Until my oldest son, Caleb (now 7) said, “Dad, I want to play T Ball,” I had no clue that Wilmington, NC is such a great baseball town. Now, two years later, Caleb and my youngest son Oran are both playing in the Supper Optimist League- Caleb is playing machine pitch, Oran is playing T Ball. Supper Optimist is one of several youth leagues in Wilmington. Since 2009, I’ve gotten to know a little bit about the various baseball programs available here and want to pass on that knowledge to those of you that are baseball fans, those that are parents and anyone generally curious about what life in Wilmington is like.

While Wilmington is probably most famous for being the hometown of Michael Jordan, it actually has a huge baseball presence as well. There are a good number of former and retired pros including Trot Nixon, of Red Sox Fame, and Fletcher Bates who now owns and operates Coastal Athletics. Incidentally, Trot and Fletcher both graduated from New Hanover High School. In fact, Willie Stargell actually lived out the last years of his life here in Wilmington before passing away in 2001 and each year his foundation hosts the Willie Stargell Celebrity Golf Tournament.

If you are interested in getting your kids involved in baseball, there are youth baseball programs offered through the Supper Optimist Club, the Optimist Club of Winter Park, Cape Fear Optimist Club, and the Myrtle Grove Optimist Club. Additionally, the Wilmington Seahawks organizes youth travel teams. So, if you love baseball, Wilmington is a good place to be!

And on a final note, a shout out to Caleb- his team won tonight 14-2 and he went 3 for 3 against the machine. Not bad for his 2nd game of machine pitch!