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Independence, MO —
Jim Moran sits in the air conditioned manager’s office in the basement of the press box at Hidden Valley Park.
“I better enjoy this while I can,” said Moran, who along with his good friend Ron Johnson started the Wood Bat Invitational with 10 teams back in 1989 at Pink Hill Park.
“Twenty-four years ago Ron and I thought about how much fun it would be for the kids to swing wood bats, and now, we’ve got 32 teams coming to Blue Springs and Independence and it’s one of the biggest wood bat tournaments in the country.
“We never thought it would be this big – never.”
Games begin Wednesday at five area locations – Hidden Valley Park, Blue Springs and Blue Springs South high schools, Crysler Stadium and the Independence Athletic Complex.
Moran has 600 wood bats, 50 dozen baseballs, “too many volunteers to count,” and all his i’s dotted and t’s crossed.
The invitational’s opening ceremonies at Hidden Valley Park are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.
“We have 5:30 p.m. games and want those teams to be able to come over and participate, so we can’t give an exact time on the opening ceremonies,” Moran explained.
The late Max Jewell, the former CEO and president of the Fike Corporation that sponsors Moran’s Blue Springs Post 499/Fike squad, will be honored in the opening ceremonies and former Kansas City Royals second baseman Frank White will join Jewell’s wife Liz in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
The newest inductees into the Wood Bat Invitational Hall of Fame will also be introduced.
“Asking Frank to throw out the first pitch was a no-brainer,” Moran said. “He has eight Gold Gloves, he’s the greatest second baseman of all time and he is a Kansas City native. We’re really excited about having him be a part of the festivities.
“And Mr. Jewell was a special man. We’re thrilled to have Liz be a part of the ceremonies.”
Moran’s Fike team won the tournament a couple of years ago on a lowest-games-allowed tiebreaker when the final day was wiped out by rain.
“It’s special to win your own tournament, even if we did win it on a tiebreaker. It doesn’t look like rain will be a problem this year,” Moran said. “It looks like 90 degrees most of the week, which is hot – but at least it’s not going to be 104.”
Tickets for the tournament are $5 per day, with $15 adult and $10 kids tournament passes available.
“We’ve got teams from four states – Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska and we’ll have a new champion because Prime Time from Omaha, Neb., won’t be back to defend its title.”
The semifinals will be played at 11 a.m. Sunday at Hidden Valley with the championship game following those two contests.
Jim Moran sits in the air conditioned manager’s office in the basement of the press box at Hidden Valley Park.
“I better enjoy this while I can,” said Moran, who along with his good friend Ron Johnson started the Wood Bat Invitational with 10 teams back in 1989 at Pink Hill Park.
“Twenty-four years ago Ron and I thought about how much fun it would be for the kids to swing wood bats, and now, we’ve got 32 teams coming to Blue Springs and Independence and it’s one of the biggest wood bat tournaments in the country.
“We never thought it would be this big – never.”
Games begin Wednesday at five area locations – Hidden Valley Park, Blue Springs and Blue Springs South high schools, Crysler Stadium and the Independence Athletic Complex.
Moran has 600 wood bats, 50 dozen baseballs, “too many volunteers to count,” and all his i’s dotted and t’s crossed.
The invitational’s opening ceremonies at Hidden Valley Park are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.
“We have 5:30 p.m. games and want those teams to be able to come over and participate, so we can’t give an exact time on the opening ceremonies,” Moran explained.
The late Max Jewell, the former CEO and president of the Fike Corporation that sponsors Moran’s Blue Springs Post 499/Fike squad, will be honored in the opening ceremonies and former Kansas City Royals second baseman Frank White will join Jewell’s wife Liz in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
The newest inductees into the Wood Bat Invitational Hall of Fame will also be introduced.
“Asking Frank to throw out the first pitch was a no-brainer,” Moran said. “He has eight Gold Gloves, he’s the greatest second baseman of all time and he is a Kansas City native. We’re really excited about having him be a part of the festivities.
“And Mr. Jewell was a special man. We’re thrilled to have Liz be a part of the ceremonies.”
Moran’s Fike team won the tournament a couple of years ago on a lowest-games-allowed tiebreaker when the final day was wiped out by rain.
“It’s special to win your own tournament, even if we did win it on a tiebreaker. It doesn’t look like rain will be a problem this year,” Moran said. “It looks like 90 degrees most of the week, which is hot – but at least it’s not going to be 104.”
Tickets for the tournament are $5 per day, with $15 adult and $10 kids tournament passes available.
“We’ve got teams from four states – Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska and we’ll have a new champion because Prime Time from Omaha, Neb., won’t be back to defend its title.”
The semifinals will be played at 11 a.m. Sunday at Hidden Valley with the championship game following those two contests.
