8-year-old wins nat'l baseball event
Middletown resident nabs crown in skills competition
BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF GLENN RAS Tyler Ras (left) poses with New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi. The 8-year-old from Middletown recently won a baseball skills competition at Yankee Stadium.

After participating at the regional level of the 2008 Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run competition, 8-year-old Tyler Ras of Middletown made a return trip to Yankee Stadium by qualifying for the national finals during Major League Baseball's All-Star Week festivities. To say the least, Ras did not disappoint, as he won the 7-8-Year-Old Boys division on July 14.

For Ras, it was the culmination of plenty of hard work and dedication to a sport he truly enjoys.

"I had a lot of fun at Yankee Stadium when I went back," said Ras. "I also got to meet a lot of players because it was All-Star Week."

Tyler got involved in the event by initially going to a local competition in Atlantic Highlands, followed by a sectional round in Lebanon (Hunterdon County). Ras did well enough at the local and regional levels to get an invite to the Bronx on June 22 to compete against regional qualifiers. Over 54,000 fans watched the home team win 4-1 over the lowly Cincinnati Reds on that day. As for Tyler, he also gave the people something to cheer about as he threw four out of six pitches in the strike zone and hit a pitch out to left field en route to putting on a stellar performance. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if his score placed him in the top three out of all of the 30 competitions that were being held nationwide, with those three being invited to Yankee Stadium for the National Championship.

Following his win, the Yankees organization was gracious to have Tyler back to the stadium in late August for a ceremony honoring his big achievement.

"They really treated us very well when we went back in August," Tyler's father, Glenn, explained. "We parked right in the players' parking lot and they allowed us to mingle with the players and just walk around the clubhouse. It really was a very unique experience."

As part of the day, Tyler's name was announced over the public address system, which was met by a huge round of applause. Tyler was then greeted by Yankees relief pitcher Edwar Ramirez, with whom he took a picture.

"He also got to chat with Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez and Joe Girardi," Glenn said. "Even for an adult, that's an awesome feeling, but for a kid it's something my son will never forget, I'm sure."

As for the man of the hour, he's already looking forward to next year.

"I want to try it again next year," Tyler said. "I had a lot of fun, especially going to meet the Yankees."