After making the 45-minute trek from Rye to Yorktown Heights, pitcher/outfielder Trevor Crawford hopped out of his car and immediately proceeded to take practice swings in the batting cage adjacent to Navajo Field. His team, the 16 and under Westchester Baseball Academy Nationals, was playing the New York Nine, and he was there two hours before game time. This is the typical Tuesday in July for a showcase team baseball player.

 

 

By Michael Gilbert

 

After making the 45-minute trek from Rye to Yorktown Heights, pitcher/outfielder Trevor Crawford hopped out of his car and immediately proceeded to take practice swings in the batting cage adjacent to Navajo Field. His team, the 16 and under Westchester Baseball Academy Nationals, was playing the New York Nine, and he was there two hours before game time. This is the typical Tuesday in July for a showcase team baseball player.

 

Each summer, teams such as Westchester Baseball Academy, the New York Nationals, the Westchester County Clippers, the New York Gothams, and others, select some of the area’s best talent and compete against other showcase teams in games and tournaments. The goal of these teams is to allow college coaches and scouts to see some of the area’s top talent in one place. Many players from Rye High School and Rye Country Day School play for such teams.

 

As Crawford and the rest of the Nationals were finishing their pre-game warm-ups, head coach Chad Charney gathered the team for a speech.

 

“We have to come ready to play today. This team is in first place, so we have to come out ready to play.”

Summer teams are highly competitive, and winning is everything because one never knows who could be there watching in the crowd.

 

The Academy won the game 6-0, behind a strong outing by pitcher George Kirby. That same week, they would go on to play White Plains, and a double header against another showcase team, the New York Hardball, under the lights in Silver Lake.

 

The 16U and 18U Nationals are competing in a number of tournaments this summer. The 18U team has already come up victorious in the Great American Blue Chip Prospects Tournament in Long Island, and won the championship game 6-0 at Stony Brook University.

 

The 18U team is also scheduled to play in the Continental Amateur Baseball Association World Series in South Carolina at the end of July. They were one of three New York teams selected to play in the highly sought-after South Carolina tournament at the end of July, and their excitement is palpable.

 

Starting pitcher Max Bruckner of Harrison High School said, “We want to become better ballplayers, while also having fun. By going to South Carolina, we play some of the best competition, which is one of the best ways to get better.”

Fellow starting pitcher Andrew Waite of Rye Country Day School added, “It will be a great experience to step up the competition and compete against some of the best teams in the country.”

 

The Academy will only go as far as its pitching takes them, and the team has a strong trio of pitchers that include Bruckner, Waite, and Mitchell Leeds. Waite and Mike Forgione pitched back-to-back no-hitters July 8.

 

Teams are right in the middle of their seasons, and tournaments are in full swing. Summer baseball is providing a competitive environment for the area’s top talent to show off their skills.