For Lynn Babe Ruth 13s, 1983 was a summer of challenges and fun

Thirty years have come and gone, but the memory of the Lynn Babe Ruth 1983 World Series champion team still stands as a source of pride.”It was a great summer of fun,” recalled Matt Cushing, who played both second base and outfield on that team. “We were playing or practicing every single day. Locally in Fall River, then up to Maine, and Michigan. For a 13-year-old, what better thing could you do?”Cushing and his former teammate, Mark Debasitis, both have families of their own. That summer of fun in 1983 sometimes comes up in conversation.”I think it’s come out time to time over the years,” Cushing said. “My dad may have brought it up with either my kids or my wife. He said, ‘You know, your dad won the World Series.'””Every once in a while, my kids ask about it,” said Debasitis, who played catcher and hit two home runs in the championship game en route to series MVP honors. He also won the batting championship for the series.It was a summer of challenges as well as fun. Both teammates remembered the adversity they faced in each round.”We always lost the first game,” Debasitis said. “We had to go all the way through the loser’s bracket to the final championship game. It was the same thing in the World Series. We lost (the first game) and had to play more games than anyone else.”Cushing remembered that the World Series had another bit of adversity.”We lost an early game, had to come all the way back, and win a doubleheader in temperatures that topped at 105 degrees,” he said. “All the parents and supporters brought buckets of ice and towels to keep everyone cool. You’re playing ball, just hoping to win and beat the heat.”Debasitis played a pivotal role in winning the grand finale.”Coach Gene Tetrault came up to me,” he said. “He was coaching third base. He said, ‘Hey, Deba, you think you can hit a home run?’ I said, ‘I think so.'”Debasitis finished with two home runs as the Lynners claimed their title.”He was a big kid who could hit the ball a mile,” Cushing marveled. “He certainly helped us out quite a bit.”Cushing also saluted Mike Giardina, who “I know did some of the pitching that day, and was one of the mainstays of our pitching staff,” he said.Much has happened since then. Debasitis now lives in San Jose, California, where he and his wife own a physical therapy clinic. His wife is a physical therapist and he does “all of the business side of things,” he said.Cushing, meanwhile, is the general counsel and vice president of EnerNoc, Inc., a public company in Boston. He also works with the Dean’s Planning Council at Fordham Law School, his alma mater.Cushing and Debasitis share a family connection. Cushing’s aunt Mary Ellen married Debasitis’ brother Kevin.Cushing saw another former teammate, Jim Brown, at their 25th reunion at St. John’s Prep. Debasitis is Facebook friends with Giardina and another ex-teammate, Barry Eagar, and said he “got some texts from Matt the other day.”Perhaps it is a story Debasitis shared that best shows how the members of the 1983 team are preserving their legacy.”One of my daughters still wears the jersey I wore in Niles (Michigan) with my number 13 as a nightshirt,” he said. “It’s been around, still faded. It’s kind of neat.”