As the Warsaw Little League season closes, the annual Garber Award was presented to Tyler Murphy Tuesday at Boggs Industrial Park in Warsaw. Established in the 1960s by former Warsaw Parks and Recreation Superintendent Avery “Pat” Garber, the award is given annually to the Warsaw Little League player that displays more than baseball skill. “The guidelines for the award are set up by the Garber family, which include good baseball skills, but the most important thing is it’s a mental attitude award, so you have to be a good leader on and off the field,” Warsaw Little League President Lance Leeper said. “You also have to show a good mental attitude on and off the field and be willing to help others. One of their stipulations is, you have to have played seven consecutive years in our league.” According to Leeper, Murphy, who attended Tippecanoe Valley High School last year but returns to Warsaw for his sophomore season, was a perfect selection. “He’s a great kid,” Leeper said. “He’s been umpiring out here the past couple of years. He helps out whenever he can. He hops into the concession stand when we need help in there, helps the grounds crew and he’s just an all-around great kid.” The presentation of the award took place between innings of an exhibition game as Warsaw Little League All Stars prepare for this month’s tournament. The Warsaw Little League, which began the first week of May, wrapped up its season with a final championship game Tuesday, and that took place late due to rain. “With the weather, we haven’t had too many nights off this year,” Leeper, who’s been involved with the league for 22 years, the past four as the president, said. Even though the league, which includes T-ball (4-6), Coaches Pitch (6-8), Little League Minors (8-10), Little League Majors (11-12), Senior Minors (13-14) and Senior Majors (15-16), has concluded play, the fields will still be used for all-star action. The Little League Minors begin all-star play Friday, with the three older leagues getting under way in the following days. In the all-star state tournament, the district tournaments take place first, being played at various locations, followed by a sectional tournament at a designated location and ultimately state. A year ago, Warsaw’s Senior Majors team advanced deep in the state tournament, finishing as the runner-up in Portage. However, this year’s team of 15- and 16-year olds looks a little different than last year’s. “A lot of those kids were (16) last year, so we have some younger ones coming in this year,” Leeper said. “But we still hope we’ll have a good, competitive team.” Whether or not Warsaw’s all-star teams fare well in the state tournament, Leeper was pleased with how well the Warsaw Little League season went. “We had really, really good attendance this year,” he said. “We had about 450 kids throughout the league, all the way up from 4 (years old) to 16. We’ve had a really great season out here. We had a lot of fun. If it wasn’t for all the parents and volunteers, we wouldn’t have what we have.”
