Babe Ruth Gears Up With Fresh Volunteers

grounder to short

Photo: the_robio via Creative Commons

Press Release

A December 2023 Sanford Babe Ruth Baseball Facebook post about disbanding the league due to lack of community support resulted in fresh volunteers stepping up. Plans are now underway for the 2024 season. Registration is open and interested players should hustle over to: https://sanfordbaseball.sportngin.com/

Babe Ruth Baseball is a league for 13 to 16-year-old baseball players. Games are held on local baseball fields, including many at historic Goodall Park in Sanford. With a full scoreboard and game announcers, the old ballpark promises to be a great place to enjoy a game for the players, their families and the general public.

As registrations started, The League quickly learned that there is a group of 12-year-old players who fall into an “age gap” between Little League and Babe Ruth; birthdays for this group fall between May 2, to September 1, 2011. To accommodate these players, Greater Sanford Babe Ruth Baseball chartered a Cal Ripken League team that is intended to assist players with the transition from the smaller Little League field to the full-size diamond with a 60-foot, six-inch pitcher’s distance and 90-foot basepaths.

For the 2024 season, Cal Ripken players will be dispersed evenly among the League’s Babe Ruth Teams and there are opportunities for these players to come together to play in Cal Ripken events as the season progresses.

Following are key dates as the schedule for the 2024 season develops:

March 27– Coaches and Volunteer Meeting – Open to the public, this meeting focuses on volunteer and coaching assignments for upcoming player assessment and fundraising dates. Location to be announced by March 25 or 26, look for an announcement on the League website and Facebook.

April 5 – Registration Closed

April 14 & 15 – Player Assessments – Multi-station baseball workouts to evaluate players for upcoming draft to form teams.

April 19 & 26 – First practices. Fields to be announced.

April 21 (rain date April 28) – Round Robin Tournament & Fundraiser – The Sunday following player assessments a tournament will be held using a shortened game format to ensure all teams get playing time. When not involved in games, players will take part in various fundraising activities.

May 20 – First Games – Fields to be announced.

Check the Greater Sanford Baseball Facebook page frequently for updates. To contact a board member, or to learn more about volunteering and sponsorship, please navigate to https://sanfordbaseball.sportngin.com/