Tri-State has just 10 teams this summer

Copyright Kevin Roberts Republican-American July 1,2023

The Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League has a more intimate feel to it this summer. That’s because the league is down to 10 teams from a high of 19 last decade. Tri-Town Trojans player/manager Danny McCarty thinks the league isn’t as strong as it has been. The 2022 World Series matchup was Tri-Town and the Bethlehem Plowboys, and both of those teams are back for more in 2023.

Unbeaten Tri-Town has outscored its opponents by a 98-29 margin while Bethlehem (9-4) is getting past its opponents at an 99-39 clip. After the top two teams, the margins begin to get interesting. The third place Burlington Hunters (9-4) have outscored their opponents by just eight runs, 81-73. The fourth place Amenia Monarchs (8-6) have scored 74 runs, but have yielded just 56, the third least in the league. The Brass City Vipers (5-6) are in fifth place despite being outscored by 18 runs (42-60). The Valley Ducks (6-8) sit behind Brass City in sixth despite outsourcing their foes, 100-81. The eighth place Winsted Whalers (4-9) are a strange case, given they have scored just six less runs than they have given up (68-74). The other three teams in the bottom four have been outscored by at least 47 runs.

Before 2022, the last Tri-State World Series to feature two teams that are still in the league today was 2010. Ironically, Tri-Town and Bethlehem played in that series as well, though it was the Plowboys who came out on top. The 2019 champion and 2021 runner-up Terryville Black Sox moved to the Connecticut Twilight League, then rebranded as the Wolcott Terryville Scrappers for this season after the Tri-State version of the Scrappers folded.

There was no World Series in 2020 because there was no Tri-State baseball due to COVID. Commissioner Eddie Gadomski said COVID really hurt the league, and he believes that it’s still a factor three years later. Five teams were lost following the 2020 no-play season, including the Litchfield Cowboys and Naugatuck Dogs. The Torrington Rebels, once a powerhouse, folded after 2021, and Terryville moved out. Blasius Chevrolet stopped after 2022. “My belief is (it’s) still lingering effects of COVID and the economy,” Gadomski said.

“The lower level leagues are really hurting for teams (Legion, Senior Babe Ruth, Mantle) and those were our farm systems.” Gadomski does have a couple teams who have contacted him about next season, so he believes it’s a matter of time before the league builds back up. Still, Gadomski is happy with the 2023 cupboard of teams.

“We are a strong 10 teams today where I felt like in the past we had a few weaker teams as the talent was spread out,” Gadomski said. The league mainstays (teams that have been around for a bit) include Tri-Town, Bethlehem, Burlington, Armenia

the Amenia Monarchs, Burlington Hunters and Winsted Whalers. There has been some shifting from last year to this year. Winsted has fallen back in the standings while Burlington has risen. The Hunters were in a three-way tie for second place with Bethlehem and Amenia entering play this past Thursday. Last year, Tri-Town swept Burlington out of the playoffs with back-to-back blowouts. McCarty pointed out, and Bethlehem center fielder Jon Wilson agreed, that Winsted is better than its record indicates.

Tri-Town, the two-time defending champion, sits atop the league with its unbeaten record. Bethlehem, Amenia and Burlington are all close in record, and so are the next three teams; the Valley Ducks, Brass City Vipers and Naugatuck Nightmare. Brass City and Naugatuck are both second-year teams. The Canton Crushers, Winsted Whalers and CT Gamecocks take up the bottom three spots. Wilson noted that the Plowboys don’t watch the standings much. The plan is to be ready when the playoffs begin. “We’ll be ready to go in the playoffs, and we’ll see who we’ll see,” Wilson said.

McCarty said the Trojans are aiming for the top seed, which means there can’t be a letdown. “The regular season is one thing, but in the playoffs, everybody comes to play,” McCarty said.