Cooperstown is calling, and a talented Key West team of 13 players will travel in June to the tiny town in New York, where the heart of baseball beats the strongest.
And while the local travel team of players 12 and under is not necessarily ready for induction into the town’s iconic National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, they will spend a week playing ball at Cooperstown Dreams Park from June 6-12 in one of the country’s most sought-after baseball tournaments that honors the American pastime, its past and its future.
When they’re not playing baseball, the team will be immersed in the sport and all that it represents. The kids will visit the Hall of Fame and watch games at the famous Doubleday Field, named for Abner Doubleday, a Civil War soldier who was long credited with inventing the sport and playing its first game in Cooperstown in 1839. (The sport’s legendary origin story has since been disputed, but no definitive account has officially replaced it.)
The Key West Cooperstown Dreams Park team of 2025 includes five returning players from last year: Bradley Buigas, Jacob Rodriguez, Jimmy McCain, Landon Caraballo and Miles Murphy. Four additional players — Jacob Sharp, Jaiden Lopez, Jax Mendez and Roman Lepowski — made the cut this year and will play in Cooperstown under the watchful eye and talented leadership of coaches Miguel Gonzalez and Andy Mendez.
But the Key West team needs the Key West community to help them “go to the show” for a big-league experience. The team needs to raise $21,520 and is seeking donations and sponsorships from local businesses whose logos will be displayed on a giant banner that travels with the team and is displayed at Cooperstown Dreams Park during all the games.
“This is a … chance for these 12u baseball players to step on fields that have been played on by so many amazing athletes,” the trip’s organizers said. “The future of America’s favorite pastime begins with youth sports, and making these boys’ dreams come true is the goal. These boys are the future of the high school, college and perhaps even major league teams we all love.”
The 2024 team finished sixth out of 94 teams.More information is available via email to kwcdpbball2024@gmail.com or at Key West CDP Legacy Baseball Team on Facebook and Instagram.
