Tyler Trudell was a boy disproportionately engaged by Little League for more than half of his 13 years.
Or more accurately, he was a young man. And he was just beginning a long, fun, competitive season playing for both his Paxton Little League’s intermediate team and a Strike Zone AAU team.
Tyler loved playing organized sports, pickup games, video games, fishing, hunting, hiking, hanging out and going to the beach.
A pitcher and shortstop, Tyler wore No. 2. He and a core group of his teammates have been playing either together or against each other in the Paxton Little League program for eight years.
A week ago, Tyler’s mom, Lynn, and dad, Steve, wished their “normal and healthy” 13-year-old son “good night” as he went off to bed.
The weekend meant another full schedule of practice and games — among other young teen boy activities.
But Tyler never woke up.
He was found last Thursday morning in bed by his mom.
There has been no official cause of death provided.
Only God knows what happened to Tyler at this point.
There was a tribute game played in Tyler’s honor between Paxton and a team from Burkett Little League Sunday in Worcester. A vigil was held for Tyler Monday night. His wake was in Holden Wednesday evening. He will be laid to rest at Mooreland Cemetery in Paxton Thursday morning.
“It was such a shock,” Caryn Figueras Keenan said. Her 13-year-old son Owen was a teammate of Tyler and among his closest friends. She has pictures of these Paxton boys together going back to when they could barely make contact playing T-ball.
If you need a good cry, these photos are the perfect trigger.
Paxton – population 4,806 – united following Tyler’s death. School counselors and comfort dogs are helping his classmates cope. A GoFundMe page for his family has raised more than $74,000. His cemetery plot was donated by the town. A “food train” to provide meals for his family is booked until July. Tyler has two older brothers who were also lifelong mentors. Benjamin is a senior at Wachusett Regional High School and Zachary attends Worcester State University.
Keenan has been a middle school physical education teacher in Shrewsbury for 27 years. She’s lost students, but never one in such an unexpected and unexplainable manner such as Tyler’s.
“His mom kept saying how we need to keep these boys together,” Keenan said. “Because these kids were so special. And they played so well together. And loved each other so much. This is the first year Paxton decided to join an Intermediate League, so they could play together.”
His longtime, multi-sport coach, Andy Sherry, spoke Sunday about how Tyler “was smart, funny, sensitive, kind, fun-loving. He loved his family, his friends and his church.”
Tyler was both “wicked smart” and “wicked funny.”
Last month, the Red Sox Foundation revealed it would no longer offer 167 individual Little League organizations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island annual $500 donations as it had in 2019. A spokesperson cited — as one reason — the supposition that “Little League only accounts for a fraction of youth leagues and more often than not disproportionately engages boys vs. girls.”
We couldn’t make that up if we tried.
After that was reported by the Herald and discussed in this space, the “feedback” led the Foundation to reverse course, the Herald reported Tuesday. Kudos to the Red Sox Foundation for eventually doing the right thing.
Every dollar helps.
Thousands of boys and girls in Massachusetts and Rhode Island want to play Little League and be kids — with all the trappings — for as long as possible.
Tyler Trudell will forever be a kid. That is tragic beyond anyone’s imagination.
Bill Speros (@RealOBF) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com.
