Wiffle tourney in Vermont draws fans for good cause

ESSEX, Vt. — The way Travis Roy sees it, it’s hard to put into words, even after all these years of trying. Half of the reason is because there were days he never thought he’d hear cheers again, and hear all these people cheering. The other half is because of where they are, all standing in front of him in this mini-baseball wonderland, and how far he came to get here.

This weekend in Essex, a rustic town of 9,000 stemming from a single gravel road, Roy is once again serving as the headmaster for what may be America’s most little known, yet heartwarming baseball weekend.

For the 15th consecutive year, his Travis Roy Foundation’s Wiffle ball tournament brought teams to its one-of-a-kind facility near Lake Champlain to raise money for spinal cord injury research. More than 400 players spread out over 32 teams will spend the weekend swinging plastic yellow bats on fields that could easily be mistaken for hallowed ground.

That’s because the Essex complex features fascinating to-scale replicas of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and the “Field of Dreams,” from the iconic movie of the same name. The entire Wiffle ball tournament is played on these fields, meticulous in their design down to the last piece of brick ivy, to the final shine of the mini CITGO sign in left field. A hue of history hides in every miniature corner.

 Travis Roy Foundation Tournament

“It’s something that you see for the first time and think ‘Wait, can I put one of these in my backyard?'” said Bruce Bosley, who works for the Travis Roy Foundation. “You …

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