For the first time in nearly 60 years, Hazel Dell Metro will not field a baseball team.
The local Babe Ruth team has folded due to lack of participation and volunteers, said president Jack Laub.
“It’s just the way things are now,” said Laub, who had been with Hazel Dell Metro since 1987. “Lots of kids are now going to the travel teams.”
Laub said the decision to shutter the club was made at a board of directors’ meeting in September.
Participation had been steadily falling since 2004, Laub said.
“Travel teams” have become a popular option for top 13- to 15-year-old players. The teams, which aren’t restricted by boundaries, focus on playing highly competitive tournaments around the West, with an implied benefit of bringing players more exposure. They are typically more time-consuming and expensive than recreational baseball organizations.
Hazel Dell Metro was founded in 1959. Since 1982, teams have reached the Babe Ruth World Series 18 times in age groups ranging from 13 to 16/18.
In 2015, the Hazel Dell Metro 14-year-olds reached the semifinals of the World Series in Pine Bluff, Ark.
