The 2024 edition of GHTBL’s double-elimination Playoff Tournament is set to start on Monday, August 12, 2024.
Two playing sites, Palmer Field in Middletown and McKenna Field in East Hartford, will host all teams in what could be a 14-game or 15-game tournament. Here is the current bracket as it stands now:
On Thursday, May 23, 2024, the GHTBL Regular Season will begin. Managers and players alike are itching to reunite with teammates at Connecticut’s top venues. Ranging from Palmer Field in Middletown to historic Muzzy Field in Bristol, the league has spared no expense in organizing top-notch baseball action at a semi-professional caliber. With the start of a new season, one question lingers: can anyone down the East Hartford Jets and stop them from winning a fifth consecutive Playoff Championship?
All eight returning clubs have been busy this offseason improving rosters and preparing to compete for both the Regular Season Title and Playoff Championship. It’s the opinion of this author that a pennant-winning club will require a combination of established veterans and young talent. Game one of Opening Day will feature the South Windsor Phillies against the Vernon Orioles at 6:00 PM McCoy Field in Vernon. Undoubtedly, the game will be witnessed by the home team’s “Left Field Legion” of diehard fans.
The Vernon O’s, one of last year’s Regular Season co-champions, welcome the return of their offensive stars, especially 2023 GHTBL home run leader Peter Kelley. The Trubia brothers are back again. So is the O’s best all-around player and former minor leaguer, Jimmy Titus. The O’s will also feature Eastern Connecticut State University prospects, Alejandro Soriano and Hank Penders, in their second twi-loop campaign. Manager Jack Ceppetelli has headed the Orioles since 2002. Steve Krajewski, a former O’s skipper, is the current General Manager, while Kevin Powell serves as an Assistant GM and Bench Coach.
Manager Ron Pizzanello and his South Windsor Phillies seek to take down the O’s in game one, though Vernon is tough place to win. The Phillies are headlined by moundsmen Luke Mathewson and Trevor Moulton as well as longtime outfielder Jack Petrozza. Successful newcomers from last season, Justin Oquendo and Javier Irizarry, are returning for their second year. A rookie addition to South Windsor is Kaden Murphy, a pitcher from University of Saint Joseph. Gary Burnham Jr. has stayed aboard as General Manager and hitting guru.
That same Thursday night the Record-Journal Expos will travel to McKenna Field to face the East Hartford Jets, and over in Manchester at Northwest Park, the Bristol Greeners look to steal an early win against Rainbow Graphics. Both games begin at 7:00 PM.
The Jets hope to continue their dynasty with infielders Corey Plasky and Jeff Criscuolo, who have been as lineup linchpins in on both sides of the ball. Plasky earned the Most Valuable Playoff Batter award back in August of ’23. Criscuolo will reprise his role as player-manager and Chris Kehoe, who’s been a part of the Jets since 1991, remains General Manager.
Major contributors of East Hartford’s dynasty-run have been Jimmy Schult and Taylor Kosakowski. Both men have signaled their retirement from the league or at least a role reduction. Schult played 5 GHTBL seasons as two-way all-star solely for the Jets and was probably their best all-around player. Kosakowski started his twilight career in 2007 and won 2 Regular Season titles and 7 Playoff championships.
East Hartford’s opening day opponent, the Record-Journal Expos, expect to play spoilers with an experience pitching rotation. This consists of 2023 innings leader JD Tyler, their former player-manager Charlie Hesseltine, and AJ Hendrickson, their current player-manager who’s planning a return to the mound after being injured last year. Other returners are: Kyle Hartenstein, Ben Schulz, Max Giacco, Hector Gonzalez and Jason Sullivan.
Over in Bristol, the Greeners are improving. Manager Trevor Mays has established a core of younger players and new recruits. Veteran Greeners include Jon Pierce at first base, AJ Lorenzetti in the outfield, and Trevor Nohilly and Kenny Knox on the mound. New Greeners include Eric Corhouse and Jacoby Banks. Bristol’s home ballpark at Muzzy Field is both a fan and player favorite, hosting some of the largest turnouts of the Regular Season.
Heading east of the Connecticut River, the Rainbow Graphics are formidable both offensively and defensively. Tyler Repoli, Most Valuable Player of ’23, leads the offensive charge for the Graphics. Their pitching staff is headed by veterans Evan Chamberlain and Travis Salois. With a recent Liberty League championship at Ithaca College under his belt, twi-loop sophomore John Griffin is expected to pitch at an even higher level than last season. Outfielders Mark DiTomasso and Eric Brainard are planning comeback seasons with Rainbow in ’24.
M&T Bank, last season’s postseason runner-up, wants to end this summer with some hardware. They start on May 31, 2024, armed with a dominant pitching staff, including the likes of Brandon Fry, Camden Murphy, and Matt Smith. Line drive-hitting outfielder Shaun Callahan is coming off of a recent NE10 Conference Championship with the University of New Haven. Manager Tom Abbruzzese is set to guide his team in his 49th season coaching the “Bankers” franchise. New additions include Gianni Zarrilli Jr. and Tim Pfaffenbichler.
With far less experience in the league, the Middletown Mets are seeking to improve upon their inaugural campaign. The Mets offense features two impressive GHTBL sophomores, 2023 Rookie of the Year Will Kleinhenz and Albertus Magnus graduate Ron Losacano. With a bolstered pitching staff and mainstays like Alex Koletar and side-armer Dan Livingston, the Mets seek to cause problems for opposing clubs. Livingston has pitched in the GHTBL for the last 25 years.
The 2024 Regular Season will conclude with the Stadium Series 4 Food Banks at Dunkin’ Park. On August 1 and 2, all eight clubs will play at Connecticut’s signature minor league ballpark. Proceeds from theses games will be donated to support a local food bank designated by each GHTBL team. $830 has been raised (most contributors have come from Vernon’s “Left Field Legion”) Visit the donation page here: https://givebutter.com/ss4fb
Thank you to the fans, sponsors, players, managers, and families who support the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League. With your continued support, the summer of ’24 will be special.
Thanks for voting and we’ll see you at the park! …Especially Aug 1 & Aug 2 at Dunkin Park.
Let’s enjoy the competitive baseball, and a great start to the summer.
With summer around the corner, the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League is gearing up for our next Opening Day. Though an exact date has yet to be determined, you can expect more announcements as the schedule unfolds. Eight GHTBL franchises will return to action around late May of this year. The 2024 Regular Season should include another charity series at Dunkin’ Park. Each team will fundraise for a different food bank around the state. Read more about this effort called Stadium Series 4 Food Banks at Dunkin’ Park: Givebutter.com/ss4fb (more to come on this).
The twilight league continues to present a uniquely competitive experience for players of all ages. A mix of young and old teammates – local amateurs, college players, high school prospects, and ex-professionals – have developed talent, camaraderie and lifelong friendships. Deep into each season, teams seem to melt together in one way or another in pursuit of a common goal. To describe the GHTBL, one might say we’re a meritocracy operated by a large group of friends with help from umpires.
Maybe that’s why GHTBL has staying power? For the last 95 years, the league has clung to a classic style of the game. Baseball purists seem to appreciate that the league requires nine players to a lineup while disallowing leniencies like metal bats, courtesy pinch-runners, and free-for-all substitutions. Whatever the reason, the tradition continues. After all, traditions are important, and they don’t go unrecognized. When a sport as beloved as baseball is played and witnessed in a pure form, virtually unchanged from years gone by, that’s something people can appreciate.
On behalf of President Holowaty and the Executive Committee, enjoy the rest of your off-season and here’s to another summer!
To apply for a roster spot, players are asked to fill out a Player Application found at GHTBL.org/join. Here’s a list of our current teams and managers:
The GHTBL has organized competitive baseball since the summer of 1929. It all started at Colt Park during the game’s Golden Era, when top players from the Greater Hartford area went straight from the twi-loop to the professional ranks.
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Back in 1979, Gene Johnson of Moriarty Brothers in Manchester was bestowed with the “Player of the Half Century Award” by the GHTBL Hall of Fame. Here’s Gene (right) accepting the award from his teammate, Peter Sala (left).
GREATER
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After a 1-4 start to the season, the Vernon Orioles are now in first place. The O’s have won 11 consecutive games. Dan Trubia is near the top of the leaderboard with 16 RBI, Peter Kelly is tied for most home runs (3) and Jason Ray is pacing the O’s with 5 wins and a league-leading 49 strikeouts.
Vernon is one of GHTBL’s most storied franchises. The first Vernon Orioles team joined the league in 1966. Mostly due to their success in recent years under Manager Jack Ceppetelli and several returning players, the franchise has amassed a total of 10 Season Titles and 6 Playoff Championships.
Not far behind Vernon are four other teams with plenty of time to make a run. East Hartford Jets and M&T Bank are tied for second place right now. Rainbow Graphics have the most wins (13) but have dropped a few head-to-head matchups with Vernon. Per usual, Record-Journal Expos are also knocking on the door.
League note: The traditional format of the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League is to present the Regular Season and Playoffs as two separate seasons. The Regular Season dictates the seed of each team for the Playoff Tournament. No less than 5 Regular Season appearances qualifies a player for Playoffs. At the start of the Playoffs, all player stats are reset to zero and a double-elimination tournament decides a Playoff Champion.
For the last five years, Cooper Johnson of Newington, Connecticut, has played at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. The center fielder has recently committed to M&T Bank for the upcoming 2023 GHTBL season as a third generation player. He will be joining the same franchise as his father, Mike Johnson, who played with Tom Abbruzzese’s Bank Boston team in the 1990’s. Cooper’s grandfather Rollie Johnson was a GHTBL Hall of Fame inductee and a significant figure in professional scouting.
Here are some of Cooper’s individual accolades coming into the GHTBL as a first-year player:
Cooper’s grandfather, Roland “Rollie” Johnson was a professional scout for more than 40 years, including 30 year with the New York Mets. He initially scouted for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1973 to 1982. Rollie served as director of scouting for the Mets from 1986 to 1992. Rollie also co-authored influential baseball books – The Baseball Encyclopedia (1969) and The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball (1974).
During Johnson’s tenure as Director of Scouting with the Mets, there were several notable draft picks including Todd Hundley in 1987. Johnson also remembers drafting Curtis Pride on the recommendation of an area scout. Pride was 95% deaf, but a great athlete, and a greater individual.”
SABR Bio Project, Rollie Johnson by Alan Cohen
Rollie had the rare opportunity to draft his son, Mike Johnson, in the 42nd round of the 1993 MLB Draft. Mike suited up for the New York Mets organization at Rookie ball in Kingsport. He was promoted to low and high Single-A the following year, but Mike’s professional career came to end shortly thereafter.
In 1990, Rollie earned an induction into the GHTBL Hall of Fame in the Players Division. He was a Trinity College graduate who began twi-loop ball in 1961 as a catcher for the East Hartford Merchants. Then he played for a team known as Landerman Orchestras – sponsored by Hartford’s most well known musicians of their era, Paul and Maurice Landerman. Rollie joined the Hartford Orioles in the summer of 1963. Rollie he finished his twilight career with Moriarty Brothers in 1973.
(Aside: the Rollie Johnson family is unrelated to Gene Johnson’s family.)
Rollie was a veritable baseball junkie. After publishing two books, he was hired away from the Twilight League by the St. Louis Cardinals. From there Rollie enjoyed a marvelous scouting career. He was bestowed with the A.B. “Turk” Karam Award in 1998 and was later elected to the Professional Scouts Hall of Fame in 2009.
