Cooperstown Baseball World

[Fireflyer38]

Just want to know if anyone has ever gone to Cooperstown Baseball World and how did they like it?

[JaxRolo]

Never heard of it!

[Majordave]

http://www.cooperstownbaseballworld.com/

 

Looks legit.

AND, its for older kids up to age 16!  More my style of baseball.

[Fireflyer38]

It is located in Allenwood NJ. You stay in college dorms at Oneonat'so College. That's got to be better then what you stay at in the dreams park.

[Majordave]

Umpire sign up form.

 

http://www.cooperstownbaseballworld.com/PDFS/umpire.pdf

 

Live in college dorms instead of a bunkhouse.  Hmmmmm

[Majordave]

It is actually at College of Oneonta in Oneonta, NY and some surrounding fields.  30 miles from Cooperstown itself.  Business HQ is in NJ.

[Fireflyer38]

You like that Major Dave lol

[mikemang7]

Just want to know if anyone has ever gone to Cooperstown Baseball World and how did they like it?

i bing going to cooperstown dream park for 10 years and have a great time . what week r u going to dream park

[Fireflyer38]

Went last year and will not be back. Very bad experience.

[Majordave]

@Fireflyer38

It is intriguing. Not gonna work this year for me.

Had a bad experience at CDP? Care to share?

[JaxRolo]

Went last year and will not be back. Very bad experience.

How so?

[Fireflyer38]

Just make a story short games got moved around because they were calling for rain on Tuesday and Wednesday so the boys played 6 games in 48 hours. The schedule for the umpires was all screwed up. Umpires were getting so pissed by the way they were treated some of them left early so it put more on the umpires that stayed. Not to say we only had 80 umpires that week to start. No one played on Wednesday so EVERYONE coaches, kids, and parents went to the Hall of Fame. Can you say it was packed. If the team that went with didn't stay to the end I would have left early also. I worn my jacket for one game when it was drizzling and then put it in the laundry. It came out ripped and now is right below my elbow. Enough said I will not go back there.

[MadMax]

Okay, investigating into this further...

 

There are three (3) Baseball Experiences in-and-around the Cooperstown area:

 

3) Cooperstown All-Star Village - Established in 1999, it is for 12U and 10U baseball, it features 9 fields of various layouts and grass / FieldTurf types. Oddly, the field numbering starts at #28. Once you read below, you'll see why. Teams compete in a tournament -style bracket, receive awards, exchange pins and get a Week ring. Umpires are invited and encouraged to serve for a week, housed and hosted on-campus with all the expected amenities.
Where? On NY-Hwy 23, just northwest of Oneonta, NY.

 

2) Cooperstown Baseball World - Established in 1998, it is for 16U, 15U, 14U, 13U & 12U baseball, utilizing 8 fields located around the Oneonta city limits and on the SUNY-Oneonta (the university) campus. Teams are housed and are encouraged to enjoy the "college life" in college dorms and college facilities. Umpires are expected to be sponsored by a team; if a team doesn't bring an umpire, they are imposed with a $850 fee.
Where? On the State University of New York – Oneonta campus.

 

and the "granddaddy of them all"...

 

1) Cooperstown Dreams Park - Established in 1996, it is for 12U baseball (solely; used to be 10U as well until that differentiation was eliminated around 2002(?)), and hosts 104 teams per week over the course of 13 weeks. The teams play a tournament -style bracket, where each team is guaranteed 7 games. 21 of the 22 fields are identical (the 22nd, Number 3, is the showcase field and is for the Honorary Events and Championship game), and are all-grass, lit, and keep the focus on the players (as in, the teams' respective fans don't intermingle, don't sit behind the backstop, don't sit near the dugout, etc.) Where most of these kids could easily play on larger dimensions, the field dimensions encourage offense, with no batters' boxes, no bat restrictions (other than "no wood"), no pitching restrictions, and only 200' fences. It is primarily OBR, with a few safety modifications (no head-first slide at home, etc.) and a bat-em-all continuous batting order using EH's. The facilities are more like a traditional summer camp. Each player is inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame, complete with uniforms, awards, Ring, baseball trading cards, pins, etc. Umpires are invited and encouraged to serve for a week, representing a team. The team either brings or sponsors that umpire. The umpires live in their own bunkhouses among the ballplayers' bunkhouses (separate, but together) to emphasize that we all are a part of baseball, and that if you respect the game, you respect each other, and vice versa.

Where? On NY-Hwy 28, approximately 9 miles south of Cooperstown proper, in the community of Hartwick.

 

Contrary to what you might think, Cooperstown (more to the point, the Hall of Fame itself) doesn't exactly relish having these baseball experiences in such close proximity year after year. The sheer volume of people descending upon the region for these baseball experiences puts a strain on the heavily regulated hospitalities in the region, and overwhelms the services. What spaces would otherwise be hosting tourists, there for the enjoyment of Lake Otsego, or wine tasting, or American history, or the HoF, are taken by families locked into going to watch their children play ball at the nearby, but outside of town, venues.

[Majordave]

Great job Max.

[JaxRolo]

Okay, investigating into this further...

There are three (3) Baseball Experiences in-and-around the Cooperstown area:

3) Cooperstown All-Star Village - Established in 1999, it is for 12U and 10U baseball, it features 9 fields of various layouts and grass / FieldTurf types. Oddly, the field numbering starts at #28. Once you read below, you'll see why. Teams compete in a tournament -style bracket, receive awards, exchange pins and get a Week ring. Umpires are invited and encouraged to serve for a week, housed and hosted on-campus with all the expected amenities.

Where? On NY-Hwy 23, just northwest of Oneonta, NY.

2) Cooperstown Baseball World - Established in 1998, it is for 16U, 15U, 14U, 13U & 12U baseball, utilizing 8 fields located around the Oneonta city limits and on the SUNY-Oneonta (the university) campus. Teams are housed and are encouraged to enjoy the "college life" in college dorms and college facilities. Umpires are expected to be sponsored by a team; if a team doesn't bring an umpire, they are imposed with a $850 fee.

Where? On the State University of New York – Oneonta campus.

and the "granddaddy of them all"...

1) Cooperstown Dreams Park - Established in 1996, it is for 12U baseball (solely; used to be 10U as well until that differentiation was eliminated around 2002(?)), and hosts 104 teams per week over the course of 13 weeks. The teams play a tournament -style bracket, where each team is guaranteed 7 games. 21 of the 22 fields are identical (the 22nd, Number 3, is the showcase field and is for the Honorary Events and Championship game), and are all-grass, lit, and keep the focus on the players (as in, the teams' respective fans don't intermingle, don't sit behind the backstop, don't sit near the dugout, etc.) Where most of these kids could easily play on larger dimensions, the field dimensions encourage offense, with no batters' boxes, no bat restrictions (other than "no wood"), no pitching restrictions, and only 200' fences. It is primarily OBR, with a few safety modifications (no head-first slide at home, etc.) and a bat-em-all continuous batting order using EH's. The facilities are more like a traditional summer camp. Each player is inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame, complete with uniforms, awards, Ring, baseball trading cards, pins, etc. Umpires are invited and encouraged to serve for a week, representing a team. The team either brings or sponsors that umpire. The umpires live in their own bunkhouses among the ballplayers' bunkhouses (separate, but together) to emphasize that we all are a part of baseball, and that if you respect the game, you respect each other, and vice versa.

Where? On NY-Hwy 28, approximately 9 miles south of Cooperstown proper, in the community of Hartwick.

Contrary to what you might think, Cooperstown (more to the point, the Hall of Fame itself) doesn't exactly relish having these baseball experiences in such close proximity year after year. The sheer volume of people descending upon the region for these baseball experiences puts a strain on the heavily regulated hospitalities in the region, and overwhelms the services. What spaces would otherwise be hosting tourists, there for the enjoyment of Lake Otsego, or wine tasting, or American history, or the HoF, are taken by families locked into going to watch their children play ball at the nearby, but outside of town, venues.

Just so you know my first year there was 2009 I believe. They had 10u that year. I don't remember 10u after that.

[Umpirechick1]

I've been to Baseball World (as well as CDP) for the past 2 years and Deb, who is in charge, is great! Yes, it's on the college campus and the boys stay in dorms and so do the umpires. Shuttle buses take you where you need to go. Fields are beautiful and built up the mountain. 12u has 3 fields, the older boys use the college field as well as a few fields in town. You eat in the college dining area. It's a smaller group - 12 teams - so it's perfect for teams who want the Cooperstown experience but maybe can't compete with the big, big teams that end up in championships at CDP. I couldn't have asked for a better experience than what I had at Baseball World. The team I first went with went there after they couldn't get into CDP and they were very happy. It's great that the older boys can go back. I love CDP as well.

I guess there is a reason there is more than one place to play - not everyone wants the big experience (or can't get in). It's a beautiful area in Oneonta.

[Mick]

Max- Thanks for the great research effort.  How about Doubleday Field, though?  My son got a chance to play there in '98 or '99.

[MadMax]

@Mick... Doubleday Field is run on its own schedule as part of what must be the Cooperstown Parks & Recreation department (or equivalent). Up until last year, it was home to the Cooperstown Hawkeyes, a PGCBL team. It also hosts American Legion league games and one-off amateur games. Occasionally, it will host a pro-league game as part of an honorary "Classic", but with only around 9,500 seats and no lights, and professional sports trying to squeeze every dollar out of every event, these games are rare.

 

With the animosity between the Cooperstown Village Board and the "big three" baseball experiences, it would be next-to-impossible for Doubleday Field to be used by one of them for games.

 

Your son likely got an opportunity through one of the other channels, or through a Perfect Game -affiliated route, or American Legion route. There are tournaments, independent of the Three Baseball Experiences, that host short (1-week or less) tournaments in the Cooperstown city limits, with the bulk of their games conducted at nearby Clarke Sports Complex (where the actual HoF Induction Ceremony is held). During these tournaments, use of Doubleday Field is a welcome reward, provided it fits in the already booked schedule for the park.

[Mick]

Yeah, it probably was an American Legion thing.  My son pitched one inning.  I think I'll go to the "Funny Stories" page and give the details.