After winning title last year, Napa Valley Baseball Club 19U look to keep title as others like Community Projects of Crushers vie for 47th annual Bill Buckner Memorial 4th of July tournament crown

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By Kyle Foster

kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

Most of the time, people do something because it’s tradition to do so. If that’s the case, baseball and the 4th of July make for arguably the best tradition there is before all the festivities that night. 

So when the 47th annual Bill Buckner Memorial 4th of July tournament takes place from July 3rd to 6th, this will be one of the marquee ways to spend the United States’ birthday. 

As co-hosts of the event, it always means a little more to spend the holiday with those who served for the Napa Valley Baseball Club and Community Projects of Napa Crushers, who are both in the tournament.  

“I’m super proud that we’re allowed to even play here,” Crushers skipper Andy Griffin said. “I feel honored that they let us out here, that this place even exists, and I appreciate their service. And for these guys to be able to come out here and play in front of them, that’s the greatest feeling sometimes, is seeing those guys lined up in the stands when they tip the cap in between innings. That’s fantastic, and it’s just fun all around.”

This is always a combination that is something that makes the holiday mean a little more. It is also a great way to celebrate a very important holiday. 

“I’m a native Napan, and I’ve been coming up here for a long, long time to watch baseball for the Fourth of July,” NVBC 19U manager Gary Newman added. “So, it’s special, and these kids with the vets, and it should mean something to all these kids about representing their community and being their local field and having all the vets out.” 

Once again, the tournament will have a pair of pools. Pool play will take place over the first three days, with games from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. each day. The top two teams in each pool will advance to Sunday’s semifinals, and then the two winners will play in the championship. 

There will once again be three local teams in the event. In pool 1, you have the Napa Valley Baseball Club 17U and the Community Projects of Napa Crushers. In pool 2, the defending champion Napa Valley Baseball Club 19U returns to try to keep the title. 

“It’s important to have the three local teams play in this tournament to help maintain the gate as far as some income,” tournament director Steve Meyer explained of the local teams’ impact on the event. “The cost of the Tournament has really gone up in recent years, but we don’t want to price our teams out. We need the local fans to keep this tournament going. And there is nothing like a little rivalry to help spark up the competition.”

Coming into the tournament, the Crushers are feeling a lot more hopeful about getting the last day after being in pretty much every game this season. It’s also a big event for the Crushers as they co-host the event with NVBC. 

“This is the main thing for this group, our family, the Community Projects family, we all get involved,” Griffin explained of the importance of the event to the summer season. “We all love it. We all have a great time. I love seeing some of the teams, like San Bruno, comes up. I used to play for San Bruno. That’s where I grew up.m So when I see those guys, it’s almost like they come up here, and I get to hang out with them too, and just a great weekend, all in all, for everybody.”

For the NVBC 19s, this will end a stretch of three straight weekends where they are in a tournament, after they will have played in the Around the Horn Tournament, where they finished second, and another 19U tournament. But if any team is built for it, it should be them. After all, this team is big with 22 players from Napa, Vintage, and Justin-Siena. The majority of the players on the roster can pitch. 

“We’ve been pretty thoughtful on it,” Newman said of having a balanced roster that has representation from the three high schools in Napa. “At the beginning, it was when these kids were 13, it was a lot of Napa and Vintage kids with a few Justin kids. Some of the kids have played other sports and stopped playing baseball. We think we’re trying to get the best players and their age group here at the club, and you try to give everybody an opportunity. The hard thing is (that) a lot of these kids all play a lot of time on their high schools (team). So when you get to a program like this where you have two teams in the dugout, you gotta really think about what you’re doing and find spots for everybody.” 

On the NVBC 17U team, it is much of the same story as far as players from the local teams. But the majority of these players were on their school’s freshman or JV team in the spring. Either way, it’s good for NVBC to have both of its teams in the local event. The only way the two NVBC teams meet is if they get to the final day of the event. 

The local game in the event will take place on the 4th of July. At 2:15 pm that day, Community Projects of Crushers will face the Napa Valley Baseball Club 17s. 

After that, there are a pair of tournament regulars who are in each pool. One of them is the 2024 runner-up San Bruno V.F.W., who will be in pool 2 after a pair of thrilling games with the NVBC 19s last summer. The other is the San Francisco Cardinals in pool 1. 

“San Bruno is the longest tenured team in the Tournament,” Meyer explained. “They have been in it since we opened it up to other teams in the 1980s. San Francisco  Cardinals (Lowell High School) may be second now that South City has not returned. Both teams love coming up here and playing some games.”  

However, the two new teams will add some nice depth to the event. The key addition is Bercovich Honors, which is a well-known travel ball team that plays all over Northern California. They will be in pool 1.  

Also joining the field is the California Rays. They are a young organization, having been around since 2021. But this will be their first time in the 4th of July Tournament. The Concord-based team will be in pool 2.

“Bercovich has been around for a lot of years. They are an established program. Cal Rays are up and coming and have been around for a few years,” Meyer said of the additions to this year’s event. “Bercovich actually played in the Tournament in 2021. Both teams have a long history with the teams from the Napa Valley Baseball Club.” 

Rounding out the new additions to the event are the Solano Mudcats, who are coming in from Fairfield to play in the event. They will round out pool 2. 

Should there be any ties in records, there will be four tiebreakers to determine who moves on to Sunday. The first one is head-to-head, then the fewest runs allowed, the fewest errors, and total bases. 

Before a select game each day, there will be a ceremonial first pitch. Before the 11:30 am game on Thursday, 1977 Napa High graduate and former Atlanta Brave Bob Porter will throw out the first pitch. Before the 4:45 game on Friday, former Napa Valley Register Sports Editor and member of the Napa, Vintage, and CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame, Marty James, will throw out the first pitch. The Saturday first pitch will be thrown out by former California State Senator Bill Dodd ahead of the 2:15 pm game. Lastly, ahead of the championship game on Sunday at 3 pm, former KTVU Fox 2 Sports Anchor and Napa resident Mark Ibanez will throw the first pitch. 

During each game, there will be a 50/50 raffle with plenty of prizes available. The price for entry will be $5 for everyone except the Veterans Home members. The snack bar will also be open every day of the tournament.