Giants

Our League President, Ron Matthews, explains the Matteucci and Wootten Awards.

THE MATTEUCCI AWARD Bill Matteucci coached in the early 2000’s here in Alameda Little League and was a hard working Board Member as well. Bill was always a hoot, full of laughter and good, clean, honest friendliness. He loved the kids, all of them, from opponent teams as well. He would do anything for the League and always rolled up his sleeves to pitch in where needed. But most of all, on the field he NEVER argued, yelled, or showed anyone emotion that was negative. Yes, umpires then were like the ones today in Little League, very human. He saw that and knew the bigger picture in life was what we were there to teach the kids. His teams would never be in the cellar, nor would they be on the top, but they were always out there to have FUN and still compete. Bill was the embodiment of good sportsmanship and integrity during his short life, and our League learned a lot from him, which is why we have named this prestigious award after him. The Matteucci Award is given to the Manager of each Baseball Division voted by fellow Managers to exemplify the good sportsmanship and integrity that we seek to teach our youth in Alameda Little League. It is the highest honor a Manager in Alameda Little League can receive from the League.

THE WOOTTEN AWARD Whitey and Alice Wootten started going to baseball games at Krusi Park in the late 1970’s. Whitey was about 60 years old at the time. They didn’t have any kids or grandkids in the program. They just loved baseball and cheered good plays. They didn’t care who won. They cheered for all of the players. In December 1984, Whitey died. To honor his memory, his wife Alice donated money to both Little League and Babe Ruth to establish sportsmanship awards. This award is given to players on each team in Alameda Little League and Alameda Babe Ruth who show leadership through good sportsmanship on and off the field. This award is the highest honor a player can receive from the League.

Diamond Skills Camps is offering 10 weeks of summer camps hosted at the Little League fields. Camps start on June 10 and run through August 23.  

Alameda Little League endorses the Diamond Skills Camps that are run by Neptune Beach Pearl at our Little League fields. These are former Alameda Little Leaguers who have come back to Little League and offer excellent clinics designed to make our players better during the summer months. No other clinics in Alameda are endorsed by Alameda Little League, nor do they contribute to us. You can find more information and register at www.diamondskillscamp.com If you sign up for a clinic please sign up for these to benefit Alameda Little League!

Click here for the Diamond Skills Flyer

Icon Pros Game Day Images are available on-line until May 26. Click the link above or type www.iconpros.com into the URL path of a browser. I understand that uploading is in process so it may take until later today for your child's image to appear on the site. Click here for more information: Icon Pros Flyer

We regret to inform you of the sudden passing of one of our Little League coaches on Tuesday. Craig Wolff was a coach for three seasons in Farm Division and this year was a coach of the Single A-Lugnuts. In addition to being a doting father and devoted husband, Craig was a first year doctoral student at Cal Berkeley and a researcher, scientist and environmental engineer for the public health industry. Craig enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid cyclist. Craig is survived by his wife Sonia Urzua and his three children: Clarisa, Sebastian and David.

To honor Craig's memory, Alameda Little League held a silent reflection period before the Lugnuts game at Rittler Field at 11:25am on Saturday, May 11 for anyone who wanted to join. Over 300 attended, including all teams from games at that game time.

A scholarship fund has been set up for Craig's children at Wells Fargo Bank: Acct Name: Sonia Urzua Acct #5207-822213 or donations may be made to AIDS/Life-Cycle in Craig's Wolff's name. Alameda Little League is contributing $500 to the scholarship fund. Please join the League in recognizing this loss in our community.

The Board of Directors recently approved the funds to widen and improve two batting cages for both functional and safety reasons. Our President looked at bids from vendors and decided that it was too costly, so he and our Independent Contractor John Peralta tackled the immense job by themselves, saving an estimated $7,000-$8,000 in costs. The cage nearest our Snack Bar is almost complete and teams are excited to use it. The final touches will be a synthetic turf surface and netting. The batting cage in the left-center field bull pen area of the Major Field will begin the same construction process as soon as this season ends. We do it for the kids!!