance from the mound to home plate from Little League by four feet to 50 feet and
the distance on the bases to 70 feet. Brick American made the change this year and Brick National already has converted its Elmer Thompson Field at its Cherry Quay Complex and Hulse said the Premier Feld will be changed over “by November” after fall baseball concludes next month. There are 40 teams playing fall baseball in both leagues from ages 5 to 15.
“It just involves cutting out sod and moving the mound, not much work,” said Hulse of the changeover. “And we have to move back home plate.”
Hulse said the support from residents during and after the tournaments has been good.
“I went to a couple of the 10-year-old games in Troy, N.Y. and it was good, exciting; it was great baseball,” said Hulse. “The team we lost to ended up third in the nation.”
Nerney said interest in Cal Ripken is growing around the Shore.
“People are getting into 50/70 (feet distances) more,” said Nerney. “They see it’s coming. With our 11s, we won the championship on a couple of squeeze plays (bunts in the last inning that drove in runs against Central Perkiomen), which is not allowed in Little League baseball. They’re learning stealing and holding the runners on in Cal Ripken baseball. By the time they’re in high school, they’ve had at least four years of baseball, not a year or two.”
Many in the two programs, including Nerney, call it “real baseball.” And with the changed distances, Hulse said that it makes or a safer game.
“Everybody is for it. It’s the right thing to do,” said Hulse. “A lot (of coaches) changed their minds when they saw the 50-foot mound. And then hearing about a 10-year-old kid in the state who got hit in the chest with a (batted) ball. It’s just a matter of time when somebody (here) gets hurt.”
Nerney said only one manager in Brick American opposed the change. “He was brought up with Little League and liked to stay with it,” said Nerney.
Overall, it’s a changeover the two programs are embracing as they begin preparations for next season.