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Tournaments  | Story | 7/14/2018

Big League dads pass the torch

Nate Schweers
Photo: Joe and Dante Girardi (Perfect Game)

EMERSON, Ga. – At this week’s 16u WWBA National Championship, stars of tomorrow arrived from all over the country to test their skills against the best of the best. We saw triumph, heartbreak, walk-off home runs and no-hitters. The game molds young men into the ballplayers and people they will one day become.

Year in and year out, travel ball coaches are tasked with providing guidance and direction to players with dreams of playing at the next level and beyond. For two emerging talents – Dante Girardi and Jackson Werth – their coach was their father, and their mentor was the man who had provided them insight to playing at the next level for their entire lives.

When Dante Girardi and his FTB – Tucci Berryhill teammates looked down into the third base coach’s box this week, they were greeted with a smile and fist pump from Dante’s father, Joe Girardi.

Girardi, who won three World Series Championships as a player and one as a manager with the New York Yankees, is using his time away from Major League Baseball to watch his son grow and develop in the same game he grew up playing. As someone who has such an abundance of knowledge in the game, he is providing Dante with many of the ideas and keys to success he has learned at the major league level.

“I have just had a lot of help over time from him and where he has been,” Dante said after a game on Thursday. “Being with the Yankees for 10 years and all the coaching, I think it is the mental advice that he gives me is what is so great.”

Dante has blossomed into a phenomenal baseball player over his career, and is currently ranked as a Top 500 player in the talented class of 2020. According to national scouting coordinator Brian Sakowski, “Dante Girardi has shown high-level hitting tools and defensive abilities all week long, and made one of the plays of the tournament on Thursday afternoon.”

The play that was being talked about so highly was one that forced Girardi to range far up the middle and make a diving stop on a sure hit. Girardi was then able to make a strong throw to get a runner at first, impressing many of the scouts and fans in attendance.

Dante also put on an impressive display at the plate in this week’s tournament, and fellow national scouting coordinator Vinnie Cervino believes there is significant upside with his hitting tool. While Dante’s fluid swing paid dividends at LakePoint, his father has taught him that what is more important is managing the failure the game is bound to bring.

“I think that trying to stay up when things are bad is the hardest part of the game. It’s easy when things are going good, but it is just about staying true to yourself when things are going bad.”

While every father wants to be the greatest role model possible for their son, many agree that being there when your son succeeds can be the most rewarding. Joe Girardi is no longer managing for the Yankees, but it has provided him with an excellent opportunity to see Dante develop into an outstanding ballplayer himself.

“It is really enjoyable because over the last 10 or 11 years I haven’t had a chance to watch my son play a lot of baseball,” Girardi said. “I’ve probably seen him play as much this spring and this summer as I did in the last 10 years combined, so its been a real treat for me to be around these boys and watch them progress.”

Not only does Girardi get to see this FTB team progress, but also he gets to do it one of the premier events in travel baseball. This year’s tournament welcomed nearly 400 teams to the Atlanta area, and Dante couldn't have been more excited about the opportunity to compete.

“Coming to WWBA, it is just the powerhouse for summer baseball,” said Dante Girardi. “To come back again in a week [to the Perfect Game World Series] is another honor and we are just happy to be here.”

Dante Girardi wasn't the only player to enjoy having his father coach the team this week. Jackson Werth competed for Canes North during the event, and his father Jayson Werth was also in the third base coach’s box giving signs and encouraging the team.

Jayson Werth enjoyed 15 seasons in Major League Baseball before hanging up the cleats for good last month. Playing his final seven full seasons with the Washington Nationals, Werth tormented National League pitchers, driving balls deep into the seats of Nationals Park.

It is now Jackson’s turn to torment pitchers, and while Jackson is still a few years away from being done with high school, he is quickly becoming a top prospect in the state of Virginia. Jackson is ranked as the eighth-best player in the state, and is also a top three shortstop.

Not many players get to have their dad as a coach at this level, and Jackson couldn't be happier to have his dad giving him the guidance to be great.

“Not too many people get to experience having a dad that played a lot of years in the big leagues,” said Jackson, who was also had nothing but good things to say about his Canes program. “They take really good care of their players, we have some good coaches, and they are just really great.”

Like Joe Girardi, Jayson Werth has missed some of Jackson’s baseball due to life as a big leaguer. For Jayson, the opportunity to coach his son is one he certainly doesn't take for granted.

“He [Jackson] is 16 now, and I haven’t really had a chance to see him play a whole lot, especially during the summer,” said Werth before the Canes’ game on Wednesday. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve missed a lot, but there is still a long way to go for him. It has been exciting. We have played some good games and I have gotten a chance to coach third and first and I’ve never really done a whole lot of that. You get to see the game from a different perspective.”

Speaking of different perspective, Jayson Werth acknowledged that the game has changed since he was 16. The recruiting process is different, and tournaments like this couldn't be found everywhere.

“Its really interesting because when I was going through at 16, which doesn't seem that long ago, there was nothing like this. We played in a lot of tournaments and we traveled, but they were a fraction of this event. The competition is really good for the kids.”

Though at times it feels like these four lead different lives than the rest of the people at WWBA Events, they are truly enjoying the chance to compete at the highest level. For Dante and Jackson, their fathers are there to cheer them on every step of the way.

For Joe and Jayson, they get to fulfill every father’s dream of watching their son succeed.
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