WESTFIELD – At its annual awards night held on Saturday, October 26, the Greater Westfield Babe Ruth League honored the 2015 regular season and playoff champions as well as the tournament teams for their play.
League President Dan Welch introduced the team managers for the presentations. Awarded trophies for their 1st place regular season championship in the 13/14 division were the players from Berkshire Insurance Group. This team started the season strong and ended up with the league championship.
Getting hot during the last quarter of the regular season was the team sponsored by I T I and they continued their winning streak by capturing the 11th annual Amanti Cup. Noted by team manager Mike Nihill his team got hot at the right time to capture the cup. The Amanti Cup is named for longtime local league supporter Bill Amanti.
Next to be honored in the 15/16 division was the regular season champ, Sons of Erin. Team manager Don Murray honored his players for a strong regular season. The Dan Welch City Cup playoffs followed the regular season. McDonalds – East Main Street got hot for the playoffs and knocked off the Sons of Erin Team in a well-played championship game. The City Cup trophy has been awarded to the league playoff champions for more than 25 years.
Westfield Babe Ruth Baseball League President Dan Welch, center, stands alongside award winners, J.D. Huntley, left, and Nick Clegg, right. (Submitted Photo)
Awards and trophies were also given to the players selected for the tournament teams that represented Westfield Babe Ruth during the summer tournaments. The 13-year-old team, who won the Western MA State Championship and went on to play in the New England Regional tournament in Burlington, Vt., was honored with engraved wooden bats.
Team manager Matt Avery highlighted the team’s accomplishment and individual player successes during his presentation.
The highlight of the awards night has routinely been the announcement of the leagues four-year MVP and Scott McClenna awards. League President Dan Welch introduced Owen Foley, the 2014 award winner to present the 2015 Scott McClenna award. This award, named for former Babe Ruth player Scott McClenna has been awarded annually online casino for 41 straight years emblematic of the positive virtues of Scott McClenna being sportsmanship, perseverance, ability, teamwork and attitude.
In naming JD Huntley the 2015 winner, Foley highlighted the characteristics of the winner in his unselfish nature to put his team first and always support his teammates, win or lose. Huntley was also praised for his contributions to Westfield High School as a top student, and also his Eagle Scout rank.
The final award of the evening was presented by Dan Welch to Nick Clegg.
Clegg was honored as being selected by the league officials as the Most Valuable Player throughout his four-year career in Westfield Babe Ruth. Being the MVP is not always about making every play or being the star of the game but helping his team win or lose with pride.
In presenting the MVP award, Welch noted, “During his four years in the league, Nick has proven to all the managers that his play, sportsmanship and team leadership skills were invaluable to the team’s success. There were many games, despite the score where he could be heard cheering loudly from centerfield. Always wanting to win but not letting losing get in the way of good sportsmanship.
“This player has been an outstanding contributor to the league over his playing years. He has been a positive influence with his teammates and has worked hard to be at his best both on and off the field. He has been a positive role model for everyone in the league.”
Welch also recognized two retiring team managers. Honored were long time managers Chris Baran and Don Murray. Both managers were always the first to volunteer to help with field duties and were excellent role models for the players were entrusted to lead for more than five seasons, according to Welch.
This offseason will be a busy one as Greater Westfield Babe Ruth League officials will gear up for the 14-Year-Old World Series to be played in Westfield Aug. 10-19, 2015.
Welch noted the tremendous support from the City of Westfield and the volunteers working diligently to plan the World Series events.
Stay up-to-date on all the World Series news with The Westfield News, and visit WestfieldWorldSeries.com.
