The Emile Griffith Ballpark on St. Thomas was packed Wednesday with Little Leaguers anxious to hang out and improve their baseball skills from the pros — three scouts from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim major league baseball team.
This is the sixth year the Angels, in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation, have sponsored a series of workshops on St. Thomas and St. Croix for both older and younger players.
On Wednesday morning, the scouts — regulars Arnold Brathwaite, Ron Marigny and Kevin Ham — were up early, working on throwing, hitting and fielding drills with about 70 students who said they came out to pick up tips on how to be better infielders and outfielders.
Brathwaite, a St. Croix native, said the workshops this year were focused more on streamlining the players’ skills.
"Well, we talked to some of the local coaches, and we decided to focus more on specifics, more on pitching, more on catching and more on hitting," he said. "We just wanted to hit on more of the areas they wanted us to talk about."
The scouts will also be conducting tryouts for players 13 and up on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Lionel Roberts Stadium on St. Thomas. Brathwaite said the team has been tracking some local talent who could be poised to take the next step in their baseball careers.
The tryouts will move to St. Croix Friday at the D.C. Canegata Ballpark at 5 p.m. There will also be another instructional workshop for players ages 8-12 on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the D.C. Canegata softball field.
The youth baseball camps are free, but players between the ages of 8-12 must have a liability waiver signed by a parent or guardian in order to participate. For more information, call the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation at 774-0255 on St. Thomas, and 773-0160 on St. Croix.
