Softball League Feeds Competitive Yearnings for some Miami-Dade Police Officers, But is Much More Than Homeruns and Double Plays

This is not your typical weekend softball league- many of the players have big college experience on the baseball diamond and a few have even played professional baseball. The Police Softball League spans from Los Angeles to New York City, with over 400 teams. There is an East Division and West Division and national rankings, with perennial powerhouses like “LAPD Blue” representing the Los Angeles Police Department, usually sitting at or near the top.

Locally, there are two teams that have Miami-Dade Police Department Officers on its roster, scratching at the rankings. “Miami Five-O” is ranked 20^th nationally and the “Miami Metro Dawgz” is ranked 13 nationally. Lieutenant Nelson Andreu Jr., assigned to the Miami-Dade Public Safety Training Institute & Research Center, is the captain of the Miami Metro Dawgz team, and Sergeant Anthony Garcia, assigned to the Kendall District, is the captain of Miami Five-O. 

The Miami Metro Dawgz has 15 players from the Department, three players from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and two from the Miami Police Department. The team has been in the League since 2009. At least 40 players from the Department have been on the team since it started.

“We started at the bottom and have worked our way up to national recognition in the league,” Lieutenant Andreu said. A team comprised solely of players from the Department won the annual First Responder Games softball tournament held in June 2023 in Tampa. The rules of the tournament require that teams representing large agencies, with over 500 officers, cannot have players from other agencies on the roster. Forty teams entered that tournament.

Aside from the obvious benefits of exercise, sports leagues for law enforcement agencies are a great way for police officers to build pride and comradery, and is a form of mutual support and stress relief between teammates who understand the demands of the profession. Furthermore, events such as the First Responder Games and leagues specifically for law enforcement can be an excellent public relations and recruitment tool.  

Miami Five-O has six players from the Department, out of 22 players from eight different agencies, including the Doral Police Department, Key Biscayne Police Department, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, and the Pembroke Pines Police Department. The team joined the League in 2019.  

“We have a great time, our families are out there watching, the kids go, they wear matching jerseys,” Sergeant Garcia said. “For us, police softball and specifically Miami Five-O is a brotherhood. We all depend on each other on the field a few weekends out of the year but more importantly we depend on each other every day in our daily lives. Every person on this team has the full support of 21 other individuals at any second of the day, there’s no price you can pay for that.”

The two teams recently participated in a tournament in West Palm Beach and out of 20 teams, Miami-Five-O placed fourth and the Miami Metro Dawgz placed third. Both teams are projected to do very well in the League’s World Series tournament in October, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The league’s website is PoliceSoftball.com.

While not officially sanctioned by the Department - the uniforms do not have any Departmental branding and the teams do not receive any funding from the Department - the teams do have the blessing of the Director’s Office. “We know that as officers of the Miami-Dade Police Department, we always reflect it, and so sportsmanship is the number one thing,” Sergeant Garcia said.

Given all the different agencies, it is sometimes hard to find practice times that fit everyone’s schedule, but they manage to make it work. Some teams in other regions and states are organized through their respective departments and get internal practice time and funding.

The tournaments that the two teams participate in are mostly in-state, and teams have to qualify for the World Series by attaining a high rank. The first in-state tournament of the season is in February, followed by tournaments in West Palm Beach and in Jacksonville. The teams also travel throughout the East region, and each member pays for their travel expense.

The teams also coordinate and participate in fundraising tournaments to raise money for the families of officers killed in the line of duty or who are otherwise in need of money due to unforeseen circumstances.  Officer Garcia recently organized three fundraising tournaments to benefit the families of officers who died in 2022 and 2023, including Officer Cesar “Echy” Echaverry Jr., who was a member of Miami 5-0, Officer Andrew Gomez, of the Kendall District, who died of a chronic health condition, and Pembroke Pines Police Officer Charles Herring, who died in a tragic accident while riding his Department motorcycle on duty. The tournaments raised a total of over $100,000 for the three families.

Soon after joining the league 20 years ago, the Miami Metro Dawgz held a local tournament to raise funds for the family of a Miami-Dade Police Officer whose son was diagnosed with cancer. The team also did a fundraiser for former Northside Commander Ricky Carter, who lost his legs in a motorcycle accident in 2017. 

“It’s competitive softball, but it is more than that for us,” Lieutenant Andreu said. “It is a way for us to give back to the Department that has done so much for us, and to extend that to other officers in need.”

The teams coordinate with the Department and with the Police Officer Assistance Trust to assist families.

Playing the game is not as easy for him as it was in his twenties and thirties, but Lieutenant Andreu still has moments at the plate. He prefers now to mostly play the role of manager, and allow the younger players to provide the highlights.

“We represent the department with pride and dignity, and build bonds outside of our police work,” he said. “It is nice to get away, to take time off from the stress of police work, to unplug and unwind playing softball.”

 

By Brian Ballou