Hello Buddy Baseball Fans,
It has been a great season! It always goes by so quickly. Thanks to all of our buddies, coaches, volunteers and sponsors for their support in making the season a success.
Thanks to Tampa Bay Rays radio broadcaster Dave Wills for coming out to announce a game for us this season. It's always a pleasure to have Dave come out to the games.
Registration is open for our Spring 2020 season on our website. The next season will start on Saturday, February 22, 2020 and go until April 4, 2020.
Our new all accessible field is nearing completion and we expect it to be ready for play for our Spring season.
Have a nice Thanksgiving and a great holiday season.
Russ Oberbroeckling
Executive Director
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There is still time to register for our 9th Annual Buddy Run on November 17th at Lake Park in Lutz on North Dale Mabry. There will be a 5K Race, a 1 Mile Fun Run and a Buddy Dash for our runners with special needs.
Click on the link for all the information and to register.
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| Tampa Bay Rays radio broadcaster Dave Wills and Buddy Baseball announcer Grant Butts (G-Man) announcing the Jaguars vs. Bombers game. |
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Player Spotlight
Divyesh Jain
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Divyesh Jain
Divyesh is a long time player in the league. He is 18 years old and attends Invictus Academy. He loves music and his favorite musical group is Imagine Dragons. His favorite breakfast is pancakes and his favorite subject in school is math. If he had $1000 he would buy Disney tickets.
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Buddy Spotlight
Haylie Seilheimer
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Haylie Seilheimer
Haylie is in her fifth season of Buddy Baseball. She attends Freedom High School and will turn 17 this month. She has
two dogs named Sadie and Elsie. Her favorite TV show is Grey's Anatomy and her special talent is tumbling. Haylie's favorite restaurant is Olive Garden and her favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip.
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Rookie Spotlight
Alejandra Mejia
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Alejandra Mejia
This is Alejandra's rookie season with Buddy Baseball. She is 14 years old and attends Pepin Academies. She likes to sing and dance and her favorite subjects in school are music and art. Her special talent is design and when she grows up she wants to be a fashion designer. If she would be famous it would be for being on a magazine cover.
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C
oach Spotlight
Mike Guzman
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Mike Guzman
Mike was
born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but has called Florida home for 31 years. He is married to Erica and they have three children, Ariana, Alex and Evan. Mike is a Marine Corps veteran, but now works as a Staff Arbitrator for Arbitration Forums Inc. He is a huge baseball fan and he plays in many softball leagues and tournaments.
Mike has been attending Buddy Baseball games watching Alex play for five years and has been a coach for three seasons. "I am very grateful for Buddy Baseball and the opportunity it gives children with special needs. I look forward to enjoying many more years of Buddy Baseball with my family and the many new friends made while being a part of Buddy Baseball."
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Volunteer Spotlight
Glenn Yancey
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Glenn Yancey
Glenn is one of our game day volunteers, helping set up, taking care of things throughout the day and then breaking down after the last game. Glenn is from North Carolina, but originally his family is from South Texas. He has been in Florida since 2013. Glenn loves to cook, photography and traveling. He has a hefty kitty named Fizbo
who enjoys chasing lizards and playing with his catnip toys. Glenn's favorite food is Texan Fajitas and favorite movie is Groundhog Day. His favorite musical artist is the Beatles. Fun fact: Glenn runs a cooking club at his synagogue called the Txoko, based on family experiences in Spain and Portugal.
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Parent Spotlight
Kris and Rich Henning
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Kris and Rich Henning
Kris and Rich have been with Buddy Baseball with their son Alex (age 21) since the spring of 2010. They have been married for 23 years.
Kris was a Navy brat who lived all over, her family is from Chattanooga TN. Rich grew up in suburban Chicago.
Rich is the Flight Director with the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (better known as the NOAA Hurricane Hunters) Rich's hobbies include running and surfing. Kris likes to crochet, Florida-friendly gardening and health and fitness. They have two cats.
Alex is their only child together, Rich has a 30 year old son, Austin from a previous marriage who graduated from the University of Miami Law School and works with a law firm in Tampa.
A favorite Buddy Baseball memory is when Sarah Otteson was Alex's coach. She had a bunch of friends from USF come and cheer at their games and one of her friends made a Sponge Bob Square Pants sign that says, "One Two Three...POW!!!!" (after hearing Rich say that 100 times as an announcer)
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Sponsor Spotlight
The Fat Rabbit
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The Fat Rabbit is a locally owned neighborhood restaurant / pub founded in 2016 and located in the Tampa Palms Publix Plaza. The owners are long time New Tampa residents and wanted to create a place in their neighborhood to relax with friends and enjoy the simple things that seemed to have been forgotten at the larger establishments - a comfortable vibe, friendly staff, fresh wings, burgers, hand crafted cocktails and a great cold beer. The Fat Rabbit is proud to be a part of New Tampa and is incredibly proud and honored to be a part of Buddy Baseball!
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Follow us on our social media accounts and tag us in your photos. The best photo at the end of the season will win a prize.
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When shopping on line this holiday season, consider using Amazon Smile. A portion of the the sale will be donated back to Buddy Baseball at no extra cost to you. Just use https://smile.amazon.com/, select Buddy Baseball as the organization that you are supporting the next time you are shopping on Amazon. Thanks!
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A baseball pitcher's curveball can break from seven to as much as 20 inches
in comparison to the same pitcher's fastball.
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Until next time... PLAY BALL!!
Russ Oberbroeckling
Executive Director
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