Travel Baseball Teams in Vermont

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MLB Players from Vermont

Vermont has produced 38 major league players in its history. There is just one currently active player: Daric Barton.

Daric Barton

Daric Barton was born in 1985 in Springfield, Vermont, but later found his way to California. As a teen, he told a reporter from School Sports that he had been playing ball for as long as he could remember (http://recruiting.scout.com/2/56686.html).

Among his early experiences was playing in Little League. He also did some travel ball growing up and reportedly played in a number of World Series. At one point, he was on the Orange County Giants, a USA Premier Baseball team (http://usapremierbaseball.com/category/alumni/). He put in some time with a So Cal National Travel Team (http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=socalntt). He also played in the Area Code Games showcase.

Barton played first base and third base at Marina High School. He was also team captain (http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jun/02/sports/sp-hsbasereport2). Barton said as a teen that though he felt like he was born to play ball – it was his one overarching goal – if baseball wasn’t in the cards, he might opt for physical therapy or sports medicine.

Barton was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2003 draft; not yet 18, he was the 28th pick overall.

Barton began his pro ball career at the rookie level with the Johnson City Cardinals. 2004 found him with the Class A Peoria Chiefs. From there, it was on to the Stockton Ports, Midland Rockhounds, and Sacramento River Hounds. He played in the All-Star Futures game during his time in the minor leagues.

His major league debut came in 2007 when he was 22. In 2010, he won the Fielding Bible Award for his outstanding performance at first base.

Past Vermont Players

A notable recent Vermont-born player is Chris Duffy (not to be confused with current player Christopher Duffy of New York).

Stepping back a little further in time, we find the renowned Carlton Fisk. One of his claims to fame is his long career as a catcher; he spent 24 years in the majors.

Future Vermont Ball Players

There will be more players! Many people have fond memories of their days on youth teams. Some get the ambition to go further. Vermont's climate doesn't contribute to the development of strong high school baseball programs, and compounding this, there's no Division I college team. This means Vermont youth who aspire to the higher levels may need to work a little harder. It can be done!

For work ethic, one can emulate Daric Barton. He learned, from a negative experience as a teen, that he had to give it his all during practice and not just during games. He said in an interview when he was working out in big league camp for the first time, "Everything (the big leaguers) do taught me a lot that you can't take anything for granted. You have to work twice as hard once you get there (http://www.athleticsnation.com/2005/6/8/222713/1039)."

“I work on everything every day,” he noted, “I take a lot of swings in the cage, work on my tee work...”

Both Barton and now retired Chris Duffy have cited the influence of their fathers. Duffy’s father was a Little League coach and president. Duffy is quoted in Major League Dads as saying, “He is definitely a great motivator to me.” Barton has noted that his parents were very supportive, but didn’t let him get ‘big-headed’. This was different, he noted, than confidence – confidence was an essential thing.

“If I get there, it's amazing,” Barton said as he was closing in on the majors, “I'm just going to work hard every day and take it day-by-day.”

Travel Baseball Teams in Vermont

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