2004 Bristol American Legion baseball team: A team on a remarkable journey reunites 20 years later

Matt Arburr high fives members of the 2004 American Legion Post 2 at a reunion gathering at Muzzy Field Tuesday evening. | David Fortier

Posted By: David Fortier August 23, 2024

By Jack Krampitz

A reunion of a special group of athletes and coaches occurred without much fanfare or applause on Tuesday night at Muzzy Field. And that is probably just the way they liked it.

The 2004 Bristol American Legion baseball team won the state championship and came within one game of winning the Northeast Regionals and going to Oregon for the American Legion World Series. it was a remarkable season for a talented and dedicated team.

Members of the 2004 American Legion baseball team take their swings. From top left, clockwise, Chris Klepps, Drew Sgro, Frank Rossi, Joe Fortier and Mike Wentland. | David Fortier

After winning a difficult Zone One championship, outlasting talented teams from Simsbury and Southington, Bristol zipped right through the state tournament, beating Trumbull, Norwalk, Orange, East Hartford, and Simsbury in the final by a score of 5-3 for the State Championship.

In the Regional, Bristol defeated Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. But the team from Maine was exceptional, coming out of the loser’s bracket and sweeping a doubleheader from Bristol to win the Regional. Maine then went on to sweep the American Legion World Series in Oregon.

Coaches Hal Kilby and Spec Monico watch from the dugout as players engage in a game of home run derby. | David Fortier

The loss in the finals of the Regionals does not diminish how special this Bristol team was. As Coach Spec Monaco was tossing batting practice on Tuesday, assistant coach Hal Kilby talked about the group out on the field.

Drew Sgro and Mike Zammett shore up the infield. | David Fortier

“Not only was this group talented; they were great kids too. So we just had a fun year…We knew we were in a special place.”

Kilby went on to say, “There was pressure, there were expectations, but we had confidence. We knew, you know, we could play. We had a lot of depth on the pitching staff. Just great kids. You know, practice was fun, games were fun.”

Drew Sgro and Rex Cone take in the proceedings from the outfield. | David Fortier

The offense in 2004 was led in multiple categories by Matt Arburr, who led the team in runs (59), hits (72), batting average (.436), doubles (18), triples (7), home runs (10), and RBI’s (62). That is 62 RBI’s in only 52 games. Other than that he did not do much to contribute.

Matt Arburr anticipates a throw from across the diamond. | David Fortier

Other leading hitters were Chris Klepps, who batted .359, Sean Allaire (.342), Drew Sgro (.378), Frank Rossi (.333), and Dan Rosa (.359).

There were multiple pitchers available to Monico during the season, but the workhorses were Nick Michaud, Mike Wentland, Arburr and Kyle Gravlin. Unfortunately, no pitching stats were available for this recap.

Families of the players congregate in the stands. | David Fortier

On the field on Tuesday, the players, now in their late 30’s, still had a spring in their step. Drew Sgro even launched one over the fence in right during B.P., causing Monico to comment, “Where was that in 2004?”

Many of the children of the players accompanied them on the field, taking part in the warm-up tosses and then watching their dads from the stands.

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