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Tullahoma Parks and Recreation Director J.P. Kraft and Deputy Director and City Forester Lyle Russell presented a report on the event “Wildcats and Friends” which included signed baseballs for the entire board. The baseballs were signed by several Major League Baseball players or former players who attended the event.

Russell stated in a release “Major League Baseball talent descended on Tullahoma once again for the second annual Wildcats and Friends Baseball Clinic. The event was held at Grider Stadium on Oct. 21, and was sponsored by Tullahoma Parks and Recreation.”

“On that cool and sunny Saturday morning, 80 aspiring future baseball youth met five Major League Baseball players that all came through Tullahoma’s high school baseball program,” stated the release.

“Tullahoma High School baseball coach and former MLB pitcher Brian Morris, Jordan Sheffield, Justus Sheffield, Gary Phillips, and Dewon Brazelton took groups of children to different parts of the field to teach the tips and tricks that gave them an edge.”

“This event is a lot of moving parts,” said Jeff Damron, Parks Athletics manager and co-organizer of the event. “Once the pieces come together and all these kids take the field with these pros to learn more about baseball, all the work is worth it.”

“The active players are a little harder to nail down because they have full schedules this time of year, especially if they are playing on or working for a team in the playoffs,” co-organizer Travis Sheffield said. “One thing is for certain, they have all made coming to this event a priority in their year and we’re grateful for them wanting to give back to the programs they came up through.”

“Dewon Brazelton took his groups to the pitcher’s mound for pitching mechanics. Brian Morris took his groups to center field working with players on fielding fly balls and outfield routine. Gary Phillips worked with players in infield mechanics and making plays at the base. Justus Sheffield worked on arm care pitching drills in left field, and Jordan Sheffield took right field for pitcher’s fielding practice and ground balls to the mound. At the end, all 80 youth attending received an autographed poster from the event by each of the players as well as some of their own personal items and photo opportunities.”

“Tullahoma has a rich baseball legacy,” Russell said. “While we have tremendous athletes in all Tullahoma sports, our baseball program has produced several Major Leaguers and this program is just one of the small ways we honor that legacy.” Russell also stated that there are plans for future changes to the garden areas around Grider Stadium to showcase that success. “Grider Stadium was a former minor league stadium from Arab, Alabama that was disassembled and reassembled right here. We’re looking at some historical markers and some type of monument garden for our players that have gone all the way to the majors.”

“We already have plans for the third annual Wildcats and Friends in 2024,” said Damron. “No other place we know of in Tennessee has a program like this and our youth players have a tremendous opportunity to grow. Travis (Sheffield) and I are already working on schedules with the other players who couldn’t make it here this year. They’ve all said they will be here next time and are excited about it. Our department is very proud to be a small part of this great event.”

At the meeting, Kraft commented during his presentation about the success of the event.

 “When the event finished, the players and the department wanted to give something to the officials that support our programs in parks and recreation,” Kraft said. “When we put forth these ideas in our annual budgets, the board approves for us to continue these types of all-star events for our city. It’s a minor token of our appreciation for BOMA support of our department.”

Mayor Ray Knowis was presented with a poster of the event by Kraft. He and the board thanked the department for their work in the community.