The Melrose Messenger

Melrose Little League Opens a New Baseball Season

By Patrick DeVivo

On Saturday, April 5th, the Melrose Little League opened its 2025 season with its traditional parade and ceremony. Despite the wet weather, Little Leaguers and their coaches marched from City Hall to the Lewis Monk field on Tremont Street, where ceremonies were held to kick off the new season.

A special presentation honored Melrose resident Eric Doyle as the Melrose Little League Volunteer of the Year. The award was a recognition of Doyle’s dedication and extraordinary efforts in support of the league.

This year's season continues a long tradition of Little League Baseball in Melrose that reaches back to the 1950s. For most of that time, the city supported two leagues, the Melrose National League and the Churchill American League, the latter of which was named in 1993 after Phil Churchill, who was a coach and League board member for nearly 30 years. The two Leagues merged in 2016, forming The Melrose Little League.

The League is affiliated with Little League International. It competes to represent Massachusetts District 12 (including the Charleston, Dorchester, East Boston, Everett, Hill House, Mission Hill, Somerville, and South Boston Little Leagues) in the tournament that ultimately crowns a champion in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The city’s two primary ballparks are among the most admired in the region. The Lewis Monk field, or “The Monk,” is the city’s primary little league field, named in memory of two coaches, Don Lewis and Herb Monk, who tragically lost their lives in an automobile accident after attending a little league conference on Cape Cod in 1980. Morelli Field, located across the Fellsway from Lewis Monk, is a sought-after venue for high school, park league, and semi-professional baseball. The complex is named for Dr. Richard Morelli, a long-time supporter and benefactor of Melrose baseball.

According to current League president Nic Sarata, there will be nearly 350 Melrose Little Leaguers playing ball this year. The youngest players will be taught baseball fundamentals, and the older players will have the opportunity to perfect and develop those fundamentals at each program level:

• Tee Ball – ages 5-6
• Developmental Coach Pitch – ages 6-7
• Competitive Coach Pitch – ages 7-8
• Minors - ages 9-10
• Majors - ages 10-12
• Junior League – age 13
• Senior League – ages 14-16

At the early levels, players are introduced to the game. They begin pitching, subject to pitch count restrictions, when they reach the Minors. At the Junior and Senior League levels, players move from the little league diamond (60-foot basepaths, 40 feet from the pitcher's mound to home plate) to the standard baseball diamond (90-foot basepaths, 60 feet from the pitcher's mound to home plate).

The Junior and Senior League levels were recently added to the overall Little League program in place of Babe Ruth League baseball, a separate organization. According to Sarata, the hope is that adding Junior and Senior levels under the Little League umbrella will boost player development by providing one consistently taught approach to the game right up to high school.

The Little League season begins with practices during the chilly weeks of March, extends through the start of regular games in early April, and wraps up with the League playoffs and a championship series by the end of June. In addition to the spring season, Melrose participates in a summer Jimmy Fund Tournament with other cities and towns in Massachusetts Districts 12 and 13. Here, the emphasis is on fundraising for a worthy cause as well as competition. The League also offers fall ball for those who can’t get enough of the grand old game during the spring and summer months.

League coaches run the gamut from first-time coaches, who take on the role mostly out of a desire to be present for their kids, to experienced baseball coaches whose children have graduated from the program but continue to coach out of love for the game. All coaches have access to training on topics such as how to teach baseball fundamentals, how to run an effective team practice, and how to manage a team throughout a season. Coaches are expected to teach and exemplify respect for the game, fair play, and healthy competition.

The League would not function without the tireless efforts of a contingent of volunteers, like Eric Doyle, who handle assignments such as fundraising, player registration, community sponsors, equipment and field management, and umpire scheduling. Other volunteers assist at game time: preparing the field, laying down new baselines, cleaning up after each game, and running the concession hut during games.

To date, the Melrose Little League has not produced a major league baseball player, but it has introduced the game to scores of players over the years, allowing them to develop their baseball skills while teaching them important life skills and having fun at the same time. From his perspective as league president, Sarata believes Little League should be about passing on a love of the game. “It’s America’s pastime, he says, adding, “Who wouldn’t want to be out in the sun, playing ball and hitting a few dingers?”

More information about The Melrose Little League can be found on their website.

Posted April 14th, 2025