Cooperstown

Being asked to play in the Cooperstown tournament was a dream come true for Stockton.  And probably for Justin as well.  We had just been to Hawaii so I wasn't completely on board with the idea but Justin didn't hesitate and I knew I couldn't really prevent them from going.  They would regret it for a long, long time if they hadn't taken the chance to go.  As the time got closer and closer my boys got more and more excited.  I think it exceeded every expectation and was such a fun and special week for them.

It was a little hard to organize these pictures into any sort of timeline since I wasn't there, but I am going to do my best to sum up the week...which the boys both loved.  Stockton declared Cooperstown to be "Disneyland for baseball."  It was a good week, to put it simply.

They left on Sunday night, July 3rd, and had a red-eye flight to Newark, NJ.  They landed early Monday morning in Newark, got their rental car, and drove the four hours to Cooperstown, NY.  They were traveling with Chase, Barb, and William Brereton so that was helpful to split the cost of the car and the gas.  Monday was check-in day.  I think they saw a little but mostly they dropped the players off at the barracks and explored the city a little.

Stockton and William...Doubleday Field was the first baseball field in the country

Stockton and William

Stockton stayed with his team and two coaches in the barracks in the middle of the baseball park.  They were fed three meals a day (cafeteria style), got all their clothes laundered at the end of each day, and hung out together when they weren't playing a game.  Stockton got along really well with these boys.  It was the younger team so he has played with some of the boys before but not all of them.  They seemed to mesh together really well and had a lot of fun together.

second in from right on the bottom

?, Stockton, Ben Mahoney, McCoy Titus, ?, Will Winterton

The grounds at the Dreams Park were immaculate, or so I hear.  Green grass, several identical fields, so clean.  A baseball paradise!

#7 in the middle

Stockton and William

William and Stockton

For the tournament, they didn't wear their regular jerseys but were given red and blue Cooperstown Dreams Park jerseys that they wore with white knickers and red or blue socks and a red or blue hat.  Stockton would cringe to hear me say this, but I think he is adorable all decked out in his uniform.

far right

Stockton is third on the right, his face is halfway covered

far right

bottom right

third in from right on bottom

in the middle on the bench

They had an opening ceremonies Tuesday morning.  All the teams had banners with their team name on it that they carried out and walked behind.

far right

front left

I was able to buy a pass for $3 so I could watch all the games live.  Worth it.  Although I got very little done at home while the games were going because I was trying to watch.  I felt bad not being there but at least I could cheer Stockton on from home.  His team did great that first game and came away with a win!

 

They played two games on Wednesday and two games on Thursday.  They lost all of those.  They played Friday morning in the tournament (single-elimination) and were able to pull off a win to advance to the next stage.  They lost that game.  So not a winning record but that's okay.  I really think it was more about being there than about winning games.

 

Stockton, individually, did amazing.  I was worried that he would sit on the bench a lot since he isn't a member of this team regularly and they had 12 kids (9 on the field at a time).  Or that he would be played in right field the whole time and bat last.  My worried were unfounded.  These coaches played fair and Stockton held his own defensively.  They had him playing short stop and 2nd and since he is so strong defensively, he let nothing get by him.  He pitched a decent first half of one game.  He got several hits that put him on base.  A solid showing for him in general.

talking with Coach

at bat

loving life...even in the rain

running bases

pitching

My parents were excited to go watch Stockton play.  My dad is a baseball junkie like Justin and Stockton and he was so excited to go to Cooperstown, somewhere he had always wanted to go but never been.  They got there Tuesday night and were able to watch his games Wednesday and Thursday before coming home.  My dad (and mom too) loved Cooperstown so much.  He tells everyone he can about it and shows them the pictures of Stockton there.  A proud grandpa.

Justin, Stockton, Grandma, Grandpa

Grandpa, Stockton, Grandma

Justin checked Stockton out of his barracks Wednesday afternoon so they could go to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  The one and only picture I got from Stockton that whole week was from the hall of fame-a baseball glove from a Braves player.  I wasn't surprised.  He loved the hall of fame.  Bonus was the Atlanta Braves display since they won the World Series last year.

Stockton and Grandpa

Hank Aaron, whose number Stockton has adopted as his own (#44)

Chipper Jones

Babe Ruth

Grandma and Stockton

Hank Aaron locker

World Series champs

Jorge Soler's homerun in the World Series

 

They played teams from all over...Texas, Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, and Pennsylvania.  The team from Hawaii brought them shell necklaces and a couple of other things.  Stockton thought that was cool.  Another fun tradition at Cooperstown is pin trading.  Each team has pins made for their team with a unique design...Stockton's team, for example, had a baseball field, Cooperstown Dreams Park 2022 at the top, the Wasatch Wasps logo and all the boys' numbers on it.  Stockton took 75 pins and the idea was to trade with other teams, coaches, and umpires.  Stockton came home with pins from teams all over the US.  So, so cool.  He ended up putting all his pins on this Cooperstown Dreams Park towel that he got and hung it on his wall.

Wasatch in blue, Hawaii in red...Stockton is furthest left...Hang Loose!

 

They had a team dinner one night at someone's rented house.  All the families pitched in with the food and they had fun playing games on the lawn after dinner.

Stockton in the back on the right

Justin and Stockton on the right

Closing ceremonies was held Saturday night.  All boys from all teams walked out onto the field, their names were called, and they were given rings.  There were fireworks and then the championship game was held under the lights.

Stockton is third in

Justin and Stockton drove back to Newark to drop the car off Sunday morning.  They were still driving with the Brereton's.  A crazy coincidence happened when they found the intersection of Stockton and Williams.  It merited flipping around and taking a picture.  So, so funny.

William and Stockton

There was a professional photographer at each game.  Here is a small sampling. Justin was able to pick 4 of his favorite photos to make this collage.  It was a hard decision for him because there were so many good photos but I think it turned out great and love it so much!

He also got these baseball cards made with his picture.  They gave him enough so that I could have one and each set of grandparents could have one.

 

Both the collage and the card are proudly displayed on my fridge and will be for the foreseeable future...until I can figure out what to do with them. 

To sum up the week would be hard for me.  Stockton will tell you it was the best week of his life and he will be completely earnest and sincere in that statement.  Justin might not call it the single best week of his life but I'm sure it is toward the top of his list if he were to make a list.  I felt bad for not being there but was also happy to step back and give the boys this week together.  I know they will always remember this week and the experiences they were able to have together.  No regrets at all.