LYNN — Dax Billingsley, going into his senior year at Lynn English, stopped to talk to someone on his way out of Fraser Field Sunday after taking part in the Lynn Invitational Baseball Tournament all-star game.
It was a 13-inning game, designed that way so that all of the players chosen to play in the showcase game could get a good look.
Before he could leave, he was already making plans to talk to some of the area’s baseball coaches — this one from Worcester State.
That’s the whole idea behind the invitational, says co-founder Joel Karakaedos. The tournament, now in its 12th year (11 of them have been at Fraser and one at Danvers’ Twi Field), is designed, Karakaedos said, to allow Division II and III colleges around New England to see players who might end up doing well at their schools.
“Generally, we get one or two kids who come out of this invitational every year that get drafted by Major League organizations. And even if they don’t, they benefit greatly from an event like this.”
Karakaedos, who established the invitational along with Tim Fila, an assistant baseball coach at St. Mary’s High School, says a quick sampling indicates that players such as Ben Bowden and Roberto Reyes (English), Dario Pizzano (Saugus, Malden Catholic), Brandon Bingel (Peabody, St. John’s Prep), Mike Ruotolo (Peabody) and Ryan January (Swampscott) have made it into the MLB draft or have been signed to Major League organizations.
“We think this is the top showcase in New England,” said Karakaedos. “The venue itself (Fraser) is first class.
Billingsley, a pitcher, is one of 43 Lynn-area baseball players who took part in the 4-day showcase, agreed.
“(The directors) Do a very good job selecting the players to be showcased,” he said. “I think it’s the best around, because they pick the players based not only on talent, but character.
“And,” he said, “they give everyone a fair chance. It’s a nice atmosphere, too. They just want everyone to be themselves and be the player they can be. It’s a great opportunity.”
Sean Letarte, going into his junior year at St. John’s Prep, agrees.
“I think this is honestly a great tournament,” said Letarte, whose father, Dan, is the head baseball coach at St. John’s. “It’s a great way to get out and play some ball.”
And that suits Letarte fine. His summer has been taken up by both baseball and football and he couldn’t be happier.
“I love to be out here playing baseball,” he said. “And also I’ve been doing football workouts too. So I’d have to say I’m in pretty good shape.
This showcase is also important for Letarte since he was on the shelf most of his sophomore season with an elbow injury.
Karakaedos said that for the first three days of the showcase, players are given the ability to test their skills against other participants under game conditions.
“It’s good in the sense that some kids will be able to measure themselves against the best kids in the area,” he said. “So maybe a kid sees that there a lot of other kids who can throw better than him, or who can hit better. Maybe this will give them the motivation to get in the weight room and work harder.”
Karakaedos also feels that where a lot of summer baseball can run players into serious money, a showcase like this, where some scholarships are given, will help some inner-city kids figure out that they might want to play ball too.
Players who took part in the invitational over the past 12 years who are now on Major League rosters include Jeff Locke of Kennett, N.H. (Atlanta Braves), Jesse Hahn, Fitch High School (Tampa Bay Rays), Matt Barnes, Bethel, Conn. (Boston Red Sox), Jack Leatherstich, Beverly High (New York Mets), John Brebbia, Canton High (New York Yankees), Matt Carasiti, Berlin (Colorado Rockies), Scott Oberg, Tewksbury Memorial (Colorado Rockies).
