Guilderland Little League is pleased to announce that our own local resident Tyler Witazek of Slingerlands, NY has competed in and won the Regional 7/8 age group of Major League Baseball’s Pitch, Hit & Run Competition at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, June 25th. His score placed him in the top 3 finishers in the country in his age group, and he will next compete in Major League Baseball’s National Pitch, Hit & Run Competition Finals at the MLB All-Star Game celebration in San Diego on Monday, July 11th. There are just 24 youngsters who have achieved this level of success across the country.

This year’s Scott’s MLB Pitch, Hit and Run Competition Finals will take place at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, in advance of the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Tyler will attend many of the All-Star festivities and get to be on the field to shag fly balls during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

Scott’s MLB Pitch, Hit, & Run Competition is the official skills competition of Major League Baseball. This grassroots program is designed to provide youngsters with an opportunity to compete; free of charge, in a competition that recognizes individual excellence in core baseball skills.

Kids are divided into four age divisions: 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14, and have the chance to advance through four levels of competition, including Team Championships at Major League ballparks and the National Finals at the 2016 MLB All-Star Game.

The individual Pitching, Hitting and Running Champions, along with the All-Around Champion in each division age group at the Local Competition will be awarded and advance to the sectional Level of Competition. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the official MLB skills competition, and this year more than 625,000 participants competed in more 4,600 local competitions to reach the Finals in San Diego.

The journey began for Tyler with a local competition hosted by the Guilderland Little League on May 1st at Keenholts Park in Guilderland, NY. Having beautiful facilities to learn the game is not lost on the youth of the Guilderland Little League. “Being able to play on the fields for Guilderland Little League makes you feel like you are in the major leagues” according to Guilderland Little Leaguer Tyler Witazek. “I want to make my teammates proud and do my best to show all of the skills our coaches have worked on with us at the Guilderland Little League”, he said. His advice for other Little Leaguers, “Make sure you practice hard. Every day. I love it. I can’t get enough baseball.”

Tyler’s mother, Maria Witazek, said her son was ready to compete from the start. “When we heard the Guilderland Little League was hosting MLB’s Pitch, Hit and Run Competition, Tyler said, ‘I am going to San Diego’.” She explained the support the family has received has been tremendous. “The Guilderland Little League has been like a family. Tyler had the biggest fan club at Yankee Stadium. Jon Phillips (GLL Board President) and a bunch of Tyler’s teammates travelled to cheer him on. They have been so great”.