MIDDLETON | It might not have been Fenway Park, but the start of another baseball season brought the crowd at the Howe-Manning Elementary School fields to a fever pitch on a recent Sunday afternoon.
So what if there was no Curt Schilling, David Ortiz or Wally the Green Monster? This opening day highlighted some of Middleton's other favorite athletes | their children.
Hundreds of baseball and softball players marched from Angelica's restaurant on Route 114 through the center of town and onto the fields behind the school. T-shirts fell just at the knee of some of the pint-size athletes, a chorus of cleats clicked across the pavement, and oversized ball caps with fresh, flat brims were everywhere, some with bouncy pony tails swinging out the back.
In classic New England fashion, Mother Nature taunted the event with the threat of rain but the moisture held off and the parade, snacks, and games went off without a hitch. Even McGruff the Crime Dog, the fuzzy face of child safety, made an appearance at opening day with the Middleton Police Department.
"It's just a great way to start the season and get everyone together," said Scott Stone, coach of the River Dogs, a minor league baseball team of 9- and 10-year-olds.
The annual opening day festivities are just as much a sign of spring in town as the first budding tree or the first blooming flower.
"It's a tradition that everyone looks forward to," said coach Dave McKenna of the farm league Mets. "Even the older kids know it's a tradition and come back year after year."
Opening day attendees enjoyed potato chips soda, and pizza as they chatted about the upcoming season.
For many of the Mets, a team of mostly 7-year-olds, this season marks the first time they'll be playing ball without a tee. The athletes will face live pitching from their coaches and will encounter strikes, balls, outs, wins and losses.
"It will be exciting this year," McKenna said.
The River Dogs, who play at the level above farm league, will change over from coaches pitching to the players pitching just a few games into the season.
"We're going to have fun this year," Stone said.
For some of the league's athletes, the 2007 season marks some major changes. Abigail Dempsey and Rebecca Shea, both 9, are starting their first season of softball after holding their own for a few years with the boys in the baseball league. In just two games with the Angels, Abigail and Rebecca have noticed some key differences between the two games.
"I think softball is harder because baseball has a smaller ball that's easier to throw and easier to hit because it's lighter," Abigail said.
"There are no boys, so it's not as aggressive," said Rebecca, dusting off her brand new mitt with pink trim. "Boys have to win, and the girls just want to have fun."
But don't think that these girls have gone soft because of their change of sport. Playing whiffle ball at the schoolyard with the boys, they still like to prove they have skills.
"A boy didn't think I could hit," Rebecca said. "Then I hit a double, and he changed his mind."
Some of the athletes have individual goals they'd like to achieve over the summer months. Abigail is starting to pitch with her father and will debut her fastball in an upcoming game. Allyson Goldstein, another Angel, hopes to make some stellar plays in her first season playing the sport.
"I like playing first base," said the 9-year-old, who has already found her niche as the team's clean-up hitter, "because a lot of the balls go there and I really want to get someone out."
Chris Shena, an 8-year-old on the River Dogs, hopes to perfect his swing this season and knows exactly how to get there.
"I want to get better at batting," he said. "I'm just going to keep on practicing."
Sam Stone, another River Dog and son of the coach, will be sharpening his fielding this summer.
"I'm working on diving if I need to catch a ball over my shoulder," the 8-year-old said while watching his older sister, Rebecca Stone, play for the Cubs in a softball exhibition against the White Sox. "I get excited if I make a good play and I dive and catch it."
Reporter Cara Spilsbury can be reached at 978-946-2230 or via e-mail at cspilsbury@towncrossings.com.
