SEA ISLE CITY – On July 11, over 125 young athletes gathered at Dealy Field in Sea Isle City to participate in the Annual Philadelphia Phillies Home Run Derby. The event, which was hosted by The Sea Isle City Recreation Department, gave youngsters, ages 7-12, the chance to display their batting skills, win prizes, and possibly advance to the derby’s championship round at Citizen’s Bank Park later this year.
The Phillies Home Run Derby began in 1971 as the brain-child of Jack Bradley, who played semi-professional baseball before becoming a photographer. Since Bradley enjoyed working with children and wanted to create a program that would give all kids the chance to shine on the baseball diamond, he approached the Philadelphia Phillies with the concept of a summer derby. Soon after, the Phillies adopted Bradley’s program and the Home Run Derby has since blossomed into a very successful event that now attracts 22,000 participants in the Philadelphia region each year. Today, Bradley’s sons, Paul and John, still run the derby each summer.
Using an automatic pitching machine, each batter is thrown 10 good pitches that are adjusted to the height of each player. With a point system marking fair hits, ground balls and home runs, the batters try to out-perform their peers as they swing at each ball that comes across the plate. After the competition in Sea Isle City ended, plaques were awarded to the best hitters in each age division, and many other prizes, such as Phillies tickets and autographed baseball memorabilia, were also distributed to the participants through a raffle.
The winners of the Sea Isle City Phillies Home Run Derby in the Girls Division Age 7-8 were: Samantha Randazzo, Media, PA, 1st place; Lizzie Freese, Stewartstown, PA, 2nd; and Alyssa Manuola, Berlin, NJ, 3rd. Girls Age 9-10: Taylor Glover, Stewartstown, PA, 1st; Danielle Cranes, Maple, PA, 2nd; Christine Cauley, Delran, NJ, 3rd. Girls Age 11-12: Amanda Cunniff, Spring, TX, 1st; Cara Owsley, Vineland, NJ, 2nd; and Emily Freese, Stewartstown, PA, 3rd.
Winners in the Boys Division Age 7-8: Kyle Verbitski, Audobon, NJ, 1st; Brett McCartney, Downington, PA, 2nd; Tom Piernikowski, Ocean City, NJ and Tyler Green , Ocean City, NJ, 3rd (tie). Boys Age 9-10: Joshua Hood , Vineland, NJ, 1st; Gavin Cameron, Lexington, KY, 2nd; Antonio Stento, Royersford, PA, and T.J. McLaughin, Langhorne, PA, 3rd (tie). Boys Age 11-12: Owen Naplacic, Ocean City, NJ, 1st; Darian Street, Bethlehem, PA, 2nd; and Nick Scamuffa, Philadelphia, PA, 3rd.
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Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…
