Earlier this summer, Dorchester Baseball’s 12-and-under All-Star boys’ team asked the community to help them raise the $26,000 they needed to get to Cooperstown in upper New York state to participate in a week-long series of games in August.
Community members didn’t just step up to the plate in response; they knocked the ball out of the park, and thanks to that support, 15 players, their 3 coaches, and their family members set out this week for the town that houses the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“The Cooperstown dream is coming true. It has been a year of planning, and we are all over the moon excited,” said Brianna Gore, whose son plays on the team. “We have had incredible support from the community and not just our community, but from Quincy, Braintree, people from everywhere. We got a check in the mail from a woman in Florida who used to live in Dorchester, and she’s so proud that Dorchester is going to Cooperstown to compete. It’s been really incredible.”
The team also hosted fundraising events at the Dot Tavern and the Landmark restaurant and gained the backing of former and current elected officials like Marty Walsh.
“All of our city councillors and Frank Baker, who is running, have supported us, and it’s made all of us feel very cared for,” said Gore. ‘[State Sen.] Nick Collins has donated a bus, so our boys are going to go to and from Cooperstown on a beautiful Yankee Line bus with a bathroom.”
In addition to traveling in style, the boys will have fun both on and off the field, competing against one another, trading team pins, and taking in the awesome history of baseball in the nearby Hall of Fame.
“It’s going to be a really beautiful experience. That is really what we want for our Dorchester players,” Gore said. “We want every 12-year-old to be able to experience Cooperstown if they want to try out and be on the team. We think that it’s important.
“Every other town around us makes this available for their players,” she added, “and we want to do the same. There is no reason that Dorchester kids should not be participating.”
The competition will be tough, but Gore thinks that on the whole, the experience will motivate and inspire the boys regardless of the game results.
“We are there for the experience. We are there to have fun and show our boys what a good time is when you’re playing baseball. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s all about having fun and teamwork.”
The dream of a trip to Cooperstown would be “an exciting adventure” for new players to anticipate, she said, noting, “We want this to continue every year and be a tradition.”
A roundup shows that other Dorchester Baseball teams had success this summer, too.
The 8U team was runner-up in the divisional championship and placed in the top 15 out of 76 Massachusetts teams; The 10U squad, with a 16-7 overall record, was a Mayor Cup champion, a District 12 runner-up, and an East Braintree tournament runner-up; 13U team (Babe Ruth) was a Metro South champion;And the 18U team was a South Shore Senior Babe Ruth Championship runner-up.
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