Big Time Failures

Baseball 2009, Game 89: Baltimore Orioles 11, Washington Nationals 1

Baltimore Sloppiness: 5
Washington Sloppiness: 5
Most batters in one inning: 13
Hitter of the Game: Adam Jones, Baltimore (rating: 41)
Pitcher of the Game: Brad Bergesen, Baltimore (rating: 96)
Time of Game: 2:59
Mid-game temperature: 84 degrees
Attendance: 45,024 (Level I sporting event)

The Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals are both members of Big Time Sports. Their players have all come from Small Time Sports however, and have finally reached the one level of baseball that most sports fans perceive as Big Time. Unlike the Small Time guys, the Orioles and Nationals' members are very wealthy. The average player in this game is making more than 2 million dollars this year. Both teams average over 20,000 fans a game.

But this isn't good enough in the world of Big Time Sports. The Orioles are in last in the AL East, and the Nationals are by far the worst team in Major League Baseball as over 70 percent of the time they lose. At the highest level of Major League Baseball, players make over 5 million and over 40K fans are in attendance.

Yet the Orioles and Nationals are still considered Big Time. The Orioles have been representing the very large metro area of Baltimore since the 1950s, winning three World Series titles between 1966 and 1983. In 1992 the Orioles built Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and the attractive modern stadium based on old-time Ebbets Field sparked nearly every other Big Time baseball team to rush and build a new stadium to boost their attendance figures. This phenomenon has reached Small Time Sports as well, since Minor League teams often rely upon the ballpark (and not the team) to lead it to profit.

But in MLB, this isn't working. The Orioles' success with the park in the 1990s began to fade in the 2000s, as team play took a drop. Meanwhile nearby in Washington 40 miles away the Nationals had relocated from Montreal where they were on the verge of becoming Small Time in a Big Time league. While the Nationals have had more fans in the nation's capital, their attendance numbers are still bad as the team continues to get drubbed by baseball's most successful teams.

But on this Friday night with a fireworks' show and the city alive, Camden Yards was about to come alive again. Over 90 percent of the stadium was filled to see the two local rivals play, despite their awful records. Only the overpriced club seats in the middle of the stadium were a fair number of empty seats found in 48,876 seat stadium. The Orioles' started out on top with Aubrey Huff's sac fly in the first to drive in Adam Jones with the first run. The Nationals quickly tied the game up in the 2nd, but the Orioles would dominate the rest of the way. Two runs in the 4th and eight runs in the 8th would put the Nats away. The entire O's lineup was effective in getting hits and knocking in runs, especially in the 6th when 13 Orioles came up to bat, the most in the past 41 games I have seen. The Orioles cruised to an 11-1 win, and the Nationals' showed why they are as bad as they are. The Nats' only hope is to get more Small Time Sports stars such as San Diego State and #1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg, and next year high school phenom Bryce Harper.

Well, so how does this compare to Small Time Sports? Going to a game like this can be fun for a few reasons for even Small Time junkies like myself. One is the comparison in atmospheres. I got a seat behind first base 10 rows from the field, just like my seat at highly attended Blowfish games. Except that this ticket was 50 dollars, not five. While many fans were hyper and late-arriving like your typical minor league park, they actually cared about the game as the Orioles' carry Baltimore's pride even though the players are only being paid to temporairily live there. No mascot races (other than where the two teams' mascots ran against themselves and an Orioles staff member showing off his speed) or zany on-field promotions. This is because:
A. they don't need it, and
B. millionaires do NOT want ordinary fans scurrying around on their field between innings.
Of course there is a lot of hype in a major league park. The scoreboards are high-definition with quality video and graphics detailing both the score and other game details. Just like many small time venues however the scoreboard on the base paths' was frozen during the top of the 6th inning. Many vendors went down the aisles, such as one beer guy who appeared to have received the steroids that the players once used. He was very muscular and looked like he was auditioning for a beer commercial as he delivered beer. It should also be noted that the high ticket prices turn away many regular folks at these games. While Baltimore is over 60 percent black, most of the people at Camden Yards Friday night were staff members such as the beer guys. The crowd was predominantly white although casually dressed for the most part.

It is also nice to see games with low Sloppiness totals and a high quality of play. Yet it must be remembered that in much of Small Time Sports you can see high quality ball, with some players coming here. I saw Brian Roberts of the Orioles play in college 10 years ago at South Carolina, and Aubrey Huff play for the AAA Durham Bulls. And now they have finally gotten Big Time support and millions of dollars. Yet baseball players at the Small Time level don't get the respect they do in college basketball and football, and this needs to change.

And now for the next month it is back to Small Time Sports, all the time!

How to Get a Big Crowd on a Wednesday Night

Baseball 2009, Game 88: Florence RedWolves 15, Columbia Blowfish 0

Florence Sloppiness: 6
Columbia Sloppiness: 11
Most batters in one inning: 9
Hitter of the Game: Austin Smetana, Florence (rating: 48)
Pitcher of the Game: Barrett Kleinknecht, Florence (rating: 111)
Time of Game: 2:54
Mid-game temperature: 81 degrees
Attendance: 2,159 (Level III sporting event)

The Blowfish have recently aside from Fort Jackson night drawn very poorly, with last week's four games getting no more than 750 fans with an average of around 500, which is very bad by Columbia and the CPL's standards.

But last night was dollar beer night, drawing any many fans from the bar. In addition, the Blowfish took a page from the RedWolves' book and invited the Dentsville and Pineview All-Star teams, as well as the entire Blythewood Baseball League. The RedWolves often call such promotions "Little League Night", but that is often not correct since most youth baseball teams are not affiliated with Little League Baseball. And this can be a good thing, as much of the organizations associated with Little League hold tryouts to limit their rosters as requied by the parent organization and divide kids into separate leagues at an early age. Not really what is best for developing all kids of all abilities and having fun. But these leagues in Columbia tonight were affiliated with Dixie Youth Baseball, a league that split from Little League purely for racist reasons. In the late 1950s in segregated South Carolina, the white teams in the state split off to avoid playing a team from Charleston with black players. Today Dixie Youth Baseball serves 11 states, which are the exact same as those of the old Confederacy. Dixie Youth Baseball is a way to take South Carolinians back in time to the Civil War era, with many Southerners too stupid to realize that this was a dark time for the South.

Anyway, mixing children and heavy beer drinking ensures the great family-fun crowd that the Blowfish are striving for. The stat from the game that the Blowfish organization cares most about is "Attendance: 2,159", their best attendance since Fort Jackson Night. The baseball teams and other kids' groups tended to pack the 1st base side, whereas the beer drinkers mostly sat behind home plate. That is where I sat, and listening to their half-drunken conversations makes you realize that people in general aren't that bright. On the lesser attended 3rd base side was a fairly large group from the USC School of Music's Summer Camp.

Most of these fans left early however, as they weren't coming for the game. And those who did come for the game didn't see much of any good baseball. The Blowfish played their worst game of the season (which is saying something) in a 15-0 loss. The Blowfish did get several hits, but couldn't manage to bring anybody around as typical. But what wasn't typical was the poor pitching by Columbia's pitching staff. 13 of the 15 runs allowed were given up by USC pitchers Patrick Sullivan and Brandon Miller. The Blowfish may in the future want to consider not taking players from USC since Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner usually does not send any of his better players there. The Blowfish have often been a holding spot for players who don't get much playing time at Carolina Stadium, and this in my view weakens the quality of play at Capital City Stadium. The RedWolves couldn't seem to stop scoring runs, as with 1 out in the 9th and already three across that inning Austin Smetana (who didn't start for Florence) hit a three-run homer to center to make the final score 15-0. Smetana and Pitcher of the Game Barrett Kleinknecht have been representing Florence well for a long time now, as they have been teammates at West Florence High School, Florence Post 1, and currently Francis Marion University and the RedWolves.

Today I will depart South Carolina and hope to report on games from the Mid-Atlantic in the near future.

Kids' Stuff

Baseball 2009, Game 87: Wilson Tobs 2, Florence RedWolves 1

Wilson Sloppiness: 3
Florence Sloppiness: 3
Most batters in one inning: 6
Hitter of the Game: Justin Vazquez, Wilson (rating: 46)
Pitcher of the Game: John Taylor, Florence (rating: 81)
Time of Game: 2:23
Mid-game temperature: 81 degrees
Attendance: 1,585 (Level III sporting event)

These days baseball teams try to find ways to keep fans in the seats and attendance numbers up. The Florence RedWolves seem to do this by handing out free tickets to every youth baseball team in Florence and Darlington County. Every night as I drive up to American Legion Field I see a team of young kids outside the gate ready to go in. Like many other parks, at least one team joins the RedWolves as they take the field. But often many other teams besides those featured show up. As a result, much of the crowds of well over 1,000 at Florence are children, particularly boys around the ages of 6-12. This usually creates more money for the RedWolves, as while the players are given free tickets their parents and siblings have to pay to get in. As a result long lines are often seen outside the park of families buying tickets so they can be with their kids.

Florence seems to depend on children more than Columbia. One reason perhaps is that there are more places at American Legion Field to run around behind the grandstand, including a playground down the LF line. One girl who last year went to Columbia from Florence for a RedWolves game was disappointed by the lack of amenities the Blowfish have for children (although the Blowfish usually try to keep an inflatable water slide going). Capital City Stadium is however not as spacious as Florence. It is nice to see the kids run around on the grass, but games can be unpleasant at Florence when they are climbing over the bleachers or blowing foghorns at each other as mentioned in the "Loud Noises" post here. Getting the kids to actually watch the game is often a futile effort by their parents and coaches. For one, youth baseball is very much a social activity for them, and many today question how much the players actually care about the sport compared to their parents.

But Tuesday night the kids were mostly under control. On this night the RedWolves celebrated their masot Homer's 7th birthday, somthing most of the kids who are about that age can relate to. I assume that Homer must have been intoduced as the new team mascot on June 23, 2002 then. In the 4th inning the kids got free cake and ice cream, thus driving most of them out of the grandstand and to the playground area for the middle portion of the game.

As it turns out, the kids could have coached the home team just as well as what happened. Florence manager Wes Davis seemed to overmanage the game at times, as his team couldn't get any powerful hits. A botched suicide squeeze in the 8th and another botched hit-and-run in the 9th contributed to Florence's lack of execution at the plate, as the Wolves only had one run on eight hits.

But where Davis lost the game was in the top of the 8th. Bryant Lopez led off with a single and stole second. Aaron Watkins bunted him to 3rd, and Watkins would reach 1st after pitcher John Taylor would botch his opportunity get either Lopez or Watkins out. Watkins then attempted to steal second, and the RedWolves appeared to have caught him when Herman Petzold had trouble applying the tag. Lopez then attempted to steal home, and in the confusion the RedWolves ultimately got nobody out as Watkins would get back to first and Lopez would tie the game. Davis would go out to argue three times during this inning. While two of the times were justified, there is a point where the umpire isn't going to listen to you any more. What Davis should have been concerned about was Taylor tiring after pitching the whole game. After Bobby Leeper grounded into a double play, Belmont Abbey's Justin Vazquez returned to the plate. Vazquez was the only Tob to have given Taylor any trouble early in the game. In the first Vazquez hit a double and in the 4th ran up Taylor's pitch count with several straight two-strike foul balls before he was finally walked. Taylor was left in to face the one batter he hadn't gotten out, and Vazquez hit a line drive over the right field wall to give the Tobs the lead.

John Taylor had pitched a great game. He pitched in the 9th and got all three batters to ground out. But having your pitcher throw a complete game in a developmental league is always risky. Tobs' starter Jeff Brown by contrast was removed in the 6th inning. Despite the 15 point penalty for getting the loss, Taylor was Pitcher of the Game. In the 282 baseball games that I have been to since May 30, 2007, Taylor became only the second pitcher (and the first starter) to have been credited with the loss and yet still get Pitcher of the Game honors in my database game log.

The RedWolves have been on a slide lately, and seem to have blown their chances for the first half South Division title in the CPL. The RedWolves after Tuesday night have lost 5 of 6 games, the lone win being the game against the Blowfish where they were aided by two bad balk calls in the 7th inning against Tyler Christman. Yet unlike Tim Medlin, Wes Davis has had success in the CPL. Over his career at both UT-Tyler and the RedWolves Davis has been instrumental in getting the most out of players who aren't especially talented for the small college level. Hopefully Davis will get things turned around again soon for the Florence RedWolves.

They Want To Play

Baseball 2009, Game 86: Sumter P-15's 12, Dalzell Jets 2

Sumter Sloppiness: 7
Dalzell Sloppiness: 17
Most batters in one inning: 8
Hitter of the Game: Patrick Gordon, Sumter (rating: 40)
Pitcher of the Game: Tyler Smith, Sumter (rating: 136)
Time of Game: 2:29
Mid-game temperature: 84 degrees
Attendance: 150 (estimated, Level V sporting event)

The Sumter P-15's have a long established tradition of winning, and the players good enough to be on this team play for South Carolina's 8th largest city despite being only between the ages of 15 and 19.

The Dalzell Jets, on the other hand, only play for themselves. The team has moved around to various locations and has no fan base. Aside from the 2007 season when the Jets finished 8th in the state of South Carolina, Dalzell usually finishes with a win or two in about 20 games played.

This has been one of those seasons, Dalzell entering this game with a 1-8 record. The P-15's entered by contrast with an 11-1 record. That one loss was to Shelby of North Carolina, a game that doesn't count in Sumter's league record which is what ultimately matters to them in the regular season.

The Jets to remain competitive draw from far more than their base schools of the public Crestwood High School and the private Thomas Sumter Academy. They also draw many players from Lakewood High School, a school that has traditionally served the P-15's and now hosts the Jets' games. Within the Hayden family, Josh plays for the P-15's and his undersized brother Keith is on the Jets. Nick Belcher, who pitched for Sumter earlier this year including in the loss to Dalzell, left the P-15's to join his fellow Lakewood Gators at Dalzell. On this Monday night, Belcher would bat DH and briefly pitch against his former teammates. Justin Till, who played first base for the P-15's base school in Sumter High, was the first baseman for the Jets as well.

A lot of this displeases Sumter fans, who want the players to stay true to their community and not wander off elsewhere in the county. Dalzell has actually had great talent of their own occasionally, producing major leaguers Billy McMillon and Terrell Wade. But most Dalzell players today play simply because they want to play. They may not be good enough to play P-15 baseball, but they are much better than your average teenager and want to play competitive baseball somewhere. Some fans would argue that they should play in local rec leagues, but these players growing up in the shadows of the P-15's want a piece of the glory, even if that means routine 10-run losses to American Legion Baseball's better teams.

For most of the game, Dalzell starter Taylor Powell kept the P-15's in check. Powell kept his walk total to a respectable 4 in 7 innings pitched, and induced many pop-ups. The Sumter coaching staff and radio announcers were driven nuts all night long about pop-ups that the Jets could easily handle. Dalzell led 1-0 after 2 innings, and Sumter would not take the lead until the top of the 5th.

What the Jets could not easily andle were ground balls, and the Jets as a result made 5 errors. This created the majority of Sumter's 12 runs, and had the Jets infield done a better job the game may have remained close throughout. The biggest error came by Jets' right fielder Whitey Sanders, who slipped trying to field Tony Micklon's single and allowed two runs (including Mickon himself) to score. Powell was taken out after 7 innings in favor of the former P-15 Belcher. One P-15 fan remarked, "Hey, they're bringing in Wild Thing". Belcher proved that fan correct, walking all three batters he faced and throwining two wild pitches. This would lead to a 4 run 8th where Sumter took a 10-2 lead to put the game away.

The teams combined for numerous popups, 9 errors, and only 5 of the 14 runs between the two teams were driven in by a batter. To much of the 150 fans surrounding Lakewood High's ball field Monday night, this wasn't a good baseball game. But you can't expect high school summer leaguers to provide good baseball every night, one thing that I have found odd about the P-15's huge fan support. While both the local newspaper and the coaches after the game complained about how their teams played, the kids in the game for both teams played. That is ultimately what matters for these guys.

The Sunday Crowd

Baseball 2009, Game 85: Columbia Blowfish 8, Wilmington Sharks 2

Columbia Sloppiness: 12
Wilmington Sloppiness: 5
Most batters in one inning: 8
Hitter of the Game: Tyler McBride, Columbia (rating: 48)
Pitcher of the Game: Justin Hopper, Columbia (rating: 77)
Time of Game: 2:36
Mid-game temperature: 89 degres
Attendance: 441 (Level V sporting event)

In the South and much of rural America, church-related activities dominate Sundays. Many businesses do not open on Sunday, in fact South Carolina law prohibits most businesses from opening before 1:30 P.M. on Sundays as well as the sale of alcohol. Richland County is exempt from some of these laws, but the Blowfish were affected as well. In an attempt to get people who are off work Sunday afternoon but not Monday, the game was played at 6 P.M. Many other ball clubs do this scheduling and succeed. But on this Sunday the Blowfish did not. Only 441 fans showed up, the fewest fans the Blowfish have had in a long time sans games like late Thursday night. Even fan favorite Blowie Jr. wasn't there.

It is a shame that this is what we get for a Sunday crowd, since other days of the week many fans have to miss the game due to work-related reasons. Baseball games provide entertainment, and I can not see why baseball can't be played on Sunday. Of course Sunday's game was played, but few fans cared to show. The 6 P.M. start may not be a good idea, as some church activities are held in the evening but you still have more heat than you would with a 7 P.M. start. If you don't start at 7, do what the Knights have done in Charlotte/Fort Mill and start a 2. The problem you encounter in the Bible Belt is that many residents operate their schedules based on rituals, with church being the prime ritual. Not many people besides myself who make baseball games a ritual.

And like the second game Thursday, Columbia fans missed a rare strong performance by the Blowfish. Tyler McBride reached base all four times, including a double in the third that would lead to the first run. After Blowfish sloppiness (two walks and an error) loaded the bases for Wilmington in the top of the 4th with no out, starter Justin Hopper got out of things with only on run. Matt Leeds would then give the Blowfish the lead back right away with a home run to lead off the bottom of the inning, and the Blowfish would continue to hit well in a 8-2 win. Manager Tim Medlin had such a good day he only once yelled at the umpire, and it was only when the umpire missed an obvious call on the basepaths.

I urge more fans to see baseball when you can, it makes th players feel good and it will make you feel good as well, especially when the home team actually plays well.

When Frustration Boils Over

Baseball 2009, Game 84: Asheboro Copperheads 9, Columbia Blowfish 3

Asheboro Sloppiness: 9
Columbia Sloppiness: 7
Most batters in one inning: 8
Hitter of the Game: Eric Shoemaker, Asheboro (rating: 43)
Pitcher of the Game: Dan Weller, Asheboro (rating: 96)
Time of Play: 2:55
Mid-game temperature: 89 degrees
Attendance: 583 (Level IV sporting event)

The Columbia Blowfish are not a good team. They lose twice as many games as they win, and can not seem to capitalize on their chances.

That was the case Saturday night, when Blowfish starter Brandon Miller quickly fell apart to start the game. An error by Liberty shortstop Matt Williams gave the Copperheads runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out, and later Asheboro went up 2-0 when Catawba's Craige Lyerly scored on a sac fly even though it appeared Lyerly left third too early. TCU's Jimmie Pharr went far with a 3-run shot to left to knock Miller out of the game. With the Copperheads going on to lead 6-0 after 2 innings, that pretty much ended the game as the Blowfish offense is not capable of making up a huge deficit.

Although the Copperheads made two more sloppy plays than the Blowfish, the Blowfish made fundamental errors such as leadoff walks and errors in the first couple innings that led to the Copperheads taking over. Asheboro is also a bad team, near the bottom of the West Division while the Blowfish are at the bottom of the South. But Asheboro was a much better team Saturday night.

And it is quite obvious the most frustrated Blowfish member is manager Tim Medlin. Medlin struggled in his last job at Division II Newberry College, and has coached the Blowfish to what appears to be most likely their 4th straight losing season. Medlin has argued nearly nightly with the CPL's inexperienced umpires. While the CPL's umpires often do make worse calls than even college umpires, Medlin may spend too much of his time out on the field with them. On this Saturday night, Medlin went out to vent at the home plate umpire between the 8th and 9th innings, and was promptly ejected. If Medlin went on the field to intentionally get kicked out (which it appears he did), then he failed in his job. Managers need to argue with umpires, but persisting and coming out to argue about no particular call just isn't very good management. Medlin should have been more focused on preparing his team to finish the game strong, and play good fundamental baseball. But the CPL does not place a priority on winning like college teams do, and thus Medlin can get away with stuff here that he wouldn't at Newberry. The players' coaches in college do the actual coaching of them, and Medlin just needs to make sure each player gets the experience they need before they go back to college. But the game shouldn't be a sideshow either, as has been the case too often at Capital City Stadium.

Either due to the scorching heat that day or the lack of quality play, the fans did not show up this Saturday night like they normally do. The Blowfish only drew 583 fans, a far stretch from the 6K that showed up for Fort Jackson Night. But it must be remembered that this is far better than what the players from the smaller colleges are used to, which often draw less than 300 per game. For the players from small schools that don't make the pros, this is as big time as it will get for them.

Losing Can Be A New Experience

Baseball 2009, Game 83: Florence RedWolves 2, Columbia Blowfish 1

Florence Sloppiness: 11
Columbia Sloppiness: 7
Most batters in one inning: 6
Hitter of the Game: Richard Mounce, Columbia (rating: 29)
Pitcher of the Game: Stephen McCray, Florence (rating: 111)
Time of Game: 2:10
Mid-game temperature: 83 degrees
Attendance: 1,688 (Level III sporting event)

Tyler Christman isn't used to losing. This past year, Christman has pitched for the Sumter P-15's (the 3rd best team in American Legion Baseball last year) and the USC Sumter Fire Ants, which were ranked as high as 3rd as well in JUCO baseball (finishing 52-11). Christman wins almost all his starts and tends to dominate weak hitters. Before Friday night, Christman's last two appearances at American Legion Field were in the 2008 South Carolina American Legion Baseball State Tournament. Both games in the tourney he pitched poorly, but his team pulled out both games.

But now Christman pitches for the Columbia Blowfish, who back him up with .215 batting. As was mentioned earlier, Christman gave up no earned runs in his first game against Thomasville, but lost due to two unearned runs. Since then, Christman was drafted in the 44th round by the Texas Rangers. He continues to pitch with the woeful Blowfish while considering his career options. Christman fell behind hitters frequently, but the RedWolves' batters could only make minimal contact against Christman's pitches. Christman was cruising through five innings, having allowed only three hits, a walk, and no runs. Yet the Blowfish couldn't take advantage of numerous chances given to them by sloppy Florence play. Only a home run by Clemson's Richard Mounce put the Blowfish on the board with a run. Thanks to an error by first baseman Nick Chinners the RedWolves were able to tie the game on a fielders choice by Tyler Burnett. This was yet another unearned run for Christman, and in the meantime the Blowfish couldn't hit Tennessee's Stephen McCray.

In the bottom of the 7th things went downhill. Christman was facing runners on 1st and 2nd with two out when the umpire called a balk. Blowfish manager Tim Medlin got on the umpire about the call, and the umpires kept looking for more trouble. After Christman walked Drew Haynes, the umpire called another balk on Christman, allowing Herman Petzold to score the go-ahead run. The call left Christman in shock and Medlin furious with the umpiring crew. I have noticed that balks have been called much more frequently lately. The problem Christman is facing is that the CPL umpires are fresh out of the Professional Baseball Umpiring Corp (PBUC)'s training school and are often inexperienced. They are often trying to look hard for a potential balk, perhaps to show that they have the ability to cal one. And combined with poor play by his teammates and these calls, Christman would lose his second game in three CPL starts. Christman's other start was a no-decision. Fortunately Christman is 3rd in the CPL with a 1.43 ERA, a stat that matters more than his 0-2 record.

But like all baseball players, Christman wants to help his team win. And not being able to do that is frustrating. But as players progress through Small Time Sports, they will have to learn about losing at some time. Most players are usually part of successful teams at the high school and small college level. But when they reach higher levels of Small Time Sports as they ascend towards the big time, they can't win it by themselves and will have to lose sometime. Losing has a psychological effect on many players. It can be negative, as losing is often disheartening and can reduce self-esteem. But it can also be positive and inspire motivation. Christman will have to pitch an outstanding game, something he has done often before, to get a CPL win. How he responds to this losing experience in the Coastal Plain League may shape how he develops as a pitcher.

What Begins, Must End

Baseball 2009, Game 81: Wilson Tobs 5, Columbia Blowfish 1

Wilson Sloppiness: 6
Columbia Sloppiness: 11
Most batters in one inning: 7
Hitter of the Game: Zach Johnson, Wilson (rating: 25)
Pitcher of the Game: Jesse Hernandez, Wilson (rating: 109)
Time of Game: 2:23
Mid-game temperature: 89 degrees
Attendance: 750 (Level IV sporting event)

Baseball 2009, Game 82: Columbia Blowfish 7, Wilson Tobs 3

Columbia Sloppiness: 10
Wilson Sloppiness: 10
Most batters in one inning: 8
Hitter of the Game: Derek Smith, Columbia (rating: 43)
Pitcher of the Game: Erik Sommerville, Columbia (rating: 88)
Time of Game: 2:14
Mid-game Temperature: 72 degrees
Attendance: 250 (Level V sporting event)

On Monday night in Columbia, the Blowfish and the Wilson Tobs were set to start the bottom of the 3rd inning when lightning struck just outside Capital City Stadium. Then heavy rain came and quickly flooded Capital City Stadium. In Major League Baseball, the Blowfish's 1-0 lead would have been erased as the game would be replayed from the start.

But three days later, the Blowfish were still leading the Tobs 1-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd. What started had to be finished for the CPL's records. The Tobs took out their starter officially, as Jeff Brown who went the first two innings Monday was replaced by Jesse Hernandez. Hernandez struck out Shawn Glover to restart the game and would dominate in 5 innings pitched. The Blowfish on the other hand had pitched Tyler McBride the first three innings on Monday, and decided to bring him back for more on Thursday. This turned out to be a mistake, as it was clear that McBride wasn't ready for another outing. The Tobs scored two runs in their first chance back at him in the top of the 4th. When McBride left in the 6th, the Blowfish were now down 4-1. McBride just never had good control of his pitches on Thursday night. Hernandez who was fresher continued to dominate until after the 7th inning....

When another storm was approaching Columbia. People don't like playing baseball in the cold winter, but they don't seem to mind frequently stopping summer games caused by seemingly nightly storms. This storm did not have as much rain as Thursday, but there was plenty of lightning and high winds knocked out Capital City Stadium's power. It took an hour for the storm to clear, and another hour to bring the power back and the field back up to shape.

They could have called the game official through 7 and the Tobs winners, with the regularly scheduled game for Thursday played on June 26. But the teams were determined to finish this game that had begun early in the week, and the game was restarted just after 9:15 P.M. The Tobs were able to tack on another run in the 9th, and win 5-1.

Even though most fans had left already, the regularly scheduled contest set for 7 innings was played as well. Only about 200 fans were still there at the beginning of this new contest, with maybe about 50 fans there at the very end. The promotion might as well have been Free Ball Night, as fans could easily track down foul balls without other fans getting them. One kid literally was able to get somewhere from 5 to 10 foul balls.

And as one usher said, "We might finally get a win tonight and no one will be here to see it". The Blowfish this time jumped out on the Tobs, leading 6-1 after 2 innings. Starter Patrick Sullivan from USC did not have very good control late Thursday night, but Francis Marion's Erik Sommerville put in a solid relief performance. Closer Drew Mahaffey from the Citadel walked three straight batters in the 7th and final inning, but got out of it as the Blowfish held on for a 7-3 win.

The last game ended after 12:30 A.M. The Blowfish and Tobs both got a win that counted, but the stats they worked to keep from Monday's game have not showed up on the CPL website yet. Whether it was incompetence on the scorekeeper's part to send in the box scores or whether the power outage affected the electronic scorebook is unknown. But Derek Smith's perfromance in the 2nd game will not show up in his stats, which is a shame considering that aside from Thursday night he has been struggling this year. But as in many doubleheaders, the persistence from both teams led to a win for each.

Update: Attendance has been estimated by the Blowfish officially at 750 and 250 for the two games respectively, and the CPL now has the box scores. Therefore Smith's home run will finally show up for him in the official stats. This two day delay in the official reports is why I waited before writing a post on these games. Still behind in my report for last night's game in Florence.

Loud Noises!

Game 80: Wilson Tobs 3, Florence RedWolves 1

Wilson Sloppiness: 7
Florence Sloppiness: 5
Most batters in one inning: 6
Hitter of the Game: Bobby Leeper, Wilson (rating: 26)
Pitcher of the Game: Barrett Kleinknect, Florence (rating: 91)
Time of Game: 3 hours
Mid-game temperature: 76 degrees
Attendance: 1,281 (Level III sporting event)

Way too often at stadiums these days it is very difficult to have a clear head from all the noise pollution. While this is a major problem at Big Time sporting events, it affects Small Time Sports as well. Capital City Stadium has had a history of being too loud, as the speakers are often way too loud and on-field promotions are often screamed in your face. This prevented its former tenant in the Bombers from creating a baseball fan-friendly atmosphere, and while the Blowfish have done better they still have room for improvement.

While Florence's American Legion Field has a more laid back small-town atmosphere, it suffers from th same problem as well. When they start selling foghorns at the stadium, often the noise pollution gets out of control. Often times the ones using these foghorns in Florence are kids who do not know how to use the horns properly. I sat in the same section last night as the Darlington 7-8 year old all-stars (yes, they actually have all-star teams for 7 and 8 year olds). While the coaches were teaching the kids to watch what the CPL players of their position were doing on the field, the kids mostly focused on how to use the foghorns. The kids were using them to harass each other, sometimes having five kids gang up with their foghorns to blow in the ear of one of their poor teammates. They also tried to see which one kid could blow into the foghorn the loudest.

I have no problem with foghorns in general. The RedWolves' heckler uses one as well. Yet I overheard him say about the kids, "There is a time and a place on when to use them". He also wondered if they were distracting the RedWolves' pitching. There are some extremists on this issue, such as the NCAA. The NCAA prohibits all artificial noise-makers. Yet there are many good fans who know how to use them, the RedWolves' heckler being one of them.

The problem is that you can't single out the kids and say they can't use them, as they are clearly enjoying themselves and some do know how to use it. Likewise some drunk adults would likely abuse them pretty bad as well. The RedWolves eventually last season stopped selling the foghorns, hopefully they will this season as well.

The RedWolves made an interesting choice at starting pitcher last night, going with Division II shortstop Barrett Kleinknect. Kleinknect has pitching experience before and did very well last night, not giving up a hit until the 4th and allowing only one run in eight innings pitched. Unfortunately he was not in the batting lineup. The RedWolves could have turned down the DH option, but instead Kleinknect only pitched leaving a hole in the RedWolves lineup. While Florence did have nine hits, they were all singles. Much of those were also infield singles. Both the Tobs and the RedWolves had plenty of infield singles, as a brief storm an hour before the game slowed the ground balls on the turf. The fielding wasn't sharp, but the Tobs limited damage by not giving up extra-base hits and always getting timely outs.

But the RedWolves weren't able to get these timely outs in the 9th. David Haselden, who pitched 17 innings at Clemson this year, couldn't match a Division II shortstop in his performance. Bobby Leeper of UNC Wilmington with one out would single and then steal 2nd. Matt Faiman would drive in Leeper on a two out single, and then would hustle home from 2nd on an infield single by Xavier Mackin of North Carolina A&T.

The RedWolves would load the bases with two out in the bottom of the 9th, but backup catcher David Masters would strikeout to end the game. While many Florence fans were upset with the umpiring, the Tobs just simply had the better lineup. Florence didn't have Kleinknect at the plate and didn't have someone ready to step in for Masters (a defensive/baserunning sub) in the 9th. Wilson pulled off the win, and we'll see them tonight at Columbia as they try to finish Monday's game.

Small Time Sports vs. The Weather

One problem with baseball season is that here in the South it rains every night, and if it doesn't the local weathermen cry drought. Well we are finally out of last year's drought, and thus it is going to be hard to keep going to baseball games. Last night's game between the Columbia Blowfish and Wilson Tobs was halted in the middle of the 3rd, with the Blowfish up 1-0. That game will be completed Thursday evening when the weather is supposed to be better before a regularly scheduled contest between the two CPL clubs. The game was stopped during light rain when lightning struck just outside the stadium as the mascot race with the kid was set to begin. Then the rain became heavy and we saw why Capital City Stadium lost its minor league tenant. The Blowfish might want to invest in an outfield tarp in addition to the infield tarp they already have, otherwise they aren't going to ever restart a game following a heavy shower.

It would also be nice to see baseball teams find a way to create a synthetic infield surface that can be played on in the rain, similar to the turf at RentOne Park in Marion, Illinois. Otherwise don't even try to play baseball every day. One reason football has been so successful is that it is an outdoor sport that isn't halted or cancelled by every little passing shower. If Small Time baseball is going to survive it can't afford more cancellations. You can refund ticket stubs, but you can't refund rising gas money.

And with the weather looking bad tonight and few games to choose from, tonight will be a day off here at Small Time Sports. Hopefully we'll see the RedWolves tomorrow in Florence, but the weather looks bad that day as well. Looks like Game 80 will be the game last night's continuation into Thursday.

The Journey of Mark Shorey

Baseball 2009, Game 79: Nashville Sounds 4, Memphis Redbirds 3

Nashville Sloppiness: 7
Memphis Sloppiness: 7
Most batters in one inning: 6
Hitter of the Game: Shane Robinson, Memphis (rating: 54)
Pitcher of the Game: Ryan Houston, Nashville (rating: 64)
Time of Game: 3:27
Mid-game temperature: 80 degrees
Attendance: 8,176 (Level II sporting event)

Mark Shorey isn't a name that many baseball fans know, as is the case with nearly every athlete in Small Time Sports. Shorey is from the north suburbs of Boston, which is known as a breeding ground for baseball fans, but not players in this cold weather region. From 2003 to 2006, Shorey played for my school, High Point University in North Carolina. When Shorey played for High Point, HPU's baseball facilities were among Division I's worst. The fieldhouse where offices and locker rooms were located were falling apart, having been built for the long-defunct football team back in the late 1940s. The stadium was a concrete ampitheater ten rows deep 50 feet behind the home plate back stop that theoretically seated 800 but in reality far less than that. No night games were played, as HPU's Erath Field did not have any lights. Attendance for Shorey's home games at High Point ranged from 100 to 200 fans typically, with several games having under 100 fans. In four years of college ball, Shorey never played in front of a home crowd of 350 or more fans. Shortly after Shorey graduated, HPU built a new baseball park which is a solid Small Time Sports venue, and home games usually now have between 300 and 400 fans.

Even by High Point standards, Shorey was an average recruit who did not start his career well. Playing both pitcher and outfield, Shorey struggled to find a groove doing either. In his freshman season in 2003, Shorey batted .232 (a very weak aluminum bat average) with only 1 home run. In his sophomore year, coach Sal Bando Jr. moved him primarily to pitcher, where he struggled with a 7.90 ERA. Shorey only had eight hits his entire sophomore year in just 31 at-bats as his team slumped to a horrendous 11-44 record.

Shorey's junior year was much better after moving mostly to the outfield again. Shorey batted .328 with a modest 5 home runs. Yet he never batted against lefty pitching, as coach Sal Bando Jr. wanted to play matchup games versus opposing pitchers.

But his senior year Shorey took off to a new level. His line drive shots began to carry further and he became an extraordinarily tough out. He batted .408 with 20 home runs, including two walk-off shots to beat North Carolina A&T and UNC Asheville. Per game, Shorey was 9th in home runs in Division I and 15th in batting average. By Adjusted OPS, Shorey was the nation's 2nd best college hitter and was #1 at various points late in the season according to college baseball statistician Boyd Nation.

Yet most scouts passed on Shorey despite his hitting surge. But the Cardinals went ahead and drafted Shorey in the 31st round. As low as this pick was, few going into the 2006 season could have conceived of Shorey's monster season and the potential to play minor league ball. Shorey would spend the summer with Johnson City of the Rooklie level Appalachian League. There he would hit 13 home runs (tops in the Appy League) on a .265 average.

Shorey would start in 2007 in Class A, but his solid performance combined with Cardinal injuries moved him up to AA quickly, which very few 31st round picks are able to make. Shorey would have a respectable .263 average in AA with 11 home runs. While he would eventually move down to High A Palm Beach, Shorey was back at AA Springfield for 2008. There he would bat .304 (8th in the Texas League) with 11 home runs.

Now Mark Shorey is one step away from Big Time Sports. His journey has been remarkable and shows how your average Small Time Sports athlete can have a chance at making it big. With AAA Memphis, Shorey played in front of over 8K fans tonight in Nashville and has seen even bigger crowds on occasion in the PCL. Shorey is batting .311 with the Redbirds, a very good minor league batting average. His power numbers have unfortunately dropped as he only has three home runs so far. Without great speed, his power totals need to come back to the level it was in 2006. If that happens, Shorey could become yet another great Cardinal outfield prospect and give HPU its first athlete ever to reach the highest level of pro sports.

Yet Redbirds manager Chris Maloney has taken Bando's lead and has platooned Shorey's playing time with first baseman/outfielder Joe Mather. Shorey as a result only starts when Memphis faces a righ-handed pitcher. Last night against Nashville, lefty Chris Cody pitched and thus Shorey only played as a defensive sub. Shorey's platoon partner, Joe Mather, was drafted in the 3rd round out of high school in 2001 and had a promisng season last year shut down by an injury after batting over .300 with Memphis and reaching St. Louis. But now Mather is batting .176 and has been an easier out than the pitcher. Yet Shorey must continue to fight for playing time with him. Tonight's lineup card initially had Mather starting over Shorey again, but it would be Shorey who started tonight against righty Tim Dillard.

Shorey played a respectable ball game, but couldn't get a ball up enough to get the kind of hits he needs to move on to Major League Baseball in St. Louis. He did get 1 hit off Dillard when in the 6th inning Shorey poked a bunt past the right side of Dillard and hustled out Nashville SS Alcides Escobar's throw for an infield single. Later he picked up his second steal of the season on a double steal where Allen Craig lept over Sounds' third baseman Adam Heether. But he also had a flyout and a groundout, as well as two strikeouts in a 1 for 5 outing.

The only Redbirds however to hit well tonight were 5-9 CF Shane Robinson who went 2 for 4 (drove in all three Memphis runs with a home run and a stolen base) and SS Donovan Solano who went 3 for 5.

The Sounds couldn't take advantage however, as Redbird starter Clayton Mortensen pitched a respectable game and Dave Johnson struggled in relief. But Erick Almonte had another big pinch-hit single, driving in Hernan Iribarren to win the game in the 10th.

Good fan support by the Sounds' fans tonight as well. Desperate Housewives actor James Denton sat just down the row from me, and the crowd was very enthusiastic. A lot of stadiums with smaller crowds have good fans, and that is what makes Small Time Sports great. Greer Stadium may be an old deteriorating ballpark that is among the worst facilities in AAA, but the quality of the fans and the players is what makes Small Time Sports great, not the quantity of fans. Of the 79 baseball games I have attended in 2009, tonight was the highest attended by two fans over the South Carolina-Georgia game on May 16. My dad's sister and her husband came tonight after initially planning on going last night instead. Had they gone last night instead, tonight's game would have only been tied for the highest attended ball game of 2009.

Good luck to Shorey, hopefully he can reach the majors soon and make all of us High Point baseball fans proud. He represents the best of Small Time Sports, a player who comes from out of nowhere to the cusp of making the big time. This is it from Tennessee, the next couple weeks we'll be in SC again.

The Pacific Coast League in the Mid-South

Baseball 2009, Game 78: Nashville Sounds 5, Memphis Redbirds 1

Nashville Sloppiness: 1
Memphis Sloppiness: 5
Most batters in one inning: 8
Hitter of the Game: Carlos Corporan, Nashville (rating: 27)
Pitcher of the Game: Chris Cody, Nashville (rating: 104)
Time of Play: 2:34
Mid-game Temperature: 76 degrees
Attendance: 6,908 (Level II sporting event)

Historically, the Pacific Coast League was the biggest of all the minor leagues. All the major cities on the west coast had a team featuring home grown players not yet signed by MLB clubs. Without good transportation in the early 20th century, it took plenty of good scouting and money for an MLB team to steal a PCL player. The PCL nearly became the third major league in the 20th century. But when the Dodgers and Giants headed west, replacling the San Francisco Seals and Los Angeles Angels, the PCL became more minor. Eventually all West Coast talent was pooled in with the East Coast Talent, and the Pacific Coast League became the Western version of the International League which had been long a stopping point on the East Coast for MLB-bound prospects.

As MLB expanded westward, the PCL expanded eastward. Now the PCL serves as the home for 16 AAA teams in three time zones. Currently the PCL has 6 Pacific Time Zone Clubs, 3 Mountain Time Zone teams, and 7 more in the Central Time Zone. Tonight's matchup featured two of those Central Time Zone teams, the Memphis Redbirds and the Nashville Sounds. It is funny that today a Pacific Coast League game features two teams east of the Mississippi River, but so it goes in a league whose logo simply reads "Triple A Baseball".

The homestanding Nashville Sounds are one of three teams in AAA with worse attendance than the Charlotte Knights that we saw last weekend, as the Sounds average just under 4K a game. Tonight was a Level II sporting event because it was a Friday Fireworks night and it was also "Faith Night", where if you desire you can catch a pre-game Christian music concert featuring player-led prayers outside of Greer Stadium. I didn't stay around long enough to see whether the "Christian music" was like Eric Cartman's songs in the South Park episode "Christian Rock Hard".

But inside Greer Stadium you could find the quality of baseball expected from AAA. Both teams played very good games defensively, led by pitchers Chris Cody and Mitchell Boggs. Not much Sloppiness today, making this a pleasant game to watch.

Unfortunately the game didn't feature wold-class hitting. Other than the Sounds' Carlos Corporan's two doubles and a home run by the Redbirds' Jarrett Hoffpauir, the teams couldn't hit. The Redbirds' platoon between former Cardinal Joe Mather and former High Point outfielder Mark Shorey begins to make little sense when the lefty Shorey is batting .315 versus righty Mather's .180 batting average. This mismanagement may be why Memphis is the PCL's worst hitting team and why Memphis failed to score after Hoffpauir's solo shot in the 1st inning.

Eventually this caught up with Memphis, as Erick Almonte's pinch-hit RBI single tied the game and sent Boggs to the showers. Former Charlotte Knight Jason Bourgeois then came through with a two-run single to give Nashville a 3-1 lead.

After taking Cody out, the Sounds put in former Big South/Charleston Southern pitcher R.J. Swindle in the 8th, giving Nashville a lefty-lefty punch that kept Mather at the plate. But once the Redbirds became sloppy with two walks and a hit batter in the 8th, Nashville built their lead to 4-1. At this point reliever Royce Ring was benched in favor of Jess Todd, and Shorey also relieved Mather in right field. Shorey was able to make a good catch on the run to prevent Corporan from getting his third double, but a run came home to make the score 5-1. I will write more about Shorey tomorrow after he hopefully plays more.

5-1 was the final, as the home fans came away happy and the Cardinal fans at the game are left to ponder about who can potentially provide the big leaguers help at the plate after tonight. Let's hope that High Point's own Mark Shorey will be the answer soon.

Draft Recap

Not a bad week for Small Time Sports, as 96 players who I have had the priviledge of seeing in person have been selected for a shot at pro baseball. But no players from my college of High Point got picked, the first time in five years that my Panthers have been shut out of the draft. I am particularly disappointed about Jeremy Berg being passed over, as he was domiant with both HPU and the RedWolves this past year. David Anderson, Coastal Carolina's all-time home run leader, did not get picked. Only eight players from the Big South were picked (less than one per school). That is quite a bit of disrespect for one of the better mid-major conferences in college baseball. Quite a few Southern Conference players were picked, even though that conference isn't much better than the Big South.

Two players who have been regulars at Riley Park here in Sumter were taken in the first ten rounds. I am not one to disagree with my hometown guys getting picked usually, but some things stand out about B.J. Hyatt and Richard Jones.

Hyatt, the Houston Astros' 4th round pick, struggled this past year with the USC Sumter Fire Ants. Hyatt's ERA was a 7.24 with the JUCO Fire Ants and was a bit wild at times on the mound. Yet he was hounded by scouts all season long, because of his 6-4 , 205 lb. body and his mid-90s fastball. Too often players are scouted by potential rather than performance. Fire Ant ace Tyler Christman didn't get picked until Round 44, and his ERA was an outstanding 1.73. Hyatt lacked location on his pitches, and lost his spot in the USC Sumter rotation this year. In front of 125 fans (50 of which were scouts), Hyatt led USC Sumter to a Sloppiness of 16 against Patrick Henry CC, the highest total of sloppy plays this season before Dalzell's numbers Sunday. Hyatt shows promise but is a very sloppy pitcher. Too often I think scouts ruin young pitchers, as showing off for the radar gun leads to them not getting batters out like a pitcher is supposed to do. This ruins the level of talent in the pro game and scouts try to direct pitchers' amateur careers by asking them to show what they can throw. Accuracy doesn't seem to matter to scouts, thinking that pro coaches can always devlop this talent. But sometimes things don't pan out, as Cardinal pitcher Rick Ankiel lost his ability to throw strikes and is now an outfielder. Hyatt unfortunately doesn't have his bat to fall back on. Let's hope for his sake that now that he is in pro ball he can concentrate on making smart and effective pitches. I would really love someone to do well and represent our local college here in Sumter that has been underfunded lately by the state and is easily considered to be Small Time.

Among catchers, Richard Jones (who we saw this past weekend for the Thomasville Hi-Toms) got drafted over High Point catcher Billy Alvino who never got picked. Jones has more pop in his bat but does strike out some while Alvino virtually never does. He still needs to work on certain skills such as his catching. He once in the CPL tournament last summer allowed a passed strike on a called strike three. Alvino is also not a great defensive catcher but has made improvements in his game over the years. Jones I think needs one more year in college to become more polished and hopefully will improve his wood bat swing this summer. Hopefully he won't sign this year and become a better player as a result. Striking out three times against Christman Saturday is a sign that Christman may be the better (and younger) player.

But congrats to all 96 players I have seen get picked. I remember finding Dustin Ackley's freshman numbers at UNC outstanding when I saw him play HPU, and he is the first player from Small Time Sports who got picked. It must be noted that many excellent Small Time Sports players never get a crack at the Big Time, and more reason to come and support them now. Some are playing at their highest level, with even the minors being just a dream.

But some players who get drafted will make it further than imagined. One of these is High Point's own Mark Shorey, a 2006 31st round pick by the Cardinals who has made it to AAA. I will go see him play this weekend and talk about his success on here shortly.

Hometown Pride

Baseball 2009, Game 77: Sumter P-15's 11, Bishopville Post 29 5

Sumter Sloppiness: 11
Bishopville Sloppiness: 11
Most batters in one inning: 10
Hitter of the Game: Tony Micklon, Sumter (rating: 54)
Pitcher of the Game: Tyler Smith, Sumter (rating: 53)
Time of Play: 3:09
Mid-game Temperature: 83 degrees
Attendance: 500 (estimated, Level IV sporting event)

Much of Small Time Sports is indeed very small. Many small college teams who produce pro players only get a couple hundred fans per game. High school games almost always draw under 200, and some weaker non-Division I baseball teams draw less than 100.

But here in Sumter, around 500 fans during the summer come every night for American Legion Baseball at Riley Park. Like Florence's American Legion Field, Riley Park hosted minor league ball in the late 1980s and seats around 2,000. But unlike Florence, the fans don't come to see college summer players. American Legion Baseball is for high school summer players.

Historically, the Class A Sumter Braves played at Riley Park. The JUCO USC Sumter Fire Ants currently play at home in the Spring at Riley Park. Yet these better teams failed to match the popular support of the P-15's. This is due to the same reason that local newspapers tend to follow more closely native players: the attachment to hometown heroes. As a result, the players are bigger in the minds of their home fans than they are seen by outsiders.

The P-15's are coached by local dentist Wallie Jones who volunteers his time to coaching Sumter's most popula and successful local sports team. Jones was successful as a player at USC and is the son of 1960s P-15 coach Bernie Jones. Jones has built a tradition on getting his players to play good fundamental baseball at a level very few teenagers can achieve. His strategies seem at times to take advantage of opponents' weaknesses when he chooses to play small ball and this can backfire against solid defensive teams. But Jones does have 8 state titles and two Southeast regional titles, far better than any other Legion team in South Carolina. After going 9-11 in his first season in 1987, Jones has every since finished with a winning record.

A key to the P-15's success is that they get all of the best talent Sumter has to offer. Over the years Sumter has become a baseball town and usually has good talent. But sometimes the talent isn't there or there is more in bigger cities. Yet these other cities have to struggle to keep their best players in the Legion system rather than travel the country in traveling tournaments such as in AAU. But with the popularity of the P-15's locally, every young player wants to play for Wallie Jones. And therefore the hundreds of fans at Riley Park get a good team to watch each year.

And the talent has been in Sumter the past few years. Richard Jones (Wallie's nephew) and Travis Witherspoon were both drafted today and will play in the minor leagues soon. Allen Caldwell, a multi-talented outfielder who twice in the 2006 state tourney threw two batters out from right field and can hit the ball very well in addition, is in the Royals organization as well. Matt Price is a promising young pitcher at South Carolina, Matt Talley is on the verge of becoming the Citadel's top pitcher, and Tyler Christman has become one of the top pitchers in JUCO baseball. Many other players have gone on to play for smaller Division I players or Division II/NJCAA schools. Among these is Tony Micklon, a catcher at Presbyterian who is back for one last year of Legion eligibility. This core group of players has led the P-15's to two top four finishes in the country in the past three years, and will play in the Southeast Regionals for the 4th time in 5 years this season.

The Legion teams are identified by their sponsoring post numbers. P-15's is derived from Post 15, while tonight's opponent Bishopville is just plain Post 29.

Often times, such as at Dalzell Sunday, the concern for P-15 fans is the low quality of the opponent. Small towns or big towns dominated by travel ball usually lead to P-15 romps ovr glorified rec ball teams. Some dominating P-15 teams have won by over 10 runs per game, making most games last only 7 innings. But tonight would not by easy as Bishopville came to town. Bishopville only has 3,000 residents, but also draws from a wide radius that includes Hartsville (which has 9K residents). Bishopville is coached by former P-15 Preston McDonald, who has become one of the best young coaches in the state. McDonald two years ago led the historically awful Dalzell Jets to the final eight in SC Legion ball, and last year was chosen to start up Bishopville's program which has also been successful among the rural SC teams.

Sumter would lead 3-1 early, but starter Jeremy Buckner had trouble getting outs, and Bishopville would lead 4-3 after 4 innings forcing George James into the ball game for Sumter. Micklon, in a big slump despite having Division I experience, was able to tie the game with a solo shot in the 5th. The game would be tied at 5 going into the bottom of the 8th before Sumter finally showed their talent depth and pulled away with 6 runs to win 11-5.

Yet as good as this is for high school-level players, this isn't big-time even by Small Time Sports standards. The players are still learning the fundamentals of the game, as evidenced by both teams having 11 sloppy plays. Both teams defensively set up opposing runs at times, and the 15-year old Buckner was taken out of the game completely after trying to stretch a double into a triple and preventing the tying run from scoring in the bottom of the 4th. Sumter fans take this baseball seriously, and while I admire this enthusiasm for Small Time Sports it is better to see the kids once they are fully developed. Legion ball is no substitute for minor league ball or even the CPL. Yet hometown pride keeps Legion ball at a thriving level in Sumter.

So it will be back to minor league ball this weekend here at Small Time Sports, and then the CPL again next week. The P-15's do have some big matchups this weekend in the SC-NC Challenge, where 6 of the top Legion programs in the Carolinas will be here in Sumter for the weekend.

Picks from Small Time Sports

One thing enjoyable about Small Time Sports is to see who gets selected to move on from various Small Time Sports baseball games I have seen. I will keep an updated list of which college players I have seen in person who get selected for a shot at the big time.

1st Round
2. Dustin Ackley, IF, North Carolina (Mariners)
8. Mike Leake, P, Arizona State/USA Baseball (Reds)
Compensation A
38. Josh Phegley, C, Indiana/USA Baseball (White Sox)
39. Kentrail Davis, OF, Tennessee (Brewers)
2nd Round
51. Rich Poythress, 1B, Georgia (Mariners)
58. Andrew Oliver, P, Oklahoma State/USA Baseball (Tigers)
3rd Round
81. Trevor Holder, P, Georgia (Nationals)
82. Kyle Seager, IF, North Carolina (Mariners)
102. Bryan Morgado, P, Tennessee (White Sox)
4th Round
119. Mark Fleury, C, North Carolina (Reds)
131. B.J. Hyatt, P, USC Sumter (Astros)
5th Round
158. Chase Austin, SS, Elon (Marlins)
165. Caleb Cotham, P, Vanderbilt (Yankees)
169. Jeff Malm, 1B/P, Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas, NV (Rays)
6th Round
176. Justin Dalles, C, South Carolina (Orioles)
195. Robert Lyerly, 3B, Charlotte (Yankees)
200. Brooks Raley, P, Texas A&M/USA Baseball (Cubs)
7th Round
207. Nick Liles, 2B, Western Carolina (Giants)
209. Josh Fellhauer, OF, Cal State-Fullerton/USA Baseball (Reds)
221. Dallas Keuchel, P, Arkansas (Astros)
8th Round
233. Jimmy Gilheeny, P, NC State (Mariners)
243. Rob Gilliam, P, UNC Greensboro (Athletics)
249. Jason Stidham, SS, Florida State (Cardinals)
9th Round
270. John Murrian, C, Winthrop (Tigers)
279. Nick McCully, P, Coastal Carolina (Cardinals)
290. Richard Jones, C, The Citadel/Sumter P-15's (Cubs)
10th Round
303. Sam Dyson, P, South Carolina (Athletics)
11th Round
328. Chris Masters, P, Western Carolina (Braves)
12th Round
381. Travis Witherspoon, OF, Spartanburg Methodist/Sumter P-15's (Angels)
13th Round
383. Matt Cerione, OF, Georgia (Mariners)
405. DeAngelo Mack, OF, South Carolina (Yankees)
408. Chris McGuinness, 1B, The Citadel (Red Sox)
14th Round
418. Cory Harrilchak, Of, Elon (Braves)
426. Brent Greer, SS, Western Carolina (Diamondbacks)
15th Round
449. Jamie Walczak, OF/P, Mercyhurst/Florence RedWolves (Reds)
452. Scott Lyons, SS, Arkansas (Royals)
462. Stevn Liddle, OF, Vanderbilt (Twins)
16th Round
474. Griffin Benedict, C, Georgia Southern (Padres)
475. Matt Den Dekker, OF, Florida/USA Baseball (Pirates)
499. Tyler Bortnick, IF, Coastal Carolina/Columbia Blowfish (Rays)
17th Round
506. Jeff Walters, P, Georgia (Orioles)
512. Benjamin Tschepikow, 2B, Arkansas (Royals)
524. Alex Gregory, OF, Radford (Mets)
18th Round
553. Philip Negus, P, Wake Forest (White Sox)
19th Round
568. Tyrelle Harris, P, Tennessee (Braves)
20th Round
601. Dallas Tarleton, C, Elon (Rockies)
608. James Smith, OF, Appalachian State (Marlins)
610. Kevin Nolan, SS, Winthrop (Blue Jays)
21st Round
628. Matt Crim, P, The Citadel (Braves)
22nd Round
660. Matt Mansilla, OF, College of Charleston (Tigers)
664. Samuel Brown, P, NC State (Rangers)
669. Joey Bergman, 2B, College of Charleston (Cardinals)
673. Zach Kayne, SS, Davidson (White Sox)
24th Round
735. Isaac Harrow, 2B, Appalachian State (Yankees)
25th Round
744. Ty Wright, OF, Georgia Southern (Padres)
753. Chris Mederos, P, Georgia Southern (Athletics)
26th Round
781. Rhett Ballard, P, Virginia Tech/Thomasville Hi-Toms (Rockies)
789. C.J. Beatty, OF, North Carolina A&T (Cardinals)
800. Steve Grife, P, Mercyhurst/Florence RedWolves (Cubs)
27th Round
813. Michael Gilmartin, IF, Wofford (Athletics)
821. Aaron Bray, 3B, Charlotte (Astros)
28th Round
843. Connor Crumbliss, IF, Emproia State/Fayetteville SwampDogs (Athletics)
857. Justin Beal, P/IF, Missouri Southern State/Florence RedWolves (Phillies)
30th Round
901. Bryce Massanari, C, Georgia (Rockies)
916. Brandon Sizemore, 2B, College of Charleston (Brewers)
31st Round
940. John Murhphy, C, Princeton (Blue Jays)
941. Travis Smink, P, VMI (Astros)
943. Michael Hamme, OF, Campbell (White Sox)
32nd Round
966. Will Harvil, P, Georgia (Diamondbacks)
972. Aaron Senne, OF, Missouri/USA Baseball (Twins)
975. Nick Ebert, 1B, South Carolina (Yankees)
33rd Round
985. Pat Irvine, OF, Elon (Pirates)
993. Mike Bolsinger, P, Arkansas (Athletics)
34th Round
1,033. Alex Farotto, P, South Carolina (White Sox)
1,041. Ryan Cisterna, C/P, Arkansas (Angels)
35th Round
1,049. Oliver Santos, 3B, USC Salkehatchie/Columbia Blowfish (Reds)
1,064. Wes Wrenn, P, The Citadel/Thomasville Hi-Toms (Mets)
36th Round
1,075. Bobby Doran, P, Seward County CC/Florence RedWolves (Pirates)
1,078. Andrew Wilson, P, Liberty (Braves)
37th Round
1,119. Rich Racobaldo, 3B, Mount Olive/Forest City Owls (Cardinals)
38th Round
1,157. Cory Wine, 1B, Penn State (Phillies)
39th Round
1,164. Chris Ahearn, SS, Catawba/Asheboro Copperheads (Padres)
40th Round
1,209. Jesse Simpson, P, College of Charleston (Cardinals)
41st Round
1,232. Joey Lewis, C, Georgia (Royals)
1,233. Justin Hilt, OF, Elon (Athletics)
42nd Round
1,259. Blair Carson, C/P, Anderson (Reds)
1,279. Bennett Davis, 3B, Elon (Rays)
44th Round
1,324. Tyler Christman, P, USC Sumter/Sumter P-15's (Rangers)
1,341. R.J. Santigate, 3B, Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas (Angels)
46th Round
1,375. Parker Bangs, P/OF, South Carolina (Pirates)
1,376. Scott Swinson, P, Maryland (Orioles)
47th Round
1,405. Justin Earls, P, Georgia (Pirates)
1,408. Jonathan Holmes, P/OF, Conway HS (Braves)
1,415. Christian Powell, C/P, Greenwood HS (Indians)
50th Round
1,502. Anthony Scirotto, SS, Penn State (Royals)
1,503. Tanner Biagini, 3B, VMI (Athletics)

Draft Tracker by Conference

Over the next three days I will be updating picks by college conference in this week's MLB Draft. This will be updated following each round.

Note: Players who were picked from Indy Leagues are assigned to the conference they played in while in college.

PAC-10 10
SEC 9
ACC 6
Big 12 6
Atlantic Sun 3
Big East 3
Big Ten 3
WAC 3
Big West 2
Conference USA 2
Ohio Valley 2
Sun Belt 2
Atlantic 10 1
Independents 1
Ivy 1
MAC 1
Mountain West 1
Summit 1

Division II 1

JUCO 4

High Schoolers by Region:

West 17
Southeast 14
Southwest 11
Midwest 3
Northeast 2
Canada 1
Puerto Rico 1

The Florence RedWolves

Baseball 2009, Game 75: Florence RedWolves 3, Columbia Blowfish 0

Florence Sloppiness: 0
Columbia Sloppiness: 6
Most batters in one inning: 7
Hitter of the Game: Sam DiMatteo, Florence (rating: 13)
Pitcher of the Game: John Taylor, Florence (rating: 154)
Time of Game: 1:35
Mid-game temprature: 80 degrees
Attendance: 1,180 (Level III sporting event)

Baseball 2009, Game 76: Columbia Blowfish 7, Florence RedWolves 3

Columbia Sloppiness: 3
Florence Sloppiness: 15
Most batters in one inning: 9
Hitter of the Game: Shawn Glover, Columbia (rating: 59)
Pitcher of the Game: Erik Sommerville, Columbia (rating:60)
Time of Game: 2:25
Mid-game Temperature: 75 degrees
Attendance: 1,180 (Level III sporting event)

Last night was a doubleheader once again featuring the Columbia Blowfish. But the Blowfish were the road team, playing 90 minutes northeast of Columbia in Florence. Florence is a much different town from Columbia. It has more of a country feel, as it is less than a third the size of Columbia. Columbia is actually a fairly large market within the CPL, with some markets such as Edenton and Outer Banks in North Carolina being far smaller than Florence. If it weren't for two interstates (I-95 and I-20) converging 10 miles northwest of the RedWolves' park, it is likely that Florence would be just another struggling small town in South Carolina.

But Florence has much more to offer than my slightly bigger hometown of Sumter thanks to its interstate business. The RedWolves' park is 2500 seat American Legion Field, named after the Legion team that used to be the primary tenant. The RedWolves don't get the interstate business that the mall and the Civic Center get. But they get far better community support than the Blowfish could ever get.

That is because the RedWolves' ownership has given the place a more local feel and has a stronger commitment to the community than the Blowfish. Blowfish owner Bill Shanahan is a career entreprenuer with other baseball enterprises, including a AA team in Alabama. RedWolves owner Kevin Barth by contrast is a local attorney. Barth is often seen among the fans cheering his team on and yelling at the umpire after a bad call. Shanahan on the other hand is mostly concerned dealing with his staff employees, and rarely gives the game his attention.

There are trade-offs to these different approaches. The Blowfish have a professional staff supplemented by USC sports marketing interns, whil the RedWolves are primarily staffed by about a dozen teenage girls. Grounds work is done by the City of Florence and the RedWolves players.

But the emphasis is much more on baseball here in Florence. The local redneck crowd enjoys a good ball game, and unlike the Blowfish fans come to see a win. The RedWolves have an excellent fiel manager in Wes Davis who has made the team one of the best teams in the CPL South. The Blowfish by contrast are among the worst, despite having more players from Division I colleges than the RedWolves do.

Many of the same fans can be seen every night. There is one guy who arrives via wheelchair evry night to the ballpark, and another who sits atop the home plate bleachers razzing opponents. This RedWolves heckler is one of my favorite fans in Small Time Sports, he always gets on opponents for the way they throw the ball or swing the bat in a clean and fun manner. He is also definitely one of the more "country" folks there, but the fact that he always has a good time makes RedWolves games more enjoyable. I often see the same kids every night, as the RedWolves do hype a family atmosphere. But the Chicken Dance doesn't overshadow the game here like the Blowie Jr. dance does at Columbia. Plenty of beer is sold in Florence, but I haven't seen one drunk RedWolves fan as opposed to Columbia. The sound effects on the PA are always in tune to the game, and can create humorous moments. "You have made a fatal error, there is nothing we can do for you" is often heard after an opponent's mistake. One umpire shook his head at the press box last season when "Bzzzz! Wrong!" was played after a questionable call. It's not just glass breaking sounds like so many parks do.

In Game 1, USC redshirt John Taylor shut down the Blowfish completely. He pitched all seven innings, and his only baserunner came on an infield single by Branfy Arias in the third. Taylor's rating of 154 is the 12th best in the 271 games I have seen since May 30 of two years ago. By contrast, Sam DiMatteo's rating of 13 was tied for 2nd lowest among Hitters of the Game. DiMatteo from California University in Pennsylvania was the RedWolves' leader going two for three with a run.

While the RedWolves became the 4th team in Game 1 to finish a game with no sloppy plays, they weren't so lucky in Game 2. The RedWolves had 7 walks, 3 hit batters, 3 errors, and two passed balls for a Sloppiness total of 15, which is very bad for a 7 inning game. Erskine's Shawn Glover's three-run bomb and a solid relief outting by Erik Sommerville (who plays college ball just a few miles east of American Legion Field at Francis Marion) made the RedWolves pay. The Blowfish finally got a much needed win to move to 4-7, while the RedWolves are now 7-4.

From the near Big Time to the very Small Time

Baseball 2009, Game 73: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 5, Charlotte Knights 0

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Sloppiness: 3
Charlotte Sloppiness: 7
Most batters in one inning: 8
Hitter of the Game: Kevin Russo, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (rating: 27)
Pitcher of the Game: Casey Fossum, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (rating: 114)
Time of Game: 2:24
Mid-game temperature: 82 degrees
Attendance: 4,169 (Level III sporting event)

Baseball 2009, Game 74: Sumter P-15's 18, Dalzell Jets 2

Sumter Sloppiness: 6
Dalzell Sloppiness: 21
Most batters in one inning: 11
Hitter of the Game: Michael Blackmon, Sumter (rating: 71)
Pitcher of the Game: Patrick Gordon, Sumter (rating: 88)
Time of Game: 3 hours
Mid-game temperature: 74 degrees
Attendance: 250 (estimated, Level V sporting eveent)

With Friday night most people bent sent home without much baseball, I came to get my 2nd game of the weekend at Knights Castle using my ticket from Friday. The Knights' opponent Sunday was the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. The former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre agreement was with the Phillies and the team was called the Red Barons, but with a new affiliation beginning a year ago Scranton/Wilkes-Barre management felt the need to emphasize their association with the team that has made Big Time Sports often unwatchable. The Yankees hope to reach out to a potential northeastern Pennsylvania viewing area, but their AAA farm team has little connection with the big boys. While some SWB Yankees have had shots at going to the Bronx (top slugger Shelley Duncan spent some time in NY last season while the Yankees were desperate for outfield help, third baseman Cody Ransom is likely going to a bench player again once he recovers from an injury), for the most part the Steinbrenner family will look to free agents for help. The minor leaguers are likely destined for trade bait if they do will. Kevin Russo and Austin Jackson are good prospects and played well yesterday, but backing up A-Rod and Jeter means that they have to be traded if they want to play big league ball.

Yet the Yankee name still brings Scranton/Wilkes-Barre some draw. Yankees player advisor and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson occasionally shows up and briefly was seen in the SWB dugout yesterday. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's attendance shot up last year before falling back to earth this year so far. About a quarter of the 4K fans at Knights Castle appeared to have come in mind with watching Yankee reserves play. The fact that the actual New York Yankees aren't going to need their minor leaguers does create stability at Scranton, and the team has played well on the field the past couple years. SWB won the IL last year and is a contender again this year. Without one of their aces ready today, the Knights had little to counter against former Devil Rays pitcher Casey Fossum. Fossum could potentially still play for a bad MLB team, but not with the overpaid millionaires. If you want to see the worst of Big Time Sports influence Small Time Sports, go see a Yankee farm team play.

Or you could also watch American Legion Baseball, much further removed from Big Time Sports than AAA. After returning to Sumter last night, I stopped to see the Dalzell Jets play. The Jets have had a history of losing. They made the 8-team state tournament two years ago, but proceeded to lose many players to a new team a county north in Bishopville. They rarely win any game, and usually lose by large margins to top Legion teams.

Among these top Legion teams is the Sumter P-15's, which have a strong winning tradition. Drawing from Sumter and Lakewood High Schools and the private Wilson Hall, Sumter has won 13 state titles and has finished in the top four in the nation two of the last three years. While most Legion teams average 100 to 200 fans, Sumter averages by estimate over 500 fans per game at home. Sumter is a fairly large city for its' primary sports entertainment to be high school summer league ball. I have never liked living here because of that, but the P-15's usually send several players to college teams every year and occasionally the minor leagues. Teams like the Jets only produce maybe a college player or two per year.

The Jets' like much of Small Time Sports have an identity problem. Historically, they played at Hillcrest High School in Dalzell, a small unincorportaed town 10 miles northwest of Sumter. But when Hillcrest became a middle school and the field fell into disrepair, the Jets took off from Dalzell and landed in the P-15's home Riley Park in Sumter. To field competitive teams the Jets often used Sumter High players rejected by the P-15's. This and the desire for the P-15's to have a developmental junior program led to Dalzell being kicked out of Riley Park and back to Dalzell where they played at Thomas Sumter Academy. But with a shrinking player base due to a new team in Bishopville, Dalzell has moved to Lakewood High School, 5 miles south of Sumter and 15 miles southeast of Dalzell's base, the actual town of Dalzell. Dalzell now has Lakewood players not good enough to be P-15 regulars on their roster, which some P-15 supporters do not like. An interesting twist is that Josh Hayden of Sumter has a brother Keith who plays for Dalzell. Last night Keith had the priviledge of throwing his brother out.


In the past 20 years, Dalzell has only one win over Sumter, a 10-9 win over the P-15's two years ago in Dalzell. Last night 250 fans, mostly from Sumter, came to watch this mismatch unfold on the Lakewood diamond. Most fans sat on lawn chairs or stood around the field's perimeter as Lakewood only has enough bleacher seating for 100 people. In the bottom of the first, the upstart Jets went ahead on Michael Waddell's RBI single. But after that the talent disparity began to show, and even with the P-15's saving their best pitchers Dalzell gave up three runs the following inning and Sumter would midway through pull away. Legion ball does have a 10-run rule for ending blowouts after the 7th or 8th inning, but good baserunning by John Kruger allowed him to score on an errant thrown by Sumter and Presbyterian College catcher Tony Mickon and made it 11-2 after 8 innings. But the 9th inning saw Dalzell make 5 sloppy plays to finish with a Sloppiness of 21, tied for the highest game total in the 269 games I have seen in the past two years. Michael Blackmon's e-run homer topped off a 7 run inning and Sumter would win 18-2. A typical mismatch in Legion ball, things should get harder for Sumter this week with local rivals Bishopville and Manning and NC powerhouse Shelby up next.

Supporting Our Troops, Baseball Style

Baseball 2009, Game 72: Thomasville Hi-Toms 2, Columbia Blowfish 1

Thomasville Sloppiness: 10
Columbia Sloppiness: 9
Most batters in one inning: 6
Hitter of the Game: Matt Williams, Columbia (rating: 17)
Pitcher of the Game: Asher Wojciechowski, Thomasville (rating: 118)
Time of Game: 2:53
Mid-game temperature: 76 degrees
Attendance: 6,091 (Level II sporting event)

"Support our Troops" is perhaps one of the most common phrases in American society. The phrase has taken off since 9/11 and the wars that have come since then. Americans feel the need to support these service members, as they would perhaps feel insecure without them. And these men and women deserve to be saluted, as they signed up to protect America. They are often asked to take many other risks that don't always involve defending our freedom but rather (attempting) to establish it overseas.

Considering how much the troops have to suffer for the sake of the nation, entertaining them is a national priority. The USO has brought many acts to soldiers overseas, such as Stephen Colbert hosting his show from Baghdad this upcoming week. But many soldiers are also training for battle here in the U.S., in places such as Columbia's Fort Jackson. My grandfather trained at Fort Jackson before fighting the Nazis in the Battle of the Bulge, and Fort Jackson is still a major army base today. The Blowfish every year host a group of Fort Jackson soldiers for a night of baseball and fireworks. Last year the event was on Flag Day, this year was tonight on the 65th anniversary of D-Day.

The Fort Jackson soldiers took up all the bleacher seating behind home plate as well as all of Capital City Stadium's seats down the 3b/LF line. It is nice to see the soldiers come and enjoy themselves at a ball game like the rest of us. But they were still highly controlled by their officers and drill sergeants tonight, and much of their entertainment was orchestrated. The soldiers were ordered to their seats at certain times such as 30 minutes prior to first pitch. I overheard one soldier complaining about his drill sergeant. One that must be remembered as these soldiers are said to be fighting for our freedom is that they do not have the same freedoms we do. The military has to keep strict discipline and order to work, and every part of a soldier's life is controlled by the military. The entire entrance to the stadium was packed with buses dropping off infantries and picking them back up after the game. A pregame singer performed for the soldiers, leading the troops in various military songs.

At times it seems that the whole thing is also a show for the civilian audience. I have never had a strong interest in military culture, but many people especially here in South Carolina are enthralled with the various chants and military spirit. A lot of military life is meant to appeal to macho male culture, which I have never enjoyed that much. But the most important thing was that the soldiers enjoyed themselves it seems, even though they probably don't have much interest in the Blowfish or college summer league baseball. Hopefully these soldiers will continue to stay safe while our politicians quibble about what is best for them.

Three of the Hi-Toms' starters were from a military college in the Citadel. The Citadel has a longstanding tradition of military discipline. But the Citadel is by no means directly connected with the actual U.S. military itself, as Citadel cadets historically rebelled against the U.S. by firing the first shots of the Civil War on Fort Sumter in 1861. Many Citadel cadets go on to military officer careers, but many others go to become established South Carolinians elsewhere in life.

One of these Citadel players is Richard Jones, a first team all-conference catcher from my hometown of Sumter. And tonight his opposing pitcher was also from Sumter in Tyler Christman, who is currently at the 2-year USC Sumter where my mom teaches psychology. Christman and Jones played together for the American Legion P-15's, but the two did not go the same high school. Christman pitched for the public school Sumter (where much of his career was injury plagued) while Jones played for the private Wilson Hall. Given my support for public schools over private schools and Christman's USC Sumter connection, it was easy to root for him over Jones.

Christman has perhaps been the most consistently successful pitcher that I have seen watching Small Time Sports. He consistently has turned in some dominating performances against local Legion and JUCO teams and has made himself a big prospect to move onto a good 4-year school and maybe even pitch professionally someday. But normally Christman pitches in front of 500 fans in Legion games 200 fans in JUCO games. With the Fort Jackson crowd and familes enjoying a beautiful Saturday night packing the 6,000 seat Capital City Stadium and Division I players on the opposing team, Tyler Christman was at a level he hadn't been to yet.

Christman's first opponent in the CPL was Taylor Dugas of Alabama, who grounded out to third. Wes Hobson reached on an error and Stewart Ijames batted him over. But when Chris McGuinness grounded out to first, Christman had two outs and two runners in scoring position with his ex-teammate Jones at the plate. On a 2-2 pitch, Christman placed the ball over the outside part of the plate to send Jones scurrying for his catcher gear.

Christman pitched an outstanding first game in the CPL. He struck out Jones all three times he faced him as part of 6 K's on the nights. In 6 innings, Christman only allowed two hits. But Christman's two walks would come around to score from sloppy Blowfish defense and when Christman departed his team was down 2-0 through 6. The Blowfish's only hit off of the Citadel's Asher Wojciechowski came on a bunt single by Winthrop's Tyler McBride in the 5th. The bullpens would continue to dominate, although the Blowfish got an unearned run in the 7th off of Jordan Propst. Liberty's Matt Williams who reached on a walk and stayed alive on the basepaths due to an error on a potential double play would steal third and score on Jones' subsequent throwing error. Williams, who went 0 for 2 with two walks, a stolen base, and a run, would get Hitter of the Game without a hit. Williams' rating of 17 is tied for the 4th lowest in the 267 baseball games I have been to over the past two years that was good enough for Hitter of the Game honors.

It just wasn't a night for hitting. That is how it goes in the CPL with players using wood bats for often the first time. The teams combined for only four hits, three of which were infield singles. Only Ijames' hit in the first off of Christman got through to the outfield. None of three runs were produced by hits. All three runs were considered unearned by the official scorer, although the official scorer gave catcher Trent Still a passed ball that could have been considered a Christman wild pitch that led to the first run. Tyler Christman, as good as he was, was the loser tonight. Every pitcher tonight had a good game. The batters simply could not take advantage of opposing sloppiness, and that isn't world class baseball there. But usually it takes a few weeks for the CPL to get going and produce high level Small Time Sports baseball.

One thing that must also be noted among the Coastal Plain League is botched scorekeeping. While Jones' error allowed Williams to score, Williams was never officially credited with stealing 3rd. Ashton Hughes was given an RBI for a run scoring while he reached on a two-out error, which is also incorrect. Finally, the time of game was off. 2:53 is only correct with the fireworks show included as part of the game, otherwise it was closer to 30 minutes less than that. 6,069 also seems to be a high attendance as that indicates a capacity crowd even though there were a few seats to be had down the RF line. But if minor league teams like the Charlotte Knights can inflate their numbers, the Blowfish can as well as tonight's crowd was much bigger than last night's in Fort Mill. But while that is minor, better scorekeeping is needed as the players need accurate stats to present to their coaches and scouts to prove themselves.

Good luck to the troops in staying out of harm's way, and good luck also to players like Christman and Jones who are hoping for their name to be called in this week's MLB draft.

Minor League Identity

Baseball 2009, Game 71: Charlotte Knights 9, Columbus Clippers 1

Charlotte Sloppiness: 1
Columbus Sloppiness: 7
Most batters in one inning: 12
Hitter of the Game: Daryle Ward, Charlotte (rating: 42)
Pitcher of the Game: Jack Egbert, Charlotte (rating: 92)
Time of Game: 1:51
Mid-game temperature: 77 degrees
Attendance: 5,454 (Level II sporting event)


In big-time sports, Major League Baseball teams carry the pride of a city and/or the state, drawing passionate fans who feel the glory for a championship. These teams winning for their cities give the local residents pride in the guys that the local owner bought from most likely other areas of the country and perhaps Latin America and Japan as well. Then these players will then move on to the next team and city that is able to pay their high salaries, leaving their old fans behind.

But this is Small Time Sports, and Minor League Baseball teams do not have the luxury of promoting championship teams or star athletes. For one, these players especially in baseball are not hyped as much as their MLB counterparts by the mainstream national media. Rising stars in both football and basketball get more hype than rising baseball stars, even though baseball is arguably more popular than basketball and close to matching football in the eyes of American sports fans. And the second reason is that like their major pro counterparts, these players don't stay around to become local heroes, as they hope to move to the next level within a year.

That gives minor league owners two choices: promote the promising talent in these young rising stars (which a lot do but not as much as the should), or make a family entertainment event (which some clubs take to the extreme and forget a sporting event is taking place).

But the core foundation that a Minor League Baseball team needs to strives is this: a modern stadium that serves as a community baseball center with plenty of amenities to please its fans.

And the Charlotte Knights of the AAA International League struggle with this foundation, in a large part due to its identity crisis involving the location of Knights Castle. Knights Castle seats 10K in the Charlotte suburb of Fort Mill, 15 miles south of downtown Charlotte across the state line in South Carolina. Knights Castle sits off of I-77 in a location that has become more devloped since the stadium first opened in 1990, but gives fans the feel of being in a less urban area, not the norm for AAA baseball. Due to downtown traffic, making the drive to South Carolina for a ball game is not a pleasant thing to do often for those in the northern suburbs of Charlotte. As a result, many of the local ads around the ballpark are for either Fort Mill or Rock Hill businesses within York County, South Carolina. York County has around 190K residents, but that isn't going to be enough to support a AAA team. Mecklenburg where Charlotte is has about 900K residents, but the northern half isn't going to want to come down, nor are Gaston and Iredell Counties. Cabarrus County is another populated county in the Charlotte metro that isn't going to produce many Knight fans either, although they already have competition from the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators (which struggle to draw fans a well).

Knights Castle is not a bad stadium, although it does feel a bit generic. Charlie O'Reilly, who has seen nearly every pro baseball park in the U.S., rates the stadium 4 of 5 (although other reviewers have tended to give Knights Castle lower marks). The problem is that while Knights Castle is a very good stadium for one built in 1990, fans these days want new stuff all the time. Knights Castle is not as outdated as Capital City Stadium even though the two were built around the same time, but the stadium feels its age at time as evidenced by a scoreboard that is falling apart. The team names on the scoreboard were once digitized before they stopped functioning and the Knights put in placecards reading "Visitors" and "Knights". In addition, the scoreboard malfunctioned frequently over the first half of today's game. The PA announcer apologized for problems with the line score, although the actual score and the count weren't working either.

As a result of all this, the Knights average 4,249 fans, making most Knights games a Level III event when most AAA games are Level II (as was tonight, although the official attendance was certainly overstated). This average is the bottom of the IL and the 4th worst of 30 teams in AAA baseball. Fortunately for the Knights, they aren't an endangered franchise like many other poor drawing teams are. Those numbers are far better than failed franchises like the old Ottawa Lynx, and there is promise of a new downtown ballpark. The downtown ballpark, which should open in a couple years, may be what the franchise needs to flourish. But while Charlotte has many entertainment options, York County does not especially during the Summer. This certainly is somewhat of a shame.

The Knights aren't the only minor league team with an identity crisis. Their opponent tonight, the Columbus Clippers, have a different identity problem. For many years, the Clippers were affiliated with the New York Yankees. But when franchise agreements fell apart in the IL following the move of the Ottawa Lynx to Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, the Yankees went after the Northeastern Pennsylvania market in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Clippers then became affiliated with the Nationals, and with an aging stadium the franchise needed a jumpstat. The Clippers got that this year with a new stadium and a new affilation in the Cleveland Indians who are seeking to lock down the central Ohio market in a battle with the Cincinnati Reds. The Clippers now average 8,981 fans a game, tops in Minor League Baseball so far.

Tonight's game was a scheduled double-header, with two 7 inning games. But the Knights which don't get good crowds anyway had to deal with a 5:15 P.M. start on a Friday, and certainly no more than 1K of the official crowd of 5,454 saw the early innings of the game. Many Cub Scout groups were in attendance tonight, but they showed up when you would expect them to for a regular 7 P.M. start. The Knights put up an 8 spot on the board (which didn't go up right away due to the scoreboard malfunction), as they took advantage of some Clipper Sloppiness and got the big hits. Daryle Ward got the biggest, topping the inning off with a 3 run bomb that barely stayed fair down the right field line. The Clippers did manage 5 hits off of starter Jack Egbert in the 5th and 6th innings, but only managed one run and the Knights cruised to a 9-1 win, making this the 6th straight ball game I've been to with a home team win.

One thing that is fun at sporting events sometimes is to listen to what other fans have to say. My seat was in the middle of the section and in a big puddle, so I sat on the aisles. Sitting two rows behind me was a couple with thick New York accents, who appeared to be season ticket holders and knew the Knights staff and players very well. They talked about players recently called up to the big-time in Chicago, and were very much into the game unlike your average minor league fan. After a couple who had tickets on the aisle showed up in the 2nd inning, I moved to the other aisle in front of an African-American couple. This couple did not seem to be regulars like the other one was, but the husband seemed to be into watching the game. His wife compared everything about the atmosphere to the Knights' IL counterpart in the Durham Bulls, which had more entertainment she liked. But the Knights are much more in the way of pure, simple baseball; the kind I like. After rain started in the 5th, I moved to the top of the lower deck under cover. This time I was behind a few Cub Scouts fighting with their foam fingers; this experience was not as much fun.

Turns out that most of the late arriving crowd didn't get much baseball. This is because of a problem that prevented me from going anywhere last night and was why we had a doubleheader tonight: Rain. Rain is a big problem in baseball, and while the last two innings were played in light to moderate rainfall they decided to not start Game 2 until the system passed. But the system never passed tonight, and thus only 1 game, the game few people saw, was played. If this was football where a wet field isn't a problem, play would have gone on. But baseball can't be played on a wet field, which creates problems during the rainy summer months. The sport of baseball is going to have to get less weather dependent. It can't be played in the Winter due to the cold, but they won't play in the rain which makes Summer difficult as well. The perfect baseball climate is the dry and warm West Coast. This maybe why West Coast schools have been the best in college baseball the past few years.

After the game ended around 7:10, the tarp went on the field. It never went off, and it wasn't until 9:15 that the 2nd game was called off. Knights officials kept everybody under cover, even if they didn't care about getting rained on. Stadium ushers sent everyone from kids and adults back under cover if they went into the lower portion of the seating bowl even though there was no lightning. This seem very odd and perhaps over protective. No one wanted the game called, as the Knights and Clippers won't meet again this year and many fans especially the kids saw little of the first game (also known as tonight's game). But if they weren't pulling the tarp in the rain, they weren't starting until after 10. The Knights showed good-will in giving rain checks even though a game was completed. That means that we will be back to see the Knights again soon. This will be done once it can be fit in with our CPL schedule.