State representative Jeff Berger stepped to the podium during opening ceremonies for the Mickey Mantle World Series and described the newly refurbished Municipal Stadium with one word: “Wow.” (Joe Palladino/RA)
By JOE PALLADINO
WATERBURY — Politicians are not known for brevity, but we must concede that state representative Jeffrey Berger said it all Wednesday night when he stepped to the podium, spread his arms wide and shouted: “Wow.”
Wow was the word, Jeff, and the only word that was needed.
The 2016 Mickey Mantle World Series has left the talking and planing stages and has finally reached the playing stage. All we needed was one day of baseball to see that these are the next wave of stars and major leaguers. As American Amateur Baseball Congress president Richard Neely said, the AABC is “the leader and the premier organization” that sends players to the major leagues, “and we have just passed 792 players.”
Know this: There are future big leaguers here.
But back to Berger. That AABC big league total did not elicit the wow. It was the place, Municipal Stadium, or as former Waterbury Republican sports writer Bob Palmer Jr. used to call it, “The big ball park on Watertown Avenue.”
The place was all fancied out, with a VIP tent, with Crosseyed Cat playing Delta Blues, Waterbury’s Police Pipe and Drums stirring the soul, and a drone flying overhead filming the entire event.
The city turned out, too. The crowd was a tad slim for the opening ceremony, but by the time they put a ball in play there were more than 1,000 fans in the stands.
It was Time-Warp Wednesday. The ball cracked off the bat, the crowd roared, the stands were full, the lights shone bright, and you wanted to turn to someone and say, “Is this Waterbury from the 1970s?”
No, but it was real close.
“I am thrilled that it is back here,” said Don Ensero, who was one of the key committee members who helped bring the Mantle World Series to Waterbury for the first time, 32 years ago.
The Series left after nine seasons here, and over time, the Stadium went from vibrant “big ball park” to rusted relic.
The efforts of Tony Santoro and Ray Brown, president and vice president of the Connecticut Amateur Baseball Congress, to get the Series back in town after nearly a quarter-century’s absence, had no hope of happening until the Stadium was a stadium again.
And it finally is again. Pressure was ceaseless on Neary to keep the event in town, and Ensero agreed.
“It should have been here all along,” he said.
The Stadium is a wow again, as Berger said, and bless his heart, he brought in the money from Hartford — and pledged that there is more coming — to complete the job and build a clubhouse with locker rooms, offices, training rooms and rest facilities.
And make no mistake, this isn’t just about baseball. This is about the revitalization of the city.
“The World Series brought a lot of pride to the city,” Ensero said. “Back in that time, you could see by my shirt, we were up on Waterbury,” he said, pointing out his vintage Mantle shirt.
“That was the slogan. Things were on the upscale at the time,” Ensero added, “and it looks like the same thing is happening now. A lot of good things are happening, and I am sure the tournament will be here for quite a few years to come.”
Like Berger said: Wow.