BATH – Fourth-year Manager of the Kennebec Sturgeons of Bath, Tyler Rose has been named the next President of the Maine Pine Tree Men’s Baseball League (PTL) as the organization enters its 99th year. Kris Targett of Vasselboro had served as the PTL President over the last 15 years before handing over responsibilities to Rose. “I was really lucky to have a full season of training and support from Kris who has basically seen it all,” commented Rose, who worked closely alongside Targett during the 2023 season.
The historic PTL began in 1925 as an independent semi-professional baseball league, largely comprised of teams from western Maine. Mechanic Falls, Norway, Oxford, South Paris, Turner and West Paris all played host to the original six teams in the league and saw countless games of fierce competition, larger than life personalities and hometown pride nearly a century ago. Entering the 2024 season, the PTL has twelve teams representing towns like the Winthrop Red Sox, regions such as the Central Maine Green Wave and rivers like the Kennebec Sturgeons. “I always tell people we have teams from Bethel, to Bath, to Bangor and everywhere in between,” said Rose.
Rose hopes to bring a fresh emphasis on professionalism, communication, organization and philanthropy. In 2023, Rose led the effort to record both offensive and pitching statistics for each player in the league and then post those statistics publicly on the league website. “Well, I had a couple games personally where I almost regretted making numbers publicly accessible, but I received so much positive feedback about this addition from players and fans that it has now become a staple part of the league,” mentioned Rose. Rose also added league awards for offense, defense, pitching and rookies complete with a signed certificate in the winning player’s name.
Rose hopes the professional atmosphere and a focus on communicating with fans will grab the eye of public interest. Rose operates the Kennebec Sturgeons’ Facebook page, which boasts several hundred followers who receive game and player updates as well as a live audio broadcast of home games, complete with a play-by-play announcer and color commentator, followed by a video version of the games the day after. Other teams in the league have taken note and began launching their own social media pages for similar
purposes.
Under Rose’s leadership, the Sturgeons have completed several philanthropic projects to better their community. In 2023, the team raised money for the purchase of an outfield fence for their home field, Varnum Field in Bath. Varnum, in addition to the Sturgeons, is the home of the Bath Middle School teams as well as the local Babe Ruth league. Prior to 2023, the field had never had a fence. The Sturgeons also partner with Dream Factory of Maine to help raise money for children with both life threatening and chronic illnesses. Rose hopes to lead by example and encourage other teams to see what they can do to help their communities as well as with youth baseball development in the state.
In the 1950s and 60s, teams from the PTL would compete against other top teams in the eastern United States for a chance to travel to Battle Creek, Michigan to play in a tournament and eventually a championship that would feature the top teams from the east and west of the Mississippi. The spectacle would attract thousands of fans from all over the country and was every PTL player’s dream to be a part of. In today’s league, teams play a regular season that stretches from May through July before giving way to playoffs during the month of August. The league championship game is held the final weekend of August for a chance at bragging rights, a cash prize and, as of 2024, a new league trophy.
The PTL is a healthy and expanding league, adding four new teams from Brunswick, Topsham, Paris and Turner over the last two years. If you are someone aged 18 or older and interested in starting or joining a team in the PTL, reach out to Rose via the league’s website. Games are played on Sunday mornings, with 2024’s Opening Day set for May 5th. For a full league schedule, list of teams and much more visit the PTL website by searching “Pine Tree Baseball League” online. Rose concluded, “As someone who is helplessly in love with baseball, I am all in favor of more teams, more guys getting involved and getting to know people in their community. Baseball is something that can bring people and places together like little else can.”
