PRESS RELEASE
Babe Ruth World Series coming to Clifton Park 

CLIFTON PARK - While the major league players are taking to the big fields to determine the best team in this year's Fall Classic, the Clifton Park baseball community has been making plans to host its own event, this August at the Clifton Common. 

Clifton Park will host its fourth Babe Ruth Baseball World Series Aug. 18-25, 2006, earning a successful bid to be the site of the 13-15 year-old World Series.
“We signed this agreement to host the 15-year-old tournament prior to the 1999 World Series,” 2006 Clifton Park Babe Ruth World Series Committee host president Bill Butler said. “It's been eight years in the making.”

Clifton Park hosted its first World Series event in 1997, 1999 and most recently, 2002.

”In 1998 after hosting the 13-year-old age group we told Babe Ruth headquarters that our goal was to host a 15s, the first open date was 2006,” Butler explained. “It has been an eight year endeavor coming up with the 15, the gem of the Babe Ruth World Series program.”

According to Butler, the 13-15 year age group is considered the highlight of the Trenton, New Jersey's organization's annual baseball events held throughout the nation each summer.

“It is the most publicized, the most covered by the media as well as college scouts,” Butler said. “That was our reason for going after it at the same time that we signed the commitment to host the 2002 World Series.”

As a parent of a former Clifton Park recreation, travel and Shenendehowa baseball player Butler is a fan of seeing the premier players during their high school careers.
“We have been treated to so some tremendous performances during these past three World Series,” Butler said. “We've seen some great players on our fields, like Jeff Allison who led Peabody, Massachusetts to the 1999 title. He was drafted as the 16th pick overall by the Florida Marlins organization.”

Just as the age group the Clifton Common will see in August has changed, so has the face of the host president. Butler takes over for Tom MacLaughlin, who presided over the three previous events.

“I was involved in all three World Series events, now I'm just trying to fill Tom's (MacLaughlin) shoes,” Butler said. “Tom (MacLaughlin) is now our host president emeritus and we expect him to participate in many of the functions during the World Series.”

For Butler, even after his son C.J. Butler graduated from Shenendehowa in 2002, he continues to look forward to next year's event.

“The reason I do it is for the kids,” Butler said. “I believe in the Babe Ruth organization and what it does for the young men in their program.”

One change for this year's event will be hosting it on a new and improved baseball field.

“We'll play on the re-vamped field 13 for the first time,” Butler said. “It has new lights, a new scoreboard and several capital improvements that are planned to be underway in late fall or early spring, ready for 2006.”

Another major change has taken place at the highest levels of Babe Ruth Baseball. Steven Tellefsen has been elected as Babe Ruth Baseball, Inc.'s president and CEO.

“Steven Tellefsen has replaced his father, Ron, who passed away earlier this year. His commitment to Clifton Park is still rock solid, moving forward and still growing,” Butler said. “I'm extremely comfortable with the decision the board made and look forward to working with him and the entire management team at Babe Ruth headquarters.”

According to the past reports, the 2002 World Series event had an economic impact to the Clifton Park area of more than $1.8 million dollars for the week-long baseball festival. 

To sign-up as a volunteer, host family or find out more information contact the 2006 Clifton Park Babe Ruth World Series Committee.