CHRIS BARBER & DAVID TIRRELL
WESTFIELD – A lot of New Englanders flock down south for the winter, but why would a group of kids travel to the sunshine state in the middle of summer?
The Western Mass Cardinals, a baseball team comprised of some of the area’s best young ball players, recently completed a sensational run to the Perfect Game 16U Nationals, finishing as runners-up in the Platinum Championship at CenturyLink’s Sports Complex’s Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida, home to the Minnesota Twins spring training.
More than 60 of the top 16U teams in the country competed.
“We definitely put Western Mass on the map,” said Western Mass pitcher Brian Strange, one of four Westfield players on the team. Strange, who was a key cog in Westfield High’s run to the 2019 Western Massachusetts Division 1 finals, played a key role in his traveling team’s run to glory.
Western Mass opened the tournament 4-0, outscoring their opponents 28-6 through the first four games of pool play. The Cardinals finally met their match in the next two games of tournament play, losing to Cranston (Rhode Island) and then to the Tallahassee-based Tomahawk Select 2021.
Western Mass bounced back in the Platinum Championship round, winning three straight before falling in the final game.
“A lot of Westfield kids shined,” said Western Mass coach Pat Strange, a second round pick of the New York Mets in the June 1998 Amateur draft who spent time in the majors from 1998-2004 and played 11 games for the Mets. He is currently the pitching coach for his son’s Westfield High School Bombers varsity baseball team and the city’s Futures Collegiate Baseball League, the Westfield Starfires.
Seven players from the Western Mass Cardinals were named to the Perfect Game 16U BCS National Championship All-Tournament team, including Paul Shibley and David Tirrell, both of Westfield, and Strange. Another Westfield player, Chris Barber, contributed for the Cards.
“The whole idea for the tournament was to go down there, have fun, and see if we could get any looks from colleges,” Tirrell said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. …We wanted to conquer the moment.”
The proponents of traveling teams believe that playing in a tournament like this most recent one in the southernmost part of the country raises the stock of those athletes, should those individuals outperform the competition. Several scouts were in attendance, according to coach Strange.
Players who participate in the Perfect Game 16U National Championship are then entered into a prospect database, which ultimately raises each player’s visibility in baseball circles all across the country.
“There are a lot of high-caliber players in travel ball,” coach Strange said. “Teams are really scrappy, and the competition was tough. “Teams were giving it to us because we were northern boys down in Florida.”
Strange said he is a big believer in travel baseball teams, not only because it gets his players more face time with scouts, but also because it makes them more battle-tested.
“In Florida, we faced a couple of pitchers beyond what we see around here, throwing 88-92 miles per hour,” Strange noted. “Up here in Western Mass., every team probably has a guy throwing in the low 80s. Down there, each team probably has three to four.”
“With the chance to play more ball, naturally you’re going to get better.”
The Western Mass Cardinals plan to enter a smaller tournament or two this summer before allowing the kids to enjoy the rest of their summer vacation and gear up for their respective high school sports teams this fall.
WESTERN MASS CARDINALS
