Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Big Week for Wilshire Baseball Playoffs

A recent Tigers vs Athletics game with Nina Adams hitting a single to right field, Ben Satzman pitching.

This week marks the start of the Wilshire Sports Association playoff baseball season. There are six teams in the Majors, made up of 11 and 12 year-old boys and girls from the area: the Angels, Rangers,  Tigers,  Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Athletics. Kids and parents alike are pretty excited about the showdown this week on the field.

Coach David Adams has been coaching in the league since his son started T-ball, and was Commissioner last year, but passed it to George Philips so there wouldn’t be a conflict of interest with his coaching. “Every year I laugh at how competitive all the coaches get about the league when it comes to playoffs,” Adams shared with the Buzz. ” E-mails start flying around clarifying rules, some coaches try and put ringers on their teams at the last minute, tempers start to flair and everyone’s blood pressure goes through the roof.”  Sure, he laughs at it but we hear he’s as guilty as the next and takes these playoffs seriously. So does Coach David Gasperik of the Angels who let the Buzz know his team is among the best going into the playoffs. All six Major teams get into the playoffs which is a double-elimination format, meaning a team is allowed two losses before elimination. This is said to help prove the championship team is indeed the best team in the league. Each team is also required to have multiple pitchers so one dominant pitcher cannot win the championship alone.

While Wilshire Baseball teams are open to girls and boys alike, there are only four girls Nina Adams (Tigers), Izzy Garvey (Tigers), Isabelle Williams (Rangers) and Emma Yood-Howard (Blue Jays) who currently play in the Majors (12 and under.)  Emma’s younger sister Ava Yood-Howard is the only girl in Minors A (10 and under) and one of the best players in the league. There are also Minors B (10 and under), Rookies, and T-ball teams.

Wilshire Baseball has a fine tradition of teaching baseball fundamentals and sportsmanship to neighborhood kids dating back some 50 years.  Currently there are more than 400 kids playing in the 5 divisions starting with T-ball. The big payoff? Your team and coach get their names on the trophy that has been circulating since 1982. Adams knows his own father’s name is on the trophy – and would really like to get his own on there too. We’ll just have to see if his team can deliver.

The playoffs continue through the week at Pan Pacific Park. Get out and see some Wilshire action. For game times and dates, see the schedules below:

Majors Playoffs:

Minors A Team Playoffs:

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Julie Grist
Julie Grist
Julie co-founded the Larchmont Buzz with fellow buzzer Mary Hawley in 2011 and served as Editor, Publisher and writer for the hive for many years until the sale of the Buzz in August 2015. She is still circling the hive as an occasional writer.

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