I-84 Travel League a Home Run for Youth Baseball

Three years ago, knowing that there was "no real structured" baseball program in the area for 13 to 15 year olds during the steamy summer months, John Dee decided to do something about it.

To the delight of youth baseball players, parents and coaches, Dee, who has served as the vice president for the Bethel Baseball Association at the Babe Ruth level for the last four years, created the I-84 Travel League. The league offers youth the opportunity to play baseball competitively at cost from the middle of June through the end of July.

The league is currently in its third season and features 61 teams from the area among two different age groups, 13u and 15u. Each age group is broken down into divisions—two divisions for 13u and three for 15u.

"The way the divisions are broken down, every game is very competitive as a norm," Dee said. "People are set against players of their ability, so there's generally no blowouts."

Dee said when he was forming the league, his initial intention was to include towns up and down the I-84 corridor, but that changed once interest in the league grew.

"The demand was so big and grew so quick that we opened it up to any town-sponsored, preferrably Babe Ruth team, that wanted to play," he said.

For instance, five teams from Newtown participate, two from Monroe, two from Brookfield, four from Southbury and four from Ridgefield.

A careful approach was taken in forming the rosters, which feature about 12 to 15 players a team. Dee not only talked to fellow coaches but also considered factors such as a town's size and history with youth baseball.

"I've been involved with baseball for quite a while, so you get an idea of what each town and city has to offer," said Dee, who served as a comissioner for two years prior to becoming vice president of the Bethel association. He has coached youth baseball and softball for a combined 23 years.  

"The I-84 is kind of an outgrowth of what we started at the younger ages. We just kept these kids interested in baseball," said Warren Spencer, a Newtown-based comissioner for the 15u division.

Each team in the league plays an average of 18 games during the regular season and a limited number of teams will qualify for the single-elimination playoffs, which begin the last week of July. The playoffs will be held around Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties, with the higher seed serving as the home team.

Considering the few options that were previously given to baseball-starved youth during the summer, the I-84 League has proven to be a welcomed change-up, organizers said.

Currently, there are also district tournaments, a Jimmy Fund tournament and AAU leagues, but the tournaments, which are double-elimination, do not guarantee a full summer of baseball. For teams that entered both tournaments and do not win, they could play as few as four games.

"You played four tournament games and maybe you would go find a few scrimmages and you might play a summer of eight to 10 games if you were not successful," said Spencer. "That doesn't really hold a kid's interest."

The I-84 League offers youth the opportunity to play more baseball, which Dee said he believes is an integral part of a player's development.

"In years gone by, only the strongest players at any age level had the opportunity to play baseball," Dee said. "There really is a huge growth spurt anywhere between 12 and 15 (years old), and some of the players that could be an average to weak player as an 11-year-old can turn around and be an extremely strong player as they're older."

"But the only way that's going to happen is if they play more ball, Dee said. "So this opportunity gives those players a chance to play 20 more games a year that they never had an opportunity to do otherwise."

The league charges $200 per team, said Dee, and any profits made at year's end are donated to the Jimmy Fund. In the last two years, Dee said they've given the organization about $5,000.

With another successful season winding down and considering the increasing interest in baseball among the area's youth, there's still room for growth in the I-84 league.

Currently, 28 different towns have at least one team in the league, which is twice as many as last season. And according to Spencer, "eight or 10" towns have already inquired about possibly joining the league next year.