Young, mostly 8-year-old female softball players are challenging professional baseball players and some college players to bring gloves and bats 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18, to the first Pros vs. Girls Charity Softball Game at Birdie Tebbetts Field, 62nd Street and Flotilla Drive, Holmes Beach.
The event features a softball game between the Manatee Twisters 8-and-under team, current and former university softball players and major league professionals, including Jose Bautista, two-time American League homerun champion of the Toronto Blue Jays; Marco Scutaro, a multi-position player with Colorado Rockies; and Jose Tabata, an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
All proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Women’s Resource Center of Manatee, 1926 Manatee Ave. W, Bradenton, and the Manatee Twisters.
The center is a resource for women who may be unable to afford help but don’t qualify for assistance, yet still need a lawyer, counseling, shelter, job, interview or appropriate work clothing.
The Twisters are a competitive traveling girls softball within the Manatee Girls Softball organization.
“We want to teach the girls to give back,” said Karen Abel, mother of one of the Twisters. “And how to bring what you learn on the field, off (the field).
“That’s what sports are all about — dedication, perseverance, camaraderie, sportsmanship and focus,” Abel said.
With this fundraiser, “we thought, what could be better than teaching our girls how women can help women.”
Abel said the idea developed out of discussions on tournament travel costs and fundraising.
She and some other parents of players on the team shared some connections to Major League Baseball. And as the MLB players are about to head into spring training, they found some were already arriving in Florida while others live here, she said. The timing was right.
Plus, her daughter’s favorite player is Marco Scutaro. “She even has his glove,” Abel said.
So Abel made the connections and is in the process of arranging the event details, including field scheduling and insurance.
“The mayor has approved everything,” she said. The police said they would be happy to work with us if there becomes a need for extra law enforcement, she said.
Abel has gathered sponsors from throughout the community, including the Sandbar and BridgeTender restaurants, Anna Maria Flip Flop Candy Shop, Island Real Estate, Pine Avenue Restoration, Body & Soul and “more to come,” she said.
A silent auction will precede the game. A homerun contest will be featured between innings. Pulled pork, peanuts, popcorn and cold drinks will be offered for sale. And a mascot from the Bradenton Marauders will be on hand for the festivities.
The event comes at a time when Birdie Tebbetts Field is used more by dog owners to exercise their pets than by baseball or other sports enthusiasts. It’s been more than three years since an organized baseball team used the field.
“It’s a dog-friendly event. It’s a family event,” Abel said, adding “dogs are part of people’s families.”