Local Baseball Team Wins Babe Ruth World Series in Ohio

Blake Gailen was driving his car Monday night when the thought came to him that he just couldn’t believe what had happened to him just two days before.

Last Saturday, about 2,000 miles away in Newark, Ohio, the North San Gabriel Valley All-Star baseball team defeated the team from Worchester, Mass., 8-2, to win its sixth Babe Ruth World Series title at the 16- to 18-year-old level.

Gailen, who plays for the Glendale Community College Vaqueros baseball team, was the winning pitcher for the North San Gabriel Valley squad.

“The feeling of winning the World Series is just indescribable,” Gailen said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I think about it every half-hour and it just keeps getting cooler.”

North San Gabriel Valley had come a long way to win the title. The team first had to capture the regional and state championships before making the trek to play in the Babe Ruth Baseball National Complex at Don Edwards Park in Newark.

“We felt we could win the series coming in,” Gailen said. “We play different from teams from other areas. California baseball is hard-nosed baseball. We weren’t timid about being in the World Series like the other teams. The other teams seemed almost too nice. We didn’t worry about doing things ‘correctly’ on the field because we were there to win.”

That is not to say that the NSGV team didn’t come up against some tough competition; it did, first in pool play and then in bracket play.

“We experienced the moment of truth against Mineral Area (bracket game last Friday). They scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Were we going to come back from a 3-0 deficit right from the start? We did come back and eventually won the game,” said Gailen, who is the grandson of La Crescenta resident Aleda Cowan.

Another important moment came for the All Stars in a pool play contest against Mineral Area. The locals were leading 3-2, but the opposing team had the tying run on second base. Relief pitcher Trevor Bell, a senior at Crescenta Valley High, picked off the runner.

“He was the tying run when Trevor did that. That was really big for us,” said Gailen.

The All Stars finished with a 5-1 mark in World Series play. Their only loss was a 3-1 defeat by Worchester, the New England Regional winner, in the final pool play contest.

“We had already won the top seed in bracket play. We still wanted to win the game, but it was a rest day for us to get ready for the bracket games. We just had an off day,” Gailen said.

In the first bracket game, Mineral Area took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The All Stars came back with single runs in the bottom of the first and the third inning. NSGV scored two runs in the fourth to go ahead, 4-3. They added two insurance runs in fifth and four in the sixth to win, 10-3.

Bill Spottiswood won the game for the All Stars. He received solid hitting and error-free ball from his teammates. Included in the locals’ eight hits were a two-run home run by Bell, a solo blast by Brian Farris, a student at St. Francis High, and a double by Gailen.

In the championship against Worchester on Saturday, NSGV scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and added two more in the third inning. Worchester responded with two runs in the fifth inning, but the All Stars retaliated with four runs in the sixth inning to win, 8-2.

Gailen started for the locals and went five innings. He picked up the victory to finish 2-0 in World Series play. Gailen, Bell, Joe Billheimer and Spottiswood each had two hits for the All Stars, including a homer by Spottiswood.

Several NSGV players were named to tournament teams after completion of the World Series. Selected for the All-Tournament Team were Bell in the outfield position, Scott Hodsdon at shortstop, Billheimer at catcher, Spottiswood at pitcher and Johnny Soberal at the utility position.

All-Defensive Team picks included Gailen at pitcher and Mike Farris at third base.

“Pitching is my main position, but I also play the outfield and can bat. I went 6-for-14 in the series with a couple of sacrifice flies and walks. I am going to major in communications in college, but I want baseball to be my career,” said Gailen.

“The scouts won’t be looking at somebody like me because I’m too short and I don’t throw the ball very hard. But, I apply myself and I try to get guys out. You can’t ask for anything more than that,” he said.

Gailen said that one of the big things that helped the team win the World Series was that they played so well together. “This team really had chemistry. We all clicked right away,” he said. “We all liked each other, We ate together, we hung around together, we did everything together.

“I noticed the difference when we took the field against the other teams. We played to win, but we were having fun doing it. They all took playing in the World Series too seriously.”

Gailen said the All Stars had nothing but praise for their coach, Phil Torres, who coaches baseball at Crescenta Valley High. “He’s a good coach and a no nonsense kind of guy. If the game plan calls for a bunt, that’s what we’ll do, no matter what. He does what has to be done to win,” Gailen said.

This is the first time Gailen played in a World Series. “I played in the Pony League. I started in Shetland and worked my way up. I want to transfer to a Division I school eventually and hope that I’ll get drafted.

“Right now I am paying for my uniforms and equipment. I want to play someplace where people pay me to play baseball. All I want is a chance to prove myself and I don’t care where I have to play. All I want is a bus ticket and a chance,” Gailen said.