Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4B
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008
Major League Baseball
Spring training always a welcome sight
SAFELYHOME
Banks County High School's Bill Redmon reached home during Friday's contest against Elbert
County. Photo by Tony Rudeseal
Baseball ... continued from page 1B
A h spring! When a young
man’s thoughts turn to
baseball. Always irked
my wife. I was thinking baseball,
she was tbinking...well, you know.
I couldn’t wait to hear the
sounds of spring baseball come
over the radio. I would pace the
floor at night, daydream in school,
wander off in church to thoughts
of the old curve ball, hoping that
time would move faster. I reserved
the first afternoon of spring ball to
sit by the radio in lieu of playing
rounders with the gang from the
neighborhood.
Baseball season had begun, as
my spirits went up and my grades
went down. True, I couldn’t do
long division like the others, but I
knew who played every position
for every National League team
by opening day. (Remember, there
were only eight teams in each
league at that time.)
Spring training - when players
come out of hibernation. For those
who did not make the Fall Classic,
each had four months of rest. Four
months to think about their per
formance and how to be better at
their trade.
The history of the spring season
is 138 years old. The first two
teams to initiate spring training
were Cincinnati and Chicago in
1870.
They held spring session is New
Orleans, but not before stopping
in many cities in the south on their
journey to The Big Easy, playing
local semi-pro and local college
teams. This started what was to
become known as barnstorming.
The benefit was two-fold: many
people who could not otherwise
see major league players were able
to attend such a game, and the
The Banks County High School
Class of 1995 is establishing a
scholarship in memory of classmate
Shawn Smith.
Smith, who was a standout athlete
for the BCHS Leopards, died fol
lowing a car accident last summer
teams made
a good
profit from
ticket sales
along the
way.
The spring
games are
divided
into two
leagues: the
Grapefruit
League of
Florida, and
the Cactus League of Arizona.
The first league to form was the
Grapefruit League in 1914.
The less-visible Cactus League
was formed in 1947, but was
jump-started in 1951 by a chance
visit from the New York Yankees
who since 1919 had called Florida
their spring training home.
This venture of the Yankees all
began in late 1950 when team co
owner and Phoenix, Arizona, resi
dent Del Webb decided to take the
club to Phoenix for spring training
and a west coast barnstorming
tour.
This was not the first time the
Yankees had ventured outside
of Florida; the Yankees had
held spring court in such places
as Cuba, Bermuda, Venezuela,
Panama, New Orleans, Houston
and even Savannah. Webb’s man
ager Casey Stengel and superhero
Joe DiMaggio were both from
California, which made Webb
think that a west coast tour would
be well-received and very profit
able.
The first pre-season game the
Yankees played that year was in
Phoenix against the Chicago Cubs.
The spring season story of the
Cubs is a chapter by itself. Their
while attending a basketball camp in
Alabama with members of the North
Oconee County High School team.
The annual football game between
BCHS and North Oconee has been
named the Shawn Smith Bowl in
his honor.
owner, William Wrigley, Jr. had
made a fortune in the gum indus
try and had bought, among other
things, Catalina Island just off the
cost of southern California. (Yes,
you read this right—he bought
Catalina.)
Wrigley’s team would spend
March on Catalina running over
trails cut into the hilly terrain.
After experiencing Phoenix in the
game with the Yankees, and after
30 years on the beautiful island
(1921 - 1951) Wrigley moved his
club from Catalina to the Arizona
city.
Spring training is still a magical
time for the baseball fan, and one
can travel to either the Grapefruit
or Cactus Leagues (I would like to
point out here that in the last ten
years, four teams have defected
to the Cactus League) to beat out
those who think they have been
blessed by the Almighty for get
ting tickets to the home opener.
Finally, I offer some tips for
those who may be interested in
taking the pilgrimage to either
Florida or Arizona this March.
Following are some of the statisti
cal data on the ballparks in spring
training:
Braves: Champion Stadium,
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Deepest center field: Scottsdale
Stadium, Scottsdale, AZ, Giants-
(430 feet)
Most seats: Peoria Stadium,
Phoenix, AZ, Padres and the
Mariners (12,882)
Oldest park: Al Lang Field,
Rays, St. Petersburg, FL (1916)
Banks County resident John
Rieken is an avid baseball fan.
E-mail comments about this col
umn to jrieken@alltel.net.
Those wishing to make dona
tions or obtain additional informa
tion can contact Nicole Blalock at
706-658-7014 or Heather Cotton at
706-654-7683.
A fund has been established at
Freedom Bank.
At the plate, senior Alex Gailey
was 3-for-4 with three doubles and
three runs scored. Zack Dale was
2-for-4 with three RBI.
Justin Gibbs and Tyler Husley
both added doubles. Kyle Smith,
Chris Porter, Jeff Smith and Bill
Redmon also helped led the Leopard
offense.
“Alex is seeing the baseball really
well at the plate with four doubles in
the first two games,” Lord said. “Our
The speed and quickness of
Bennett, Evans and Heu up front has
helped bolster the BCHS attack.
“I’ve simply tried to put people in
the right place and to let the girls
have fun,” Boomer said. “I have
also put an emphasis on being in
pitching has been good and we just
have to lock in a little more in the
strike zone. We haven’t given up an
earned run in the first two games and
that’s a pretty big accomplishment.”
The BCHS coach credited Aaron
Wagoner and Redmon for playing
solid defense up the middle during
the early part of the season and said
Dale is doing a standout job of han
dling the pitching staff from behind
the plate.
shape. We have a positive attitdue
and things seem to be going right
for us.”
BCHS is scheduled to host
Oglethorpe County Friday at 5 p.m.
in the first area match of the season.
“This week will tell us a lot about
“We have some areas that we need
to shore up before we begin region,”
Lord said.
The Diamond Leopards are sched
uled to play at Elbert County today
(Wednesday) in a rematch at 5:30
p.m. and will travel to Commerce
Thursday at 5 p.m.
The region schedule begins
Monday against Dawson County at
home at 5:30 p.m.
where we stand,” Boomer said.
The BCHS junior varsity girls
soccer team recorded a 3-0 win
against Clarke Central this season on
goals by Randi Seabolt, Evans and
Emmanuel Yang. Brittany Andrews
had two assists in the JV win.
N. Neelagaru, MD, FACC
BCHS Class of 1995 establishing memorial scholarship
john w.
rieken
Season Opener ... continued from page 1B
Gailey was 2-for-3 at the plate with a single, double,
walk, stolen base and three runs scored. Zack Dale was
1-for-3 with a double and RBI. Redmond, Justin Gibbs,
Chris Porter, Kyle Smith, Aaron Wagoner and Ben
Thacker also helped lead the offense against Commerce
last week.
It was the first time this season the Leopards were able
to take the field for a game.
A preseason scrimmage against Flowery Branch on
Feb. 22 was rained out and the opener with Commerce
was pushed back a day due to the cold temperature last
Wednesday.
Girls soccer ... continued from page 1B
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8th ANNUAL NWTF HUNTING HERITAGE BANQUET
PIEDMONT SHARPSPURS CHAPTER
MARCH 13, 2008
Opening: 6:00 P. M. • Dinner: 7:30 P. M.
Commerce Civic Center
State & Cherry Streets • Commerce, GA 30529
Verbal Auction • Silent Auction • Door Prizes • Gun Raffles
For more information call: 706-757-8807.
Dr. Neel
is offering the
$1,500 Commerce Cardiology
Health Education Scholarship
for a year to an eligible high school graduate from Banks or Jackson counties
Applications may be submitted directly to:
Commerce Cardiology Clinic
P. O. Box 359 • Commerce, Georgia 30529
or to your school counselor.
Applications are available through your school counselor
or at our office (706) 335-2000.
Deadline for Applications is March 31, 2008.
Saturday, March 8
National Vintage Racing
Plus
• Outlaw Late Models • Super Trucks
• Sportsman • Mini Stocks • Bandits
Gates Open at 12:00 p.m. • Race Starts at 2:00 p.m.
General Admission: $10 • Senior Citizens: $8
• Children 12 & Under Free
OPENING DAY
For more information, call 706-387-7490
www.peachstspeedway.com
Located at I-85 North Exit 140 and follow the signs.
388 Lyle Field Rd. • Jefferson, Ga