Riverdale swings into Little League season

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Spring and baseball finally came back to Riverdale with the annual Little League parade on Saturday morning. The parade, a tradition that dates back a few decades, kicked off at Kelly Field on Broadway. 

North Riverdale Baseball League (NRBL) has been running the parade for years. It invited the South Riverdale Little League (SRLL) to join a few years ago. Both leagues have been working closely together ever since, sometimes even combining teams from each league in a specific division. 

“It’s really great to see the entire Riverdale community come together for this event,” said SRLL president Michael Farber. “We really thank NRBL for sharing the parade with us.”

As parents and children gathered at Kelly Field, coaches were busy meeting players for the first time. Christine Card, coach of the T-ball NRBL Angels, had a unique perspective as she handed out uniforms. 

“I played in this league my entire childhood,” she said. “And it was my grandmother who actually started girls’ softball.”

Eight months pregnant, Christine is excited that she will soon have two of her own kids in the league.

Amid the crush of people, SRLL coach Nick Marinacci held up a sign with the names of the two teams he will be coaching this year, Ben’s Market Cutters and the Highlanders. 

“It’s the first time I’ll meet the players and parents on my two teams,”  he said. 

One of those players, Michael Pineda, had played in another league in the Bronx and had been “begging to play again after two years of not playing.” He was very excited to meet his new coach and some of his teammates.

Gerry Woods, one of the NRBL commissioners and a key planner of the parade, was excited about the balloons, fire trucks and police escort. 

“We have a great relationship with the 50th Precinct,” he said. “And this year we even got some tunes — you know, the tunes the kids want to hear.”     

Samantha O’Connell, a NRBL softball player, enjoyed walking the parade route. 

“I like marching in the parade,” she said. “It’s fun. I like seeing all the people.” 

Her dad, Eddie, was happy to see good weather.  “It’s great seeing all the kids march together,” he said.

The parade route ended at Sid Field, which was re-opened last year after a long-term upgrade project. Joining the festivities were many of the community’s elected officials, including Councilman Andrew Cohen, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, state Senator Jeff Klein and Rep. Elliot Engel. 

Bob Mancision of NRBL, who has helped run the parade for years, summed up the day with a favorite story of his. A few years ago, a woman came up to him and thanked him for making the parade happen year after year.

“It’s the one day the Bronx turns into a small town,” she said. 

As this year’s parade clearly demonstrated, all of Riverdale was ready for spring and baseball once again.

Ken Katzman is a vice president of the South Riverdale Little League. 

North Riverdale Baseball League, South Riverdale Little League, Ken Katzman

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