The ABA team wins after the tournament in Cheyenne and thus secures a place in the Connie Mack World Series. The biggest win was in the semifinals, when ABA left seven runs behind after five innings.
The Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, New Mexico, which kicks off this Friday, July 23, is perhaps the largest sporting event in the state. The best teams from across the country head to Farmington to compete. This year’s World Series consists of teams from Texas, California, Florida, New York, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Ohio. These are the usual suspects for Connie Mack, but the 2021 World Series is going to be a little different because for the first time in Connie Mack history, a New Mexico team has qualified for the World Series. The Albuquerque Baseball Academy (ABA) with former Robertson and future NMHU infielder Lubby Marrujo is part of the ABA team that made history.
“It felt really good when the game was over,” said Marrujo. “In our semi-final game the seven of us were back and could come back. We had good energy in that last game and it felt great to be able to do this for our coach who has been with us for a long time. ”
ABA won’t be the first team in New Mexico to ever play in the Connie Mack World Series. Each season, Farmington can pit two teams against each other, one as the host team and another to win the Farmington Qualification, which is only open to Farmington travel teams. ABA is the first New Mexico team to qualify by defeating teams from outside the state. Her qualification for ABA was July 8-11 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. You must win this tournament to qualify for the Connie Mack World Series. After a comeback in seven games in the semifinals, ABA had a dominant championship game to secure their place in the World Series.
“These children have been a product of our program for years,” said ABA trainer Tim Campos. “They love to play together and they went to Cheyenne and after our first game where we went to extra innings a switch went off and they just got hot and started playing extremely well.”
ABA realizes that earning your chance to attend Connie Mack is not an easy task. At one point the team consisted of three future MLB players in Astros, third baseman Alex Bregman, Mariners outfielder Sam Haggerty and former Red Sox and Diamondbacks catcher Blake Swihart, but couldn’t make it to Farmington. It’s usually teams of several future MLB players that make up the Connie Mack World Series. We don’t know what the future will bring or whether players in the current ABA roster will reach this level, but none of the players on the team are as highly praised as Bregman, Haggerty or Swihart. There’s just something different about this group.
“The thing about this group of kids is that they refuse to lose,” said coach Campos. “They have a competitive mind, they have the right mix of relaxed and unimaginative in a way, they like to play with each other, they play for each other. We were 10-3 back in this semifinals, but there was no stopping them. “
Almost every year ABA sends their senior group away trying to qualify for the Connie Mack, something they had never done before this season. This group is the first to do so with Las Vegas born Marrujo. Marrujo and his team now have the opportunity to compete against future major league players. This year’s tournament features players committed to some of the best programs in the country such as the University of Texas, the University of Louisville, and the University of Southern California, to name a few.
ABA is proud of New Mexico baseball, and now they can showcase the style of baseball on a national stage in Farmington at one of the largest amateur baseball events in the country. The Connie Mack World Series alumni roster includes players like Ken Griffey Jr, Clayton Kershaw, Albert Pujols, and Mike Trout. After this weekend, the Las Vegas alumni list will also include Lubby Marrujo.
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