Two MTBA organizations get together for special day

The Monroe Township Baseball Association (MTBA) announces that its new Senior American Legion team and new Buddy Ball Division will get together for a very special day on June 10, at James Monroe Park from 10 a.m.-noon.

"In 2007 MTBA started two new baseball programs: our Senior American Legion team for players that are juniors and/or seniors in high school or freshmen in college, and our Buddy Ball program for the special needs children of Monroe," said Michael Peto, president of MTBA.

"Our Senior American Legion team now joins our very successful Sophomore and Junior Legion teams to complete in an extremely competitive summer baseball program, completing our trio of teams with the hope of helping our high school program be the best in Middlesex County," said Peto.

Since 1925, the American Legion has sponsored American Legion Baseball to give players an opportunity to develop their skills, personal fitness, leadership qualities and to have fun.

"Our Buddy Ball Division is also in its first year. For the past eight weeks, our 20-plus players and 60-plus volunteers have joined together every Sunday morning to practice their baseball skills and play a hard-fought game dressed as the New York Yankees and New York Mets. The kids continue to get better each and every week, and I couldn't be more proud of their progress, their parents' dedication and the enthusiasm of our volunteers," said Peto.

"The idea of the get-together came from a discussion between Senior Legion manager Mike Quaglietta and Buddy Ball administrator Su Reiser one Sunday morning," said Buddy Ball Division director Jack Bobish. "They both thought each team could learn something important from the other."

Quaglietta was recently named manager of Monroe's Senior American Legion team after watching his son, Devon, go through the MTBA program and eventually have a very successful career at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville. Devon will be playing on his college team at Salisbury University.

Although Quaglietta doesn't have a son on the Senior Legion team, his love for the game continues to fuel his passion to remain involved in the MTBA program. However, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with his other son, Corey. Corey is a member of the Buddy Ball program and plays for the league's New York Yankees.

The Senior Legion team's schedule is very full since they have 22 games to complete in five weeks, but both the players and their coach felt it was important to be involved in the new Buddy Ball Program. Their season starts June 8, and anyone interested can follow their game schedule at www.monroebaseball.com. They are playing at the Monroe Township High School Field on June 10 at 4 p.m., the same day they are volunteering their time for the baseball clinic for the Buddy Ball Program.

"After meeting with Mike, I realized how much his team could help our players as role models and baseball instructors," Su Reiser said. "Buddy Ball can give his team a chance to teach or coach and explore baseball with differences in a very basic way. Buddy Ball is a program that opens up opportunities for the players to enjoy a sport but to also engage in the social give-and-take of a ball game.

"Merging these two teams for a day of baseball instruction is so beneficial for both that I hope we can do it again next season. Giving Mike's team a chance to teach/coach may define another life skill for them, but giving our players quality role models to emulate is priceless. Sharing the joy of a sport will do wonders for all the athletes and parents involved," Reiser added.

"Now that the word is out about our Buddy Ball program, we hope this is just the start of more community involvement. We are always in need of volunteers, and of course we have room for more players," said Jack Bobish.

If anyone has any questions they can contact: Michael Peto at mikepeto@comcast.net or (732) 261-7409, Su Reiser at reiserfamily6nj@aol.com or (732) 792-7827, Mike Quaglietta at Mquagliett@aol.com or (732) 446-4749, or Jack Bobish at jbob126@comcast.net or (732) 521-4454.