Baseball season getting in full swing
While one league celebrated Opening Day with some of the strongest numbers it’s had in several years, another was out on the field practicing for another week before its opening day carnival.
Hancock Little League opened its season Saturday at Kurt Donaldson Park with more than 200 players in uniform, all of whom got a rose to give to their mom or other loved one to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Brian Porvaznik, Hancock’s president for nine years, said the league is up 50 youths from last year, making for one of the biggest gains in the area.
“We have 16 teams and majors, minors, 50/70 and seniors are probably the strongest they’ve been in a long time,” Porvaznik said. “Interleague play will be fantastic. We have 19 teams in the majors, 15 in the minors, 12 in seniors, a lot of different teams.”
Porvaznik said he believes that interleague play is one of the reasons many kids are leaving travel ball and Babe Ruth.
“Interleague play is great. It’s bringing kids back to Little League because of the travel aspect and playing all the different teams in the area,” Porvaznik said.
Hancock wasted no time in getting the season going. After the ceremony the teams got down to business, with one team from Fort Myers American making the trip to play a game.
Clint Smith, head coach for the Minor B Pirates, was ready to get him team in the swing of things with a game. He said he hasn’t seen things this strong in a long time.
“I played here as a kid and it’s looking like it did when I played. Every year, there’s more and more turnout,” Smith said. “The passion for baseball is growing and people want to go out and let their kids play.”
Ryan Mueller, 8, and Landon Morrissey, 9, of the minor league Cubs, are also confident it will be a great season.
“We have a good group of baseball players. I’m excited because I get to play baseball all year,” Mueller said.
“We’ve been practicing with each other for two months and working real hard and have been doing really well,” Morrissey said. “We get out and do things together. I think we’ll be really good this year.”
Meanwhile, across town at the North Fort Myers Community Park, it was all business. Coaches were working with their players, setting up pickup games, and holding practice in anticipation of opening day this coming Saturday.
North Fort Myers Babe Ruth, which cut ties with Little League four years ago, has been counting down the days. President Joe Baublis, who was more concerned with teaching players in this day as they held an informal scrimmage, said he has seen his numbers go down slightly, to about 175 kids throughout 12 teams.
“It’s been like this throughout the area. Some of the weather got some of the people down on baseball, and we’re hearing that numbers are lower throughout much of Lee County,” Baublis said.
He also added the community has really stepped up to support the league to a level it hasn’t seen in a while.
“We have a lot of new kids and a lot of new stuff going on. We have more community support than ever before with sponsors and everything,” Baublis said.
North’s opening day will be the carnival it’s always been, with games with prizes, bounce houses, and baseball action on all fields with teams within its own league.
Baublis said interleague play will happen a few weeks down the road.