Al Westermeyer has served in an administrator role in both Little League and Pony Baseball, and he likes where Emerald Pony League stands at present. Certainly, how could anyone not feel on top of the world after being on top of the world?
The league’s Mustang-9 and Pony-13 all-star teams swept to World Series championship titles in the span of the same weekend earlier this month — something that no other Pony League had ever managed to accomplish before.
Al Westermeyer has served in an administrator role in both Little League and Pony Baseball, and he likes where Emerald Pony League stands at present. Certainly, how could anyone not feel on top of the world after being on top of the world?
The league’s Mustang-9 and Pony-13 all-star teams swept to World Series championship titles in the span of the same weekend earlier this month — something that no other Pony League had ever managed to accomplish before.
Besides the two World Series championships, the league’s Pony-14 all-star team narrowly missed advancing to the West Zone tournament – one step away from the Pony-14 World Series.
“Pony Baseball is starting to grow on the West Coast,” the Emerald Pony League President explained.
Emerald Pony League, which is located in the heart of El Cajon, has clearly revitalized itself in the last few years – a fact noted with pride by various out-of-area league directors. The future could hold unlimited success.
The World Series championships are the first in league history.
The league’s Mustang-9 team finished 21-0 in five all-star tournament while Emerald’s Pony-13 team finished 15-1 with its lone loss to another Emerald all-star team in regional play.
The Mustang-9 World Series featured teams from Texas, the Philippines, New York, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Illinois and California. The Pony-13 World Series featured teams from Mexico, Maryland, Michigan, the Philippines, Panama, Texas and California.
Pony Baseball now has a presence in 21 countries.
“Most Pony Leagues were struggling until several years ago,” Westermeyer pointed out. “For the most part, baseball was predominantly a five- to- six-month long sport. You put on your uniform when the season started and then put your glove away when the season was over.
“But baseball is changing. Tiger Woods was a phenomenon in golf. His father introduced the sport to him at a very early age. The message is that if you want to be great, you can’t spend five or six months at it, you have to do it year-round. Golf has become a year-round sport.
“In baseball, we now have fall/winter ball that has helped turn baseball into a year-round sport. Families are even now planning their vacations around baseball. There are tournaments in Colorado and Las Vegas that families can base their vacations around.”
The erasure of boundaries has also helped Pony Baseball grow. Friends on travel teams can now play alongside each other.
But Westermeyer said the real impact in Pony Baseball’s resurgence has been in developing its own players.
Pony Baseball now includes nine age-divisions for play: Shetland League (ages 4-6), Pinto League (ages 7-8), Mustang League (ages 9-10), Bronco-11 League (11), Bronco League (ages 11-12), Pony-13 League (13), Pony League (ages 13-14), Colt League (ages 15-16) and Palomino League (ages 17-19).
Emerald Pony League now offers Shetland, Pinto, Mustang, Bronco, Pony and Colt divisions.
“We have some phenomenal coaches,” Westermeyer said. “It’s developed over the last three years. The younger you develop players, the more experienced players you are going to have in your organization.”
Rules also make Pony Baseball attractive to some, with fewer restrictions on pitching and stealing, for instance.
Emerald Pony League is located at 750 Park Ave., El Cajon. Call 520-0350 for more information.
Emerald Pony League
Mustang-9 International World Series Champions
11 – Lucas Aragon
19 – Zephnia Carter Jr. 7 – Thomas Entrekin
3 – Noah Entrekin
23 – Noah Figuered
99 – Dimetric Green
2 – Phillip Jones II
8 – David McComb
4 – Benjamin Molina
17 – Trevor Smith
27 – Xzavier Stojek
10 – Sergio Velazco
Coaches/Managers
Manager – Dale Entrekin Coach – Thomas Molina Business Manager – David Entrekin
Mustang-9 International World Series Champions
21-0 Record
•San Diego Section Champions
•Southern California Southwest Region Champions
•Southern California Super Region Champions
•West Zone Champions
•International World
Series Champions
