How do I even begin to describe my experience? It was wonderful. It was whimsical. It was Westfield-centric. It was wringing wet.
Yes–I think that last definition really gives a good picture. Okay, well, almost does, anyway.
Without a doubt, while the Westfield Babe Ruth World Series was a wet and wonderful time for the city, it was also something that you may not see in communities much anymore–the power of coming together. From the people to us, the media, to politicians, everyone was in to provide the city and the teams the best experience possible and it showed.
Admittedly, this was my first time covering baseball in any capacity, but this was an “all hands on deck” moment for us at The Westfield News. We had every full-time staffer on the games, whether they had experience or not, trying to give everyone as complete and thrilling a story as we could in as quick a fashion as possible. I may have put in 10- to 12-hour days, as did Greg Fitzpatrick, while our sports editor, Chris Putz, easily worked 16 hours a day during the round robin portion of play. Putz (as you may know from “Beat the Putz”) was editing anywhere from four to six stories a day, while writing two to four more.
We also had our owner, Patrick Berry, talking about the games on the radio and interviewing people about it, then actually announcing a game or two. Additionally, he utilized his resources to completely cover the series, understanding that it was one of the biggest events that Westfield has ever had, and since were are the only local media source in Westfield, we have to cover this.
And then, most importantly, we had the many people of Westfield that came out to volunteer. Everyone who helped was a volunteer and, at least from my perspective, it didn’t go unnoticed. The amount of people that came out to help were so many that people were actually being told that their help may not be needed. Just put that into perspective–there were so many people volunteering while there were three games going on at once at one point, that they were essentially turned away.
The moment that stuck out to me most though, was when I was down at Jachym Field, covering the Pittsfield-Tri-Valley game. While there, a ball had been fouled off just a few minutes before and had shattered a window. In fact, that was at least the third foul ball that had gone behind the backstop–and we were in the second inning. Then, from way of Bullens Field, three boy scouts come marching dutifully down to the diamond. The three pugnacious boys were determined to help and after being turned away at Bullens, they came down to Jachym Field. They asked if they could help in any way, and the organizers looked puzzled but definitely wanted them to assist in some way.
I spoke up from my position in the makeshift press box behind the backstop and said, “Why don’t they shag foul balls?”
It was so easy, it worked. The three boy scouts were given the task and did it masterfully. They tenaciously tracked down the foul balls and brought them back to the umpire, tirelessly tracking every baseball that landed outside the field of play, whether it landed between buses, around obstacles or behind buildings.
I know, the idea of three boy scouts doing something meritorious may not seem like much on its face, but it represented–at least to me–what Westfield has become over the past four months. I have seen the community come together to try and track down a stolen scooter, attempt to give back all that a woman had lost in a fire that destroyed her home, showed their support for the Westfield Police after the shootings in Dallas and the mutiny in Baton Rouge, and now they have come together to help build a once-in-a-lifetime event for many of the children in attendance, whether they are the players or the volunteers.Great job, Westfield.
