Mosquito All-Star Saturday Report
2013 Mosquito Skills Competition & All-Star Game: Report from Richard Rabinovitch, Chair of the All-Star Saturday Committee
There was not a more perfect day for the 2013 Mosquito Skills Competition & All-Star Game, which was held on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at Lions Park. A large family of more than 130 players attended the park, with their faithful fans and supporters.
As we all are aware, Abbotsford is home to the best baseball community in the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley area. A key component to this tight baseball community has always been evidenced in the commitment and efforts by the families and volunteers connected to the AAHA. I would like to say a special thanks to the White Sox management team (we all know who you really are) for their efforts on the Canteen; Mark Kramer for donating buns for the event; Scott Stewart for his amazing efforts with one of the largest lens’ I have ever seen; Cameron Friesen for donating and setting up the excellent sound equipment; DJ Fresh Pidlisecky for his harmonizing tones and somewhat older tunes and too many others who gave their valuable time towards the numerous tasks in making this yearly event a tremendous success. With the help of sponsors, such as Prostock Athletic Supply, MVP Athletic Supplies, and the AAHA, there were several wonderful prizes awarded for the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game.
First place was awarded to Treyson Smith when he hit a bomb out of the park in the Home Run Derby, (a task he later repeated in the All-Star Game as well). Second went to Mikey Milne and third to Marquise Coffin. Josh Siemens blew the competition away with a 53 MPH bullet in the Fastest Pitch competition, second place went to Denver Kitt and third place to Zach Kramer. Then the young men with all the gear came up in the Catcher’s Accuracy Throw Competition; and Jack Taylor put on a mighty display to get the First place trophy, with Cardel Dick right behind him in second place and then a playoff led to an exciting 3rd place finish for Hunter MacLeod. Next were the young speedsters in the Base Running Relay. The mighty Phillies came in first place followed by the Nationals and then the Orioles. The last competition was the always exciting Around the Horn Competition. In that contest the mighty arms of the first place Nationals were on display followed by the second place Giants and the Padres in third.
Following the individual and team challenge events, the All-Star Game opened with a glorious and heartfelt “O Canada” sung by the wonderfully talented Katelyn Lanigan. Every player from the American and National league stood tall, smiles beaming from side to side. It was undoubtedly a very proud moment. The guise of regular season opponents changed quickly once the game began, to that of skilled team mates. The AL team jumped out of the front gates with an out of the park bomb by Treyson Smith. The tight scores between the two teams were proof that the dirt and sweat on the boys had been earned. Some aggressive base stealing was observed with the catchers working a steady pace to guard home plate. In their final bat, the AL team scored two runs, bringing the final score to 11-10, and then the mighty arm of David Draayers managed to stop the NL in their tracks. Both teams finished in style with the AL gaining a narrow victory.
The Coaches’ selections for MVP of the All-Star Game were Jayden Burga for the AL and Josh Siemens for the NL. Both MVP’s and the winner of the Home Run Derby also won a date with the Abbotsford Cardinals for some exciting batting practice. The last award went to Treyson Smith as he won the All Around Player of the Day Award.
The All-Star Teams:
American League
- Jayden Burga
- Peter Choi
- Marquise Coffin
- David Draayers
- Jordan Epp
- Sam Jones
- Brodie Kelly
- Zach Kramer
- Chris Pidlisecky
- Nick Rabinovitch
- Treyson Smith
- Josh Wiens
Coaches: Ross Jones, Ernie Wiens, Richard Rabinovitch
National League
- Micah Bucknam
- Owen Forfellow
- Cole Kinney
- Mikey Milne
- Chad Pedersen
- Levi Reimer
- Levi St. Jean
- Josh Siemens
- Aidan Stewart
- Jack Taylor
- Austin Tuckwood
- Maguire Wakelyn
Coaches: Darcy Wakelyn, Rob Taylor, Mark Siemens
Submitted by:
Richard Rabinovitch (just another proud poppa)
“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”(Babe Ruth).