Walt Deriso’s Buddy Baseball Legacy

Buckhead Baseball has been the home of the Buddy Baseball program since 1992. This program gives children with special needs the ability to play baseball alongside the buddies who are 12-year-old volunteers from Buckhead Baseball’s Majors Program. The baseball players are paired for the season, allowing for a diverse group’s learning of the basics of baseball. For the last eleven years, Walt Deriso stepped up to bat as the head coach of the Buddy Baseball team. Walt Deriso and his son, Walt Jr., spent those years enjoying the best of baseball within the Buddy Baseball program. 

Sculpture unveiling on Buckhead Baseball’s field.

To honor the remarkable work Coach Deriso has done for the Buddy Baseball team, the board of the Buckhead Baseball team contacted Cherrylion Studios to create a bronze sculpture of Walt Deriso and Walt Jr. The sculpture depicts father and son poised together in their baseball uniforms, sharing a moment of a coach's guidance. To show the completed bronze to the team, Marty took the sculpture to Buckhead Baseball’s field to exhibit the reveal. 

The inscription is a s follows:

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” Big Walt & Little Walt

In 2009 the history of Buckhead Baseball was altered by the arrival of Walter “Walt” M. Deriso, III and his wife Anna, and children “Little Walt” and Henery. Walt’s warmth, kindness, and generosity have been forever woven into the fabric of our league and our community.

Walt served as commissioner of Buddy Baseball, President of Buckhead Baseball, Major’s Commissioner, Mento, Coach, Father and Friend.

Thank you Walt and Deriso Family for your selfless contributions to Buckhead Baseball.

Thank you to Buckhead Baseball for this heartwarming experience. If you would like to learn more about Buddy Baseball, check out their website here: Buddy Baseball Program.