According to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Baseball page “Rosters by School,” there were roughly 51 high school baseball teams in the Spring Season of 2022. On average, each team was made up of roughly 15 to 20 players. So, quick math – 51 teams multiplied by 20 players = 1,020 student athletes who competed on a RIIL RI High School baseball team in 2022. Rhode Island is, as you know, the smallest state in the United States of America so I can only guesstimate who many high school players compete in neighboring states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine. And I can only hope to speculate how many play in massive US states like Texas, Florida, and California. Let’s ballpark that number for a moment at over 400,000 give or take a few thousand or so.

So, if you are a high school player in the United States and you are selected as one of 500 players to fly to Tampa, FL and compete in a Perfect Game (PG) National Showcase event, I would say you are one of the 1% elite baseball players in the USA. To be fair, 500 players selected out of a possible 400,000 players puts your stock at even greater than the 1% elite. You are the elite of the elite, I would say. Of the 500 players selected to compete in this summer’s PG National Showcase event, two Rhode Island players (both pitchers) were selected and attended the showcase – Coventry High School’s Tommy Turner and Bishop Hendricken High School’s Alex Clemmey. Here are their profile pages from the event, which took place last week. Click on the caption link below each snapshot to watch videos and read more about these elite players from Rhode Island!!!

Congratulations to Tommy and Alex, as well as their schools, travel teams, and families on an incredible opportunity to showcase your talents on a national level! Great job representing Rhode Island baseball, wow what an amazing event! Rhode Island may be the smallest state but we have some Big Time Arms rocking fastballs off the mound!!!

Now, there is one more math equation to discuss and marvel at. Imagine you are at a national (and international players are there, too) showcase event that features the top 1% of all the talented baseball high school players from the USA (again roughly 400,000) and you were then selected out of the 1% elite 500 players to compete at the Perfect Game All-American Classic. 60 players were chosen out of the roughly 500 who attended the PG Showcase Event, so the top 10% of the 1% elite made it to the next level. And one Rhode Island player, Alex Clemmey, did just that. Here is the post I saw this morning, courtesy of the Instagram account for Hendricken Baseball:

Absolutely amazing news and congratulations to Alex and his family on this prestigious honor and accomplishment. I read the post and the caption and noticed that a donation page was set up to support the Make A Wish Foundation and the PG Cares Grow the Game Fund. To quote the Hendricken IG post, “Text to Give – PGAAC37 to 71777,” to make a donation. According to The PG Grow the Game fund page, “Perfect Game has been the leader in growing the game of baseball in all ages, in all ways. In 2021, Perfect Game Cares launched a program dedicated to providing opportunities for baseball and softball players from the many underserved and at-risk communities across America.” The fund provides:

• Free youth camps across America as the entry into baseball/softball
• Funding for youth players to enter programming right in their neighborhoods
• Gear packages for underserved athletes
• Financial assistance for players to attend PG Showcases and sponsorship to remove entry barriers and expense of travel baseball/softball
• Partnerships with like-minded individuals and organizations
• Increased access to baseball and softball for underserved minority players

So, to recap – 2 players out of 1,020 players that played for a Rhode Island High School team were invited to a national showcase event. 2 players of the 500 players selected from the national (and international) pool of players who played High School baseball (roughly 400,00) in 2022 were from Rhode Island. The odds are staggering as is the talent of Rhode Island High School Pitchers Tommy Turner and Alex Clemmey. Again, I congratulate you both, your families, your schools, and your baseball organizations on an incredible accomplishment. Wow, Rhode Island baseball is definitely on the national map and the future looks very bright for talented Rhode Island baseball players!!! Small state, yes. Big time talent, heck yes!!!

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