TRAVERSE CITY — The Pit Spitters have had a unique roster every season since 2019, filled with players from all over the country. This year, they have a player from Hawaii.
Dallas Duarte plays catcher for the Pit Spitters, and this is the farthest he’s been from his hometown of Hilo, Hawaii. So far, the transition to the Cherry Capital has gone smoothly.
“God bless. I’m nothing but grateful for my host family. You know, they take care of me, took me in,” Duarte said. And the coaches, they treated us just as well, if not better. Nothing more grateful for this opportunity.”
Duarte has provided a solid presence behind home plate. In 10 games this season, Duarte has a 1.000 fielding percentage with zero errors at catcher. He’s batting .235 with six runs scored and seven runs batted in during those 10 games.
“He brings some flair with them. He’s a fun player. The guys definitely like having his personality on the team. And he’s a really good defensive catcher,” Pit Spitters manager Josh Rebandt said.
He has also added some Hawaiian culture to the dugout.
“Each day we try and figure out something from him. The guys love the different cultures that we have here in the clubhouse,” Rebandt said. “I think that’s really cool and he’s just a great energy guy, so he fits right into who we are as a team and organization and plays the game the right way, so excited he’s on board.”
“This team is open arms,” Duarte said. “I’m kind of teaching them our language. It’s like called pidgin. Somewhat English, but I believe we just cut off some terms, cut off some words, and the boys love it. You know, I just taught coach the word cherreh. It means good. He asked me how I’m feeling. I said, ‘Cherreh.'”
Feeling cheereh in the Cherry Capital.
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