The impending death of youth baseball and youth sports in general in the city has been decried for years now, but those voices certainly aren’t from those who are sitting on lawn chairs at the numerous Dorchester Baseball league games where hundreds of kids from the neighborhood continue to learn and compete in the nation’s pastime and leave the diamond with smiles on their faces.
Dorchester Baseball is the result of a merger of the former Savin Hill Little League and former Cedar Grove Little League programs that has added the Dorchester Babe Ruth program and the Martin Richard Challenger League. Together, they form the Dorchester Baseball organization, which has just completed its sixth season, and says that things couldn’t be going better.
Co-President Charlie Maneikis said the organization is more than holding its own on registrations, with 410 Little League, 75 Challenger League, and 80 Babe Ruth players this spring, for a total of 565 registered. Add that to 75 volunteer coaches and the recipe is one that produces fun and success.
“We have a group of coaches that want to keep it fun and are involved for all the right reasons,” said Maneikis. “Parents can sense that and hats off to the coaches. But it’s also a philosophy of the league.”
Co-President Mike Manning said baseball is alive and well in Dorchester, contrary to national trends. Like other youth sports in the neighborhood, programs like Dorchester Baseball are growing and have plenty of room to continue growing.
“We had our highest enrollment numbers this year since the merger,” he said. “If the kids are having fun, and their skills are getting developed, then we are doing our jobs.”
At the Babe Ruth level (ages 13-16), President Chuck Pessia said he and organizer Kevin Medeiros fielded an incredible season, bolstered by the ability to use the new Garvey Park field, and to host doubleheaders on Friday nights.
“I don’t think the season really could have gone any better for us,” Pessia said. “It wasn’t perfection, but any snafus weren’t something we weren’t ready for. The kids came with smiles on their faces and left with smiles on their faces.”
Dorchester Baseball starts at the Farm League for age 4, and then moves up to a T-Ball league for ages 5-6. There are more than 160 kids participating in those two age groups, and part of the appeal is keeping it fun and action oriented.
The Mariners were the champs in the Major League Division of Dorchester Baseball this year. Kids ages 9-12 compete in the Majors. Top row from left: Coach Rob Sweeney, Coach Izzy Marrero, Coach Danny Gottschalk, and Coach Dave Mitchell. Middle: Ryan Marchant, Jadiel Rodriguez, Cullen Ahern, Colin Yandle, Liam Yandle, and Brendan Pugsley. Bottom: Sam Hagenbuch, Brady O’Connor, Alejandro Marrero, Jack Heneghan, Emrys Gottschalk, and Anderson Sweeney.
In the A Division (Age 7), there is also a modification in not introducing the hard ball but still using aluminum bats. Maneikis said they have learned a lesson about kids getting hit. “We learned that if a kid gets hit with a hard ball too early, we typically lose them. So, we don’t introduce the hard ball until later.”
In all, the board and the league have settled on some innovations to keep kids interested and parents patient. Games can’t drag on too long, or player numbers will drop. So, Dorchester Baseball doesn’t introduce full player pitching until the AAA Division. The A Division has coaches pitching, and the AA Division has mostly coaches pitching and a few innings of player pitching.
With more sports options now competing with baseball, leaders of Dorchester Baseball said smart moves to keep the game interesting and the kids learning have paid off.
“We’re aware of all the options kids have and the reputation of baseball being too slow and not as much fun as other sports,” Maneikis he said. “At the board level, we have focused on the speed of the game and the need to keep it fun… It’s not about developing pitchers or all-stars…We want to keep them playing first and foremost.”
This was also the first year that Dorchester Baseball – which played during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 – didn’t have to take extreme precautions for Covid-19. Maneikis said they spent at least $20,000 on safety precautions to keep the league functioning, and this year it was great to be able to see the masks and sanitizing stations gone, and not having to wipe off the bats after every use. He said they have kept going through the generosity of supporters and business such as Amazon, City of Boston Credit Union, and Wahlburgers, among others.
The oldest division in Dorchester Baseball – the Babe Ruth League – held Friday night double-headers routinely at Garvey Park this season. The championship team was the Oregon State Beavers team, made up of boys ages 13-16. The team includes Coaches Shaun, Peter and David O’Sullivan, and players Janiar Castillo, Brendan Clougher, Shane Coleman, Nasir Govan, James Gracia, Jordan Jenkins, Dylan Kelly, Jack Kelly, Nolan O’Sullivan, Patrick O’Hagan, Quinn Taylor, and Khio Ortiz. Photos courtesy Dorchester Baseball
“I can tell you the community support through donations has been right there,” he said.
This year, for its last game, the Challenger League – which fielded record numbers at 75 players – was the first to use the newly-renovated McConnell Park. Manning, who is the Savin Hill representative from the league mergers, said he looks forward to being able to use the new Little League field at McConnell next year and bring back some traditions.
“We are excited about the renovation and reopening of McConnell Park,” he said. “Unfortunately, our team champions the last two years haven’t had the benefit of jumping in the water after their win, but we’re looking forward to bringing that awesome tradition back again next year.”
Maneikis sees growth and expansion in other parts of Dorchester. He said their traditional catchment areas of zip codes 02124, 02125, and 02122 have been expanding in their own right, but they are also seeing new players from the 02121 zip code – which is basically along Columbia Road from Uphams Corner to Blue Hill Avenue and beyond. He said there is hope about having Little League games on dormant fields in other parts of Dorchester.
“I’d love to see a real Little League baseball game on Talbot Avenue and other places that aren’t used as much,” said Maneikis. “But that’s not possible for us right now as we just don’t have the critical mass for that yet. But we’ll see what the future holds.”
More information on Dorchester Baseball can be found at www.dorchesterlittleleague.org.
