All Along
Destinations Get in gear Going Strong Outbound Real deals Sensible traveler Taking Off Where they went
WHERE THEY WENT
Out to the ballgames
By Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent, 3/30/2003
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All Along Destinations Get in gear Going Strong Outbound Real deals Sensible traveler Taking Off Where they went
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Charlie was 12 when he spent the last week in August at the Cooperstown Dreams Park playing in the North American Championship. He had been on a Cal Ripken team in his hometown of Winchester; for the tourney, he played on the newly formed Eastern Massachusetts All Stars.
He was accompanied by his biggest fans: father J.D., vice president and publisher of Yankee Publishing, and sisters Rosie, 10, and Lacey, 7. His mother, Cindy, was unable to travel, but he called her with a nightly game report. Various members of the extended family dropped by to watch his games.
Charlie and the All Stars -- 17 boys from around Greater Boston -- along with 63 teams from across the country, stayed on the ballpark grounds. "Our houses were these long Army-hut things and had bunk beds. There was a huge game room, and all the teams ate breakfast together every morning under a huge tent. You pretty much do everything as a team," said Charlie, a catcher who also pitches and plays the outfield. Over the summer, the All Stars players and their families had gotten to know one another at games, cookouts, and on field trips.
Charlie's dad and sisters stayed at a nearby hotel and came each day to his morning and evening games.
J.D. Hale admired the ballpark's wooden walls and dugouts, "painted that dark Fenway green."
"The girls are both really good baseball fans. They're knowledgeable about what's going on and they enjoy it," said Hale, who played ball through high school. "The games go pretty quick. They're seven innings long, with tight scoring. We'd also peek in on other teams."
Father and daughters had time at the games to hang out with the various relatives who stopped by for a day or two -- grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Sometimes Hale and the girls would have a picnic lunch in town, along the shore of Otsego Lake.
"The best thing we did is we went horseback riding," Hale said. "It was at a farm a little south of Dreams Park. It was up on a very big hill, so you were overlooking the valley to the east. I'd actually never ridden a horse. I was just fascinated by it."
The farm owners spent 45 minutes choosing appropriate horses, then led the Hales along wooded trails, much to Hale's surprise.
"I thought we were just going to walk around the corral," he said.
Charlie's favorite side trip was to the Baseball Hall of Fame. "Even if you didn't like baseball, the Hall of Fame is fun to go to," he said. "There's everything. They had `Who's on First?' on TV, wax sculptures, and a good gift shop. They have six stores of customized bats. It's really neat."
Charlie made a few purchases, including pine tar (to help his grip on a bat) and a souvenir bat he had customized to say: "Charlie Hale, Eastern Massachusetts All Stars, Cooperstown, 2002."
The one night the team didn't play, Hale invited the boys and their families to his hotel room to watch the Worcester team in the Little League World Series on ESPN.
As for the All Stars, they placed ninth overall, better than they had anticipated. "We did really well," Charlie said. "We lost to almost all California teams," who are able to play year round.
Though the tournament's closing ceremony was rained out, the opening ceremony was a big event for the Hales.
"Every team was in their uniform, with different colors, and it was held at one of the main stadiums," Charlie said. "We played `Around the Horn,' where players throw the ball from pitcher to catcher and around the bases."
The catcher's throw starts the clock, and a stamp of his foot at the end of the circuit stops it. "I was nervous as I was walking up to the plate," said Charlie.
"It was the coolest thing to watch," said his dad. "But I was shaking like a leaf. My video of it is a disaster."