By Rachel Block
For Baldwin resident Scott Scheers, however, the dream became a reality when he played in the team championship of Major League Baseball's Pitch, Hit & Run competition at Yankee Stadium on Father's Day.
"He received a phone call and was told he won," said his mother, Maureen Scheers. "Then they compared the scores from all the sections, and the top four from the New York region got to advance to Yankee Stadium - and he was one of them, so he went on to compete in Yankee Stadium on Father's Day and won that."
Co-sponsored by Pepsi, Pitch, Hit & Run is a competition for boys and girls ages 7 to 14 in which they show off their pitching, hitting and running skills. Winners advance through four levels of competition, including team championship events at the 30 major league ballparks and the national finals at the annual All-Star Game.
For Scott, the opportunity was more than pure luck. He worked hard to reach this level, his parents said, starting out in the Pitch Hit & Run competition held by the Baldwin Little League. He won in the 9-to-10-year-old division, and competed in the sectional championships in Amityville, where he won as well.
Scott has been playing baseball since he was 4, starting out on a tee-ball team and advancing to Little League and travel teams. He also took part in the Minor League Williamsport (Pa.) Tournament for 10-year-olds.
A Yankees fan, Scott said he was thrilled when he found out he was one of the top four Pitch, Hit & Run finishers in his age division in the New York region and would get to play ball in his favorite team's stadium in the Bronx. "I felt excited - me and my family just had a little celebration for it," he said.
Scott's family was there to support him on the big morning. "My husband, myself, my other son, Ryan, my daughter, Danielle, and my mother-in-law all went," his mother said. There were 16 competitors - four in each of four age groups, and Scott's family cheered him on as he competed - and won.
Each of the participants was given three tickets to the Yankees-Mets game that evening, and Maureen Scheers said she let her sons and husband go, since it was Father's Day, and she thought it would be something nice for them to do together.
The Pitch, Hit & Run contestants were taken out to see Yankee Stadium's Monument Park and each stood at home plate and was introduced to the crowd before the game started. Their names were also displayed on the stadium scoreboard.
Scott has become something of a celebrity in Baldwin. "He's received a lot of congratulations throughout Baldwin - he feels accomplished and his friends have been very supportive," his father said. "It was a wonderful Father's Day, that in itself being a great present."
Although Scott was the winner in the tri-state area - finishing first in both pitching and running and second in hitting - his score was not among the top four nationwide. So he will not go on to compete in the All-Star Game in San Francisco on July 10, but Scott and his family are all very proud of his achievement, and, they say, this has been an exciting kick-off to their summer. "He takes it in stride," his mother said. "He was very excited to be in Yankee Stadium, very excited to be there that morning, and we all had a lot of fun."
Scott said he hopes to play in Yankee Stadium again one day, hopefully as a major leaguer. "It was really unexpected," he said. "I didn't think that would happen, and I'll definitely always remember it."
