Greenwich Cannons Baseball

• Provide Greenwich's most dedicated baseball players the opportunity to compete together at a high level, and against the most skilled teams in the tri-state area.
• Offer the finest professional coaching, best instruction, and individual player development to every Cannons player.
• Prepare every Cannons player to be successful High School baseball players - and college players if that is their goal.
• Assist players navigating the college recruitment process.

All teams compete under the team name, “Greenwich Cannons”. Tryouts for all teams are held January 20-21, 2023 at Bobby Valentine's Sports Academy in Stamford.

Philosophy

It is the goal of Greenwich Cannons Baseball to provide a unique baseball experience for players seeking the highest levels of competition and advanced training and development. As a Greenwich program, our objective is to attract players from ages 13 to 19 living in Greenwich who are committed to playing baseball and who aspire to compete at the high school level and beyond. We have successfully assembled a first rate group of professional coaches for all teams with exceptional baseball backgrounds both as players and as coaches.

The Season

Upon completion of the high school baseball seasons, the Junior and Senior Cannons teams start practice in late may-early June. League games begin in early June.

The Senior Cannons typically play 4-5 games a week, for a 24-game American Legion schedule. The Connecticut state Legion tournament begins in mid-July and runs through mid-August for teams reaching the state finals. In addition, Senior Cannons play one Summer tournament. Practices are scheduled on weekdays between the Legion schedule.

The Junior Cannons also play 4-5 games a week. The Junior season also includes travel tournaments, and potentially a weekend team training experience. In addition, Coaches Tarantino and Carbino run practice sessions in advance of games to work on specific situational skills and strategies.

The Cannons Prep team's season is split into two segments - Spring and Summer. Summer league play includes 18-20 league games, followed by a post-season tournament. For players not on a public high school baseball roster in the spring, a 14u spring team will be formed to play a league schedule and post season tournament. Each team may also enter a travel tournament.

Cannons 13u team begins play in late March. Similar to the Prep team, the season is conducted with a spring regular season and playoff tournament, followed by the same in Summer. Both seasons are played in the Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League. Throughout both seasons, there is a focus on training and player development. Players can expect practices 1-2 times per week depending on the number of games scheduled. The 13u team may also enter local travel tournaments throughout the spring and summer.

Expected Level of Commitment

Given the high level of play and competitive nature of the Cannons program, the expectation of player commitment is significant. While we appreciate and understand that conflicts arise and are inevitable, coaches expect players to commit to their team's full schedule. For Summer teams, this means from early-June through the end of July/early August. Roster sizes are determined to maximize playing time and provide appropriate depth by position. Player absences from practices and games negatively impacts the ability of our teams to remain competitive throughout the season.

Players should be prepared to be on the field as many as six days per week. During the spring and summer, Cannons Baseball should be your only competitive sports team.

Why American Legion?

American Legion Baseball was formed nationwide in 1926 and is well-established as the pre-eminent youth baseball program in the country. Ten million players have participated in American Legion Baseball throughout the years; and it is estimated that 75% of all collegiate baseball players competed in American Legion Baseball. Connecticut’s program was created in 1928 and just completed its 85th year of operation. Eight alumni of Connecticut American Legion Baseball have played in the Major Leagues. For more information on American Legion Baseball, please refer to the organization’s website at www.ctalbb.com.

In Greenwich, we have established a relationship with the local American Legion Post 29 which sponsors and sanctions our participation in American Legion Baseball. We are grateful for the support of Post 29 and are honored to help perpetuate the relationship between the country’s Veterans and youth baseball.

Results to Date

In a relatively short timeframe, Greenwich Cannons Baseball has created an attractive franchise among the baseball community in Greenwich. The program operates as a not-for-profit organization and is governed by a volunteer board of directors which manages both the current and long-term interests of Greenwich Cannons Baseball, including securing financial stability, continuing to attract the best players and coaches available and insuring sufficient practice and playing time on high quality local fields throughout the spring and summer seasons.

On the field, our teams have been highly competitive against area competition.  During the 2008 season, the Junior Cannons team won both the Connecticut State and New England Regional Championships.  This was an extraordinary achievement for our players, coaches and our program.  In addition, Mike Abate, the Junior team head coach at the time, was named the American Legion New England Regional Coach of the Year.  This success has clearly established the Greenwich Cannons as a prominent baseball program both in the state of Connecticut and throughout the New England region. 

A precursor of our success in 2008 was the 2006 Junior American Legion team’s runner-up finish in the Connecticut State Championship, a significant achievement for our program in only its third year of play.

More recently, the Junior Cannons completed an undefeated season and were Champions of the 2020 Fairfield County Baseball League.

In 2017, The Cannons Prep team won the Connecticut American Legion State Championship. In that same year, The Senior Cannons were Zone 4 Champions.

Scholarships Available

Scholarship money is available as needed to help defray the cost of participating in Greenwich Cannons Baseball.