{"id":32783,"date":"2023-07-22T21:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-23T03:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/coaches-praise-format-of-connie-mack-world-series\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:02:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:02:31","slug":"coaches-praise-format-of-connie-mack-world-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/coaches-praise-format-of-connie-mack-world-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Coaches praise format of Connie Mack World Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Connie
Connie Mack World Series host team 505 Panthers pose for the camera during the parade on Friday in downtown Farmington. (Curtis Ray Benally\/Turkeyboy Photography)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

FARMINGTON \u2013 Coaches and officials representing the dozen teams that are competing in 2023 Connie Mack World Series have plenty of good things to say about the tournament.<\/p>\n

Shortly after teams arrived at the Farmington Civic Center from several points across North America on Thursday afternoon, coaches were quick to express the importance of the annual event, not just for the players on the field but also for the programs they represent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tournament itself is such a good thing for these kids to experience,\u201d said Si Pettrow, head coach of the Southern California Renegades. \u201cIt\u2019s like gaining a whole new family, and it\u2019s an experience a lot of these kids will never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pettrow should know. This year\u2019s tournament marks his 11th appearance as coach of the Renegades, who received an automatic berth to the CMWS along with the defending champion Midland Redskins, as well as the Dallas-based D-Bat United team, the Dulin Dodgers, last year\u2019s winners of the Don Mattingly World Series, and the local team, the 505 Panthers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a lot of these kids, it\u2019s a chance to play in front of the largest crowds they\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Pettrow said. \u201cAnd the way the town absolutely opens its doors for these teams is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pettrow said the CMWS, one of several national amateur baseball tournaments for players aged 18-and-younger is unique because of those relationships built over time.<\/p>\n

The Connie Mack World Series, considered by many to be the crown jewel of amateur baseball tournaments presented by the American Amateur Baseball Congress, is entering its 58th season in Farmington. In addition to the CMWS, the AABC hosts similar tournaments for other age groups ranging from the Pee Wee Reese World Series for ages 12-and-younger through the Stan Musial World Series for 19-and-older players which also is being held this week in Oklahoma City and Dallas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the real difference between this event and so many others, is the relationship the town has for the event,\u201d Pettrow said. \u201cThe competition is fierce, the teams are so evenly matched and the crowds are really into the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

D-Bat United coach Ryan Bonesio said the real difference between the CMWS and other national tournaments comes down to roster size and the way many teams have to win their way into the tournament.<\/p>\n

\"Dulin's
Dulin's Dodgers baseball players pose for the camera with Mack moments after they got off the bus and before they head into Farmington Civic Center for orientation, photos and food on Thursday. (Curtis Ray Benally\/Turkeyboy Photography)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Other than the teams which receive an automatic berth, teams win their way into the Connie Mack World Series by capturing one of several regional tournaments which are played across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other tournaments around the country that all have big names and they bring in a lot of teams,\u201d Bonesio said. \u201cBut this event is perfect because of the fact that you have to win with the players that got you here. Some of these other tournaments, you can add players at the last minute and you can have a pretty big roster. This one really holds coaches accountable for who you\u2019re playing and for how long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Members
Members of the Dallas Tigers make their way down Main Street in downtown Farmington during the Connie Mack World Series parade on Friday, July 21, 2023, which helped kick off tournament action which got underway Friday afternoon across Farmington.<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The CMWS, which opened with pool play games on Friday at Ricketts Park, as well as the Farmington Sports Complex and Worley Field, has been a long sought-after event for many coaches and their respective players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for a lot of these kids, it\u2019s the largest crowd they\u2019ll ever play in front of,\u201d said Gunner Glad, coach of the Tulsa Sandlot, winners of the Ozarks qualifier last month in Joplin, Missouri. \u201cThe fact that you have to win to be here really means a lot. Some of these other tournaments let a lot of teams in and I think it\u2019s more special to have a World Series where for the most part you have to qualify to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Albuquerque Baseball Academy, which received an automatic berth into the 2022 World Series, but were left off that list for this year\u2019s event, feels that requiring that edge to compete for a chance to play in the CMWS went a long way in encouraging his team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really the whole relationship this event has in partnership with all the other AABC tournaments that makes this one so special,\u201d said ABA head coach Tim Campos. \u201cThe AABC, with their history, makes it almost akin to the Little League World Series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campos said the relationship between the tournament and the city of Farmington was something he wanted to be a part of again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community making it such a special event is really what makes this tick,\u201d Campos said.<\/p>\n

For live score updates and news from the event, check out our online reports from the tournament itself through our website at tricityrecordnm.com<\/a>, or check out the official tournament website at CMWS.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

for bracket play after opening weekend of pool play games<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[2129,2127,799,28,2428],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-32783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-american-amatuer-baseball-congress","tag-connie-mack-world-series","tag-farmington","tag-headlines","tag-high-school-baseball"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32783"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81925,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32783\/revisions\/81925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32783"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=32783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}