To the Editor:
During the past several years much has changed in Bayonne within the sport of baseball and softball. Not too long ago baseball and softball thrived in this town. Baseball leagues ranged from T-ball to Little League, Pony League, Cal Ripken, A-League and AA-League to high school and at one time an adult baseball league. Softball leagues started from elementary girls’ and boy’s leagues to an adult men’s league and senior women’s softball, the Over Forty League, and the Men and Women Co-Ed League. At one time there was a Saturday League and Sunday Morning Tavern League, along with the Brotherhood Fast-Pitch League, which would draw huge crowds at Gorman Field.
Unfortunately there are but a few of these leagues that exist today due to various factors such as the popularity of soccer leagues for children and the decline of interest in sports replaced by the emergence of video and internet gaming. How long these programs will continue is difficult to predict. However, the leagues that still do participate in the sport deserve our support.
The spirit and enthusiasm of those who continue to participate in these programs is to be commended. There is no better example of this spirit that the members of the Mix Chicks Senior Women’s softball team. Years ago, the senior women’s softball league had as many as four divisions with eight teams or more in each division. Teams were placed in each division according to their roster strength and experience.
Now the league is down to a precious six teams. The members of the Mix Chicks women’s softball team compete in a league where the top teams are highly experienced and competitive. Yet in spite of their lack of success in the win column in the past few years, they continue to bring their team together, play each game, and compete as best as they can.
While there are some who may criticize their efforts as futile, they are out there week after week and giving their best effort. They are an amazing group of individuals who display the true spirit of the game, and unlike many of us, they still manage to have fun.
SAL CLAPPSY
Department of Recreation Softball Official