Dear LOYBL Friends and Family,
In the past couple of days you may have heard or read about the tragic death of a 12-year-old Rochester Hills boy, whose travel baseball team was practicing at Friendship Park last Saturday. Joseph ‘Cooper? Salsberry collapsed while jogging with teammates and despite the valiant efforts of his coaches and paramedics later died at an area hospital.
While this young man, nor his team, was affiliated with LOYBL, we consider this a tragedy for the local baseball community. Besides sending flowers to the funeral home, our LOYBL/Charger board liaison Sean Palatka has been in contact with the coaches of his team to offer our condolences and continued support to the Salsberry family.
As more details come to light on the cause of Joseph’s death, we will evaluate our league’s preventative safety measures and emergency protocols should a similar episode ever occur with any of our players, coaches or umpires. Since the foundation of LOYBL nearly 30 years ago, the safety of our players and personnel has been a top priority. We will work hard to maintain this long-standing imperative.
That said, we wish all of our participants a safe, fun-filled experience this upcoming season.
Sincerely,
LOYBL Board