Suwanee Teams Create Hall of Fame Pins

Note: This is the fourth article in a series about taking youth baseball teams to Cooperstown, N.Y.  for a weeklong summer tournament.  Previous articles covered an , , and the . 

 The Suwanee teams attending this year are: 

• Collins Hill Green,  coached by Ted Kallgren - June 25  

• North Gwinnett Black, coached by Pat McGuire - July 2  

• North Gwinnett Red, coached by Todd Smith - July 2  

• Collins Hill Black, coached by Mickey Strope - July 23

One of the rewarding traditions for the youth participating in the Cooperstown Dreams baseball experience is exchanging trading pins with other teams from around the country. Each team designs a unique pin that has markings representing their team, mascot, school, or town. The pins become a source of pride to the team. In many ways it's like a brand mark.

During downtime, between games or at night, the kids have time to interact with each other. It's a good time to make new friends by trading their pins.  The genius of the idea is that it facilitates a communication between 12 year olds. It creates an opportunity to share the story of their team, their mascot, and their town. 

The trading pins are not mandatory for tournament participation and do cost families extra. Costs will vary based on size, number of colors, any animation, and volume ordered. A typical cost is 75 cents to $1.50 per pin but can certainly go higher or lower.

But the reward is greater than the cost to buy the pins as it helps the kids to more fully complete the Cooperstown experience.  In the end they'll have a collection of pins, many of them with stories and memories.

Others get in on the fun as well. Some families take extra pins for themselves or siblings. Even some of the umpires have pins to trade! Now how cool is that? Can't you just see umpire pins with nicknames like "Balk-a-day", "yer out", "bug eyes", or even "play ball!"

Traders usually keep their pin collections secured to a hand towel and roll the towel with the pins inside when they are moved.  Another idea is to use ring binders with sheets of felt inside. This adds a little extra protection with the hard cover of the binder. 

The big question now, is what kind of designs are the local Suwanee teams considering? The two Collins Hills teams and North Gwinnett Black shared a few of their concept designs. See their designs attached to this article.

Collins Hill Green players chose between two competing designs. The winning design prominently features the Collins Hill eagle with the players' names and numbers on baseballs. 

Collins Hill Black is considering three concept designs before sending them to a designer and printer for cleanup. The team players will vote on their favorite design. 

North Gwinnett Black is also considering three designs. The players will vote to determine a winner.

Randall Watson, son of North Gwinnett coach Randy Watson, remembers trading during his trip to Cooperstown. "Everytime I look at those pins, it takes me back to the week in Cooperstown when I was trading pins with other teams," Randall Watson said.  

One memorable experience for Watson was with a team named the Canadiens. They became good friends during the week through pin trading. By chance, they ended up playing each other and the North Gwinnett team won by a score of 15-0.  In a classy show of sportansmanship, the Canadiens came out to support the North Gwinnett team several times even after they had been eliminated from tournament play. "That was pretty neat," Watson says.

So all four of the Suwanee teams going to Cooperstown in 2012 have decided to trade pins. They will be a tangible reminder of a complete baseball experience: the game, the teams, the fans, the umpires, and the setting. That's part of what makes this game so great; a field of dreams and friends.