Cooperstown Gets Hammered:
Columbus baseball team to play on hallowed ground
The Columbus 12-U Hammers baseball team will travel to Cooperstown, New
York, for the Cooperstown Field of Dreams Park tournament on July 11-18.
For ten weeks, the tournament hosts 96 teams from the U.S., Canada, and
Puerto Rico.
“To the best of my knowledge, we are only the 8th team from Mississippi
to participate in this tournament,” coach Brian Hollis said.
The Hammers’ trip is the “culmination of five years of…playing
competitive travel baseball,” Hollis said.
The Hammers began in June of 2003. Four
original members have played over 250 games in a
Hammers uniform.
The boys and coaches will stay on park grounds, while parents will stay
at local inns. Teams are guaranteed eight games during the week,
weather-permitting.
The Hammers have been raising money for the trip for over a year. “We
sold Boston Butts, had a Crawfish Boil, a baseball tournament, and
raffled a deer hunt and turkey hunt,” said Hollis. Because Hammers
Baseball is a 501c3 non-profit corporation, they were able to ask for
private and corporate donations.
All participants are inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame and get a commemorative ring, trading pins, two uniforms, and more.
Hollis said the team’s willingness to play the best competition is their biggest strength. And, of course, says Hollis, “Without dedicated parents, no travel baseball program is successful.” SS