Tri-State Welcomes New Teams
Tri-State League welcomes:
manager Shawn Mirmina and the Bristol Greeners
as well as the Hudson Valley Adult Wood Bat League
The largest Stan Musial amateur baseball league in the State of CT continues to grow as Bristol has joined the Tri-State Baseball League for the 2009 season bringing the total number of teams to seventeen. The leagues 76th season kicks off on May 17th with each team scheduled to play a sixteen game regular season. Tri-State will also play a twelve game exhibition schedule versus teams from the Hudson Valley Adult Wood Bat League out of Newburgh, New York.
For the second season in a row, a Tri-State League Manager has decided to go out on top as DJ Reese has ‘retired’ as head coach of the league champion Winsted Whalers to spend more time with his family. Chris Clark stepped down as head coach of the Torrington Rebels following the 2007 campaign to allow someone else the fun of coaching, after the Rebels took home the championship crown that season. Reese and Clark will remain on the leagues Board of Directors as duo Vice-Presidents. Winsted (17-10 overall) will be led on and off the field by 2008 league MVP Ricky Langer who takes over managerial duties of the Whalers while Curtis Anthony now runs the Torrington (15-10) team.
The Brass City Brew return in 2009 with ‘some unfinished business’ according to head coach Sam Sirica. The Brew (26-6) set a Tri-State regular season best-ever record of 18-1 last year but fell in the Stan Musial state championship game to All-Star Batting of New Milford and then lost to the Whalers in game 3 of the Tri-State league championship series. Brass City is led by 2008 Silver Slugger award winner Justin McCulloch and 2008 Cy Young Award winner Marc DiDominzio. First year head coach Tony Geraci had a very successful campaign with the Bethlehem Plowboys (19-7) before bowing out of the league playoff series in the semi-final round to Winsted.
Muzzy Field will be the home of the newest member of the Tri-State Baseball league as the Bristol Greeners become the latest team to join the Northwest Hills circuit. The Greeners will be managed by Shawn Mirmina. With the league continuing to grow, the Board of Directors has voted to expand the playoff field to a 12 team double-elimination tournament to crown a league champion that begins the last weekend of July. Other teams with title aspirations returning for the 2009 season; Wolcott Scrappers (14-11), Naugatuck Dogs (14-11), Tribury Turkey Vultures (13-11), Litchfield Cowboys (13-11), Amenia Monarchs (10-10), Burlington Hunters (9-13), Tri-Town Trojans (8-11), Thomaston Spoilers (7-12), Terryville Black Sox (7-12), Waterbury Wild (5-14), Mazda Dodge Red Devils (2-17), and Farmingbury Longshots (1-18).
In addition, three teams from Tri-State will be sent to participate in the 2009 Stan Musial state tournament the first weekend in August. An old-timers day game is scheduled for Friday night August 21st which will also feature the induction of this years Hall-Of-Fame class to be announced later this year. Tri-State league commissioner Ed Gadomski has joined forces with Wallingford Twilight league commissioner Tom Hanley to host a Mother’s Day weekend baseball event with all proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Awareness/Pancreatic Cancer charity fund. Friday night May 8th will feature the over-30 league all-stars versus the over-40 league all-stars at Fuessenich Park. Game time is 7pm. Saturday May 9th features a double-header at Fuessenich with the Tri-State league all-stars taking on the Wallingford Twilight league all-stars at 11am following by a clash of the past two years Tri-State league champions as the Torrington Rebels host the Winsted Whalers at 2pm. Sunday’s games will be played in Wallingford at Pat Wall Field.