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It started in the spring, before Jacob Medina died, and it didn’t take long for Emery Miller to find high school baseball coaches wanting to get on board.
Now, four months after the former Gilbert Perry baseball player died from leukemia, 24 teams, including two from Las Vegas, will take part in the first annual JM23 Classic at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
This week’s benefit tournament, with most of the proceeds going to the Medina family, begins Tuesday and runs throughSaturday. A ceremony with the family will be conducted at the main stadium at 10:30 a.m., before the start of the championship game.
There also will be home run derby contests, including one featuring minor league baseball players who have local ties. A Dads Home Run Derby also will be held, which is basically open to anyone. Funds are generated through admission to the games and donations.
Numerous things had to fall together for Emery Miller, the brainchild of this event, to get this to happen.
The COVID-19 numbers had to start trending the right way. The city of Tempe had to open up Diablo Stadium to let this tournament run. And high school baseball coaches had to want show interest.
They won’t be called by their high school names in the tournament because the event can’t be affiliated with the Arizona Interscholastic Association. But they’re high school teams playing under a “club” label.
“I think it’s an example of how our baseball community in Arizona is a fraternity,” said Chandler Hamilton coach Mike Woods, whose Huskies were the last Arizona high school baseball team to be crowned state champions in May 2019 since the pandemic wiped out last season. “The families from all over know and care about one another. We were more than happy to do our part and participate.”
Most Arizona high school players have been playing all summer on club teams in weekend and week-long showcases in Goodyear, Surprise and Peoria, so everybody is in baseball shape for what Miller says will be an annual event, helping a different family every year.
“This entire thing with Jacob has been difficult for everyone,” Perry coach Damien Tippett said. “For many of our players, it was the first time they had ever lost a friend or loved one.
“To think now that our kids are going to be able to play for Jacob is hard to wrap my mind around. It is very emotional, for sure. Our players understand that this week is going to be good baseball, but more importantly, this week is all about the Medina family.”
This starts with Team Emery, which Miller branded and embraced to help ailing children. It was something that came out of his heart the day he was born and had heart-related medical issues that nearly cost him his life so many times growing up.
Miller, a former Perry baseball player now playing college ball in Oregon, is close to the Medina family. He came up with the idea for the benefit tournament to help offset the family’s mounting medical costs.
He was hoping to play it in late spring or early summer but the coronavirus kept pushing it back.
Jacob Medina died at the age of 19 on May 13 after a lengthy battle with leukemia. He had become close to Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta through his more than year-long ordeal that at one point had gone into remission before the cancer returned.
“To be able to do this for Jacob and the entire Medina family, it goes beyond words,” Miller said. “Jacob truly was a brother to me. I am humbled and proud by the support that the event has received.
“But it also doesn’t surprise me knowing the kind of person and man Jacob was. To know him was to love him. He touched so many lives and even after he’s gone. I’m honored that Team Emery can play a role in continuing to carry his legacy on.”
Gilbert Highland coach Erik Kehoe didn’t hesitate to sign a team up in the spring when he was first approached by Miller.
“It is for a great cause to benefit a local family but also a time to honor Jacob and his family,” Kehoe said. “The Hawks are proud to have the opportunity to be part of this great event.”
Chandler Basha coach Jim Schilling said several of his players knew Medina personally, always talking highly of him.
“Our Basha community is praying that this tournament highlights Jacob’s legacy and brings Jacob’s family joy and peace,” Schilling said.
Phoenix Desert Vista coach Cody Brassfield said his players knew Jacob as well, in competitions growing up.
“It is just really neat to see how people care for one another in tough times,” Brassfield said.
All of the fields will be used at the Tempe Diablo Baseball Complex.
After pool play the first two days, the elimination bracket begins Thursday with games at 4:30 p.m. The quarterfinals will be Friday at 6 p.m. The semifinals will be Saturday at 8 a.m., followed by the championship game.
Schools involved in the tournament include: Perry, Phoenix Desert Vista, Goodyear Millennium, Mesa Mountain View, Gilbert Highland, Chandler, Mesa Skyline, Mesa Red Mountain, Phoenix Mountain Pointe, Queen Creek Casteel, Tempe Corona del Sol, Phoenix Desert Vista, Hamilton, Chandler Valley Christan, Poston Butte, Chandler Basha, Mesa Westwood, Las Vegas Desert Oasis, Las Vegas Basic Academy, Phoenix Alhambra, Gilbert Mesquite, Arizona Club Team Sticks Southwest, Gilbert and Phoenix Pinnacle
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.
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