THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, AUGUST 14, 2026 Page 5 Saugus Babe Ruth returns with winning results in the fall and spring seasons T By Joe McConnell he Saugus Babe Ruth League successfully resurrected itself from the ashes last year with a Fall Ball team under the leadership of its president and manager John Benoit. Prior to that, it has been at least 15 years since the town had a place where graduating Little League players could go to locally to keep on playing the summer game. During the program’s absence, Lynn Babe Ruth did open up its doors to merge with Saugus as a means to provide an outlet for its players ages 13-16 to compete against other North Shore communities. “The league officially disbanded (as a chartered organization) about 10 to 15 years ago, because it didn’t have the volunteers to run it,” Benoit said, “and so as a result, the players, who aged out of (Saugus) Little League at 12-yearsold and still wanted to continue playing baseball, had to go to Lynn or other surrounding towns to join their leagues.” Upon its return last fall, there was only one team of 15 players, ages 12-15, and Benoit Saugus Babe Ruth made a triumphant return last fall with this team that went on win the Fall Ball League championship after beating Peabody in the fi nals. They are, from left, second row, assistant coach Joe Miranda, manager John Benoit, Garett Peavey, Emmett Bright, Luka Basta, Salvatore Colaianni, Joseph Basta, John Benoit, Nolan DeThomas and assistant coaches Jeff Natalucci and Yat Voong. First row, Henry Rodriguez, Jameson Salsman, Devon Voong, Gio Natalucci, Thomas Vitiello, Araav Saini and Cameron Loberg. (Courtesy photo) coached it with Jeff Natalucci, Yat Voong and Joe Miranda. By season’s end, they ended up beating Peabody to win the Fall Ball championship. Not originally from Saugus, Benoit moved here in 2011 after marrying a native Saugonian. “We have four boys ages 13, 12, 9 and 8, who all love playing baseball,” he said. “I fi rst got involved with Saugus Little League as a coach, before spending the last four years volunteering my time as its president. As my oldest son approached his last year of Little League eligibility, I started to look into options for Babe Ruth, and what needed to be done to get the program back to Saugus. Through connections that I made in Little League, I was able to track down the right people to start the process of getting Saugus rechartered. We also had to establish the league as a non-profi t organization, so we could properly fundraise.” That process to set everything back up wasn’t easy. “I initially had to pay out of my own pocket to (take care of) the charter fees and league insurance, which totaled $3,000,” added Benoit. “(I was eventually) able to cover those costs with the registration fees. (At the conclusion of last year’s Fall Ball season), we were able to break even after paying out for uniforms, baseballs, umpire fees and fi eld costs.” The plan going forward is for more fundraising to help grow the program that should give future players a great opportunity to enjoy the sport in their own community. BABE RUTH | SEE PAGE 6 MORE SUPP MORE SOLUTIONS. LESS WORR PP OLUTIONS. RR. Clear answers, faster decisions, and a t to get things done. We make it easy for Because here, easy means more. r o ge EverettBank.com
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