Fundraiser in motion so 12U Pirates can play Cooperstown dream series

August 24, 2023 at 1:23 a.m.

The summer 11U Port Chester Youth Baseball League team. Seven of the players are part of the 12U team going into the fall through next summer. Back row, from left: Coach Steven Rytelewski, Aaron Malhotra, Coach Dan DeBari, Alex Malhotra, Maikel Herrera, Luke Doherty, Coach George Varbero, Coach Fabio Garcia. Front row, from left: Tyler Varbero, Braden Squilace, Fabio Garcia, Zack Brenzel (team motivator), Louis Rytelewski, Aidan Brenzel, Lucas DeBari, Luke Varbero (team bat boy), Juan Garcia. Lying down: Michael Dermody. (Courtesy photo of Fabio Garcia)

It is the once-in-a-lifetime chance for 12 Port Chester Youth Baseball League tween players to compete against some of the nation's best age group teams during a prestigious week-long tournament on the playing fields at Cooperstown, hallowed Upstate home of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

It would give them a chance to play in that kind of dream series of games before the tweens age out of PCYBL ball at the start of their teens.

Costs around $20Gs

But it takes lots of money to give them that chance, anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 to provide the local Pirates team with room, board, and all the other expenses needed to bankroll that one-week stay in Cooperstown.

And their coaches are willing to bet on them to give their talented 12U team a chance to go out in style.

So much so that the coaches already have skin in the game—they have made a $1,000 deposit to reserve a Pirates spot in the Cooperstown tournament for the end of August 2024.

The installment plan

That leaves them with approximately $20,000 to go to pay the $1,500 minimum cost per week for each of the players and their coaches with five more monthly installments of $3,960 due on the 15th of November, January, February, March and April.

Any leftover funds will go towards sponsoring a similar 12U Pirates trip to play in the Cal Ripken National Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., later next summer.

But for now they are conducting a fundraiser so the 12Us can play in the Cooperstown tournament. That fundraiser includes everything from a Venmo account to which people can submit dollars to an address to send checks payable to the PCYBL to car washes, bake sales, Facebook posts and running a special Halloween fall baseball league tournament featuring area age group teams tentatively scheduled for Oct. 7-9 at Lyon Park.

The fall season 12U team

To make sure the team is ready for Cooperstown, the Pirates start fall season practice Sunday (8/27) at Lyon Park with a 12U team revolving around Aaron and Alex Malhotra, Tyler Varbero, Luis Rytelewski, Wesley Loizeaux, Michael Vernace, Braden Squillace, Fabio and Juan Garcia, Jack Luis, Ross Kantor and Mikael Herrera.

That's essentially the same team that graduated out of 11U ball after playing throughout the PCYBL summer season that saw Herrera named as the MVP of the Major League All-Star game between the league's American and National League teams.

Their first fall season game is scheduled for Sept. 3, a Sunday, at Lyon Park.

Donation info

Head coach Fabio Garcia and assistant coaches Steven Rytelewski, Dan DeBari, George Varbero and team motivator Zach Brenzel have set out to raise the funds needed to make the Cooperstown dream a reality.

The donation information:

Venmo: @PC-Pirates-12U

Check payable to: Port Chester Youth Baseball League, Box 3, 222 Grace Church St., Port Chester, NY 10573.

Further information: [email protected] or [email protected].