I was able to watch some of this, but not much. Looks like a great opportunity for HS players to get onto "the big field," but I don't know how much value there is in it as a baseball event. The WCAC teams finished two or three weeks ago. The Virginia HSs are involved in playoffs right now. So, what is left to choose from? The IAC and DC schools? I love the idea of doing this, but there is just no way to make this the event it appears to have been envisioned to be. There are just too many leagues and systems and playoffs to contend with.

agreed, I love the concept but perhaps a different time during the year. I know the kids who participated had a great time and I was impressed w/ the local commentators they had in McCarthy and Sullivan on the TV, both of whom knew many of the players participating since they were youngsters. It allowed for great bios and backgrounds on several of the players.

I hope they continue the Classic. Seems like School without Walls got the short end of the stick as the games had been predetermined. Anyone know where the roster was published for the ALL STAR Team? I heard LJ wasn't playing because he was at a MLB tryout -- but certainly he was invited, right?

Maybe the way to do the All Star team is to use the All-Met selections and have two coaches "draft" from the All-Met draft board. For example, let's say St Alban's coach is one of the coaches and he selects first and he takes Hultzen. Say Oakton's coach is the other one and he selects LJ Hoes. And so on. If a player cannot play in the game, he takes his name off the board before the draft. Then, the two teams play in an All Star game.

As for the team vs. team play, I think they are just stuck with the schedules as they currently are. No way a Gonzaga team, even if undefeated WCAC Champions, would play because of the WCAC schedule and Gonzaga's school calendar. Same with most of the WCAC schools. As for Virginia public schools, they would be out of it, too.

The only way to get most of the teams into such a tournament would be to do it early as part of the non-conference schedule (but this would mess up a team's non-conference schedule). Have the Post rank the top 8 teams in the area in early March and then do a "DC Classic" tournament in mid-March (if a team is committed to a Spring trip, then they are just left out). Play Round one on a Thursday, round two on a Saturday, and the Championship on a Sunday.

Of course, the best team in March may not be the best team by May or June. No matter how you go with this, some teams and some players will be left out. Still, it is a nice opportunity for the kids who do get to play and every effort should be made to maximize participation.

Isaac - Pretty sure it's called the DC Classic because it is only available to DC Players - Gonzaga and St Johns were the only WCAC schools included and NO Virginia schools or Maryland schools were asked. So, using the All-Met selections don't work in this context. I think it might be interesting to see if Gonzaga/St Johns would ever play (beyond allstars) in years to come once the classic is established. Schools tend to make schedule adaptations if enough time is given.

In terms of maximizing participation, I wonder if all DC Schools - public and private - had a chance to include players in the all star selection mix.

If you are hoping to maximize participation beyond DC schools, sounds like that is a classic with a different objective. Virginia kids play in the state tournament as it is. This IS the DC tournament as I see it....

Do Virginia (or Maryland) kids need another venue?

Let's see -- public schools have their district, regional and state tournaments that have them playing up until end of school.

Private schools -- like PVI, have their WCAC tournament plus their participation in VIS tournament if they qualify.

Beyond these tournaments, there are all star venues at Commonwealth Games that any Virginia kid (public or private) can play in.

If you want more exposure, play Blue Grey, Battle at Ship, and many other exposure type events. If you want to just play, there are Legion, Clark Griffith/Cal Ripken, ODL, and other leagues that are starting already. There is no shortage of playing opportunties.

Why take away a chance for these DC kids to play? Seems use of "Classic" in this thread is meant to demean DC players. I don't think that's necessary.

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Seems use of "Classic" in this thread is meant to demean DC players.

Spartan - I am with you -- the DC Classic is for the DC Players. The whole objective was to provide opportunity for DC teams to showcase and compete. Leave Virginia and Maryland to their own tournaments!

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The only way to get most of the teams into such a tournament would be to do it early as part of the non-conference schedule (but this would mess up a team's non-conference schedule). Have the Post rank the top 8 teams in the area in early March and then do a "DC Classic" tournament in mid-March (if a team is committed to a Spring trip, then they are just left out). Play Round one on a Thursday, round two on a Saturday, and the Championship on a Sunday.

I'm fairly certain that the point of the tournament isn't necessarily to determine who the best team in the District is, but to give public schools a shot at the best private school team in the city. This year, the matchup was perfect. St. Albans was hands down the best private school team in the District and Wilson has been the top public school for over a decade.

One of the goals of the Classic is to garner interest in baseball by kids of the inner cities, I think that goal would be defeated if every year the game pitted St. Albans and St. Johns against each other, two schools that are 40 K a year that most inner city kids wouldn't care about anymore than a regular Nationals game.

I honestly thought this was designed to be a "tournament" that was inclusive of area teams and area talent. I cannot imagine how you can take an area the size of DC with the limited number of schools in DC, public and private, and provide such extensive coverage on television. Much, if not most, of the audience for DC television is in Maryland and Northern Virginia. I watched, but I am not a DC resident--I watched because I wanted to see whether any WCAC schools were able to get players into the event. As it turned out, because it was DC only, StJ and Gonzaga were the only eligible schools. I wondered why that was--my mind simply could not fathom that this event would be limited to only DC. Wow. That would be like televising the Northern Region playoffs to the entire area, and that makes no sense either. I guess I just could not conceive that the "DC Baseball Classic" could be so insular, or parochial, or, even, incestuous. But thanks for clarifying this for me. This was about DC only.

St. Ablans and Wilson(?) weren't too impressive in the final, I watched on TV. The event needs good teams to be succesful. (No bashing please, I was just saying that they weren't impressive, maybe they ARE good...)

St. Albans didn't play well in the final and were probably nervous about being on T.V. They played much better during the regular season and that's why USA Today has them ranked as the #16 best team in the country

I still think that the PURPOSE of the DC Classic was to give DC a chance to encourage DC PLAYERS to play baseball at a terrific venue. This is a public relations event to encourage DC YOUTH to choose baseball at the younger levels to better the DC baseball programs in years to come. It is a GREAT idea IMO, and I think as long as it continues to focus on DC players, it will get better each year!

It's not a matter of being "impressive!" You want impressive - go to a PG event, or a showcase. This is COMMUNITY baseball!

Just my two cents.

gamefan: I would recommend expansion into the No Virginia and Maryland areas to improve the quality of the "Classic." Sure, invite two D.C. teams, but put in one from No Virginia and one from Maryland, or expand it to 8 teams. Time it so you get the best teams from each (this is the hard part). This would maximize quality of competition at this event for all high school baseball fans in the area.

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Originally posted by Shantzee:
St. Ablans and Wilson(?) weren't too impressive in the final, I watched on TV. The event needs good teams to be succesful. (No bashing please, I was just saying that they weren't impressive, maybe they ARE good...)

St. Albans played the private school championship game at 11am the same day, maybe they were tired. They were by far the best team we saw this year,several levels above everybody else,and beat Wilson with their third pitcher. My guess is that means they will be good again next year because he did a great job. Meanwhile Danny Hultzen is simply unhittable.

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I would recommend expansion into the No Virginia and Maryland areas to improve the quality of the "Classic." Sure, invite two D.C. teams, but put in one from No Virginia and one from Maryland, or expand it to 8 teams. Time it so you get the best teams from each (this is the hard part). This would maximize quality of competition at this event for all high school baseball fans in the area.

gamefan is completely correct here. The point of the Classic isn't to provide the best possible matchup that it can with teams from VA and MD. The point is to see who the best team in the District is. Why was St. John's not invited? Because despite their location, St. John's credited no D.C. residents to their roster. The DC Classic was a great success in its first year and will remain a fairly prominent event for years to come.

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St. John's credited no D.C. residents to their roster.

tcw - that is interesting. I know that all the players on the roster did not live in DC - I was not aware that being a DC resident was a requirement. Is that the case - or does the sending school merely have to carry DC residents on their roster?

Silverstein didn't DH for the Classic?

St. Johns was invited for the Classic. They declined because their season ends the first week of May. I believe they will play in it next year.

I thought that it was a grand idea, especially for the DC kids like Wilson. Sully, Brendan Sullivan did a wonderful job helping get the thing together, and if he ever gets tired of running Headfirst he should think about a career in the booth. His play by play was major league quality.

Peace and God's Blessings...