Newspaper Page Text
flLayingi (Bull with the (MkmJh
AS LOCAL AS THE NATIONAL PASTIME GET
P ark himself delivers pocket 5
schedules to local businesses 5
with his 12-year-old daughter, g
confirming his belief that "base- jjj
ball is a sport that connects the
generations." The Athens Pirates
themselves have been playing for
almost a generation—16 years. Park
began a league with Gerald Decker
as the Athens-Oconee Adult Baseball
League; after a few years he realized
his desire to create a team specifi
cally for college players. The Pirates
alternately played Stan Musial AABC
league ball or played as indepen
dents until becoming affiliated with
the Southern Collegiate Baseball
League. The team then transitioned
to the Georgia Collegiate League.
Throughout its growth, the team has
been a nationally known resource
for college and pro scouts who
send players to the Pirates. Since
the team's inception as a college
league, 90 schools have sent players
to the Pirates. The demand for high-
quality wood-bat summer baseball
in the South led to further expan
sion: in 2006 the Georgia Collegiate
League morphed into the Great South League, which is now a
three-state league (Georgia, Alabama, Florida) comprised of 12
teams, including the Pirates. Bill Park also is the president of
the Great South League, and promises expansion to 20 teams
in at least four states next year.
Years ago, beginning with UGA baseball's Coach Robert
Sapp, first college coaches, then pro scouts, began referring
players to the Pirates for pre-professional college summer
baseball. The Major League referrals have become a steady
source of recruitment; on the current roster, 10 players have
been drafted, eight of them right out of high school who
elected to go to college instead. There are players from at least
15 colleges on the 2008 Pirates team. "If you sit on the bench
you hear accents from everywhere. Long Island, The Virgin
Islands, Brooklyn, Miami. All up and down the East Coast and a
player from Canada, too," says Park, fn accordance with NCAA
rules, none of the players are paid. They volunteer their time to
the Pirates and live with host families in the community—16
host families for 21 players.
Park explains that major league scouts contact the team
and ask that it take the players and develop them. The play
ers are talented when they arrive; the Pirates are responsible
for developing pro potential. The game they play is not like
college ball. The Athens Pirates use wood bats, as do the big-
leaguers, use major league balls, which are less forgiving and
harder for pitchers to direct, and play according to American
League rules. The only exception is that they abide by the col
lege slide rule, which discourages physical contact—"We don't
want anyone getting hurt," says Park. The romance of the wood
bat is not only nostalgia and a link to the pros, but a genuine
barometer of talent. You can really see what a swing is made
of using wood. The summer league uses wooden bats to hone
players' skills as they strive for the pros.
The Pirates have had four players drafted into the Major
Leagues in the past five years: Chuck James of the Atlanta
Braves, Jeff Keppinger of the Cincinnati Reds, John Lannan of
the Washington Nationals, and Brett Campbell, formerly of the
Nationals and now with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
Three more players are playing AAA ball. The head coach, Ricky
Jones, had his 10 years in the pros with the Baltimore Orioles,
but as a backup for Cal Ripken, Jr. he didn't see the playing
time he might otherwise have.
O bviously, there's a lot to look up to for a kid watch
ing the Pirates. But the kids aren't looking from afar.
Smith Field is a reminder of the fact that ball fields are
called "parks." There's gently rolling grass on which fans set
up blankets, chairs and even a chaise lounge or two to watch
the game. Three and sometimes four generations of families
are out there on the blankets. Children move from place to
place to follow the ball. The dugout is a fluid concept; play
ers will often get down on the grass with the crowd to watch
the game. During opening ceremonies the field is thronged
with kids, who are invited down to join the players! As they
stand on the field and say the pledge of allegiance, their eyes
shine as they look up at the players.
A few of the children are in uni
form; any kid who gets there early
enough is eligible to be a bat boy
(or girl). Prior to the game, play
ers hang loose and mingle with the
children, playing catch and signing
autographs.
Some of the players have grown
up with Smith Field. Over the years
the field has hosted little league,
high school ball, and now collegiate
ball. Some of the boys who played
on it went on to play college ball
and became Pirates. Players from
Athens and surrounding counties include Carl Della Torre, Luke
Rogers, Jonathan Newsome, Taylor Hart and Blake Haagen. The
field is behind the backyard of the Smith Family, who decided
years ago that they had the land, Oconee County had no fields,
so the solution was obvious. Part of the throwback experience
involves the quiet setting of the field, out in what feels like
the middle of nowhere. There is a corn field beyond the out
field, and a horse pasture behind left field. Yet the lights are
professional and the field is as good as any.
The players are also hosting weekly summer camps for play
ers ages five to 17 through July 24 ($100 for a four-day camp).
There is one Pirates player for each two campers—All-Confer
ence and All-Division players, most from Division 1 schools,
working with young people to pass along their skills. For infor
mation or to register, call Bill Park at (706) 296-4054.
Admission to all Pirates games is $5 a game; $3 for students
and seniors. Ten players are returning to the Pirates from last
year's championship team; the Pirates have won two league
championships over the past three years. Winning is important,
but it's not the only thing, according to Park, who brought up
his team's winning record almost as an afterthought. His prior
ity is clear. "We do it for the kids. We want these kids as part
of our team."
Deb Chasteen
Find the complete Pirates calendar, directions to Smith Field and a link
for Internet radio broadcasts of games at www.eteams.com/athens
pirates. For more information, visit www.greatsouthleague.com.
REMAINING 2008 ATHENS PIRATES HOME GAMES
Friday, July 4, 5 p.m.
East Alabama Big Train
Saturday, July 5, 4 p.m.
East Alabama Big Train*
Tuesday, July 8, 7 p.m.
Mentium Athletics
Friday, July 11,7 p.m.
Florida Legends
Saturday, July 12, 3 p.m.
Florida Legends*
Tuesday, July 15, 7 p.m.
Mentium Athletics
Wednesday, July 16, 7 p.m.
Mentium Athletics
Friday, July 18, 7 p.m.
Augusta Nationals
Saturday, July 19, 4 p.m.
Augusta Nationals*
* = Doubleheader. All home games are played at Smith Field on Old Epps
Bridge Road in Oconee County. Locations for this season’s pest-season
games have not been announced.
kk^ k et to know tomorrow's Major League players today!'
That's the first sentence the Athens Pirates, the
area's college summer league baseball team, throws
out in its promotions. Area players do indeed go on
to make it at the top. Talk to a Pirate, though, and you learn
that the operative word in the sentence is "know." As in, get
to know the players. Bill Park, the team's General Manager,
says, "We're doing this to help the next generation get the
love of the sport. There is nothing that pleases me more than
seeing a little kid looking up at one of our players like he was
Chipper Jones." What makes the Athens Pirates unique is that
a child can meet, play catch with, and get autographs from
players who may go on to the pros. Families and players con
nect in an atmosphere that could not be more, as Park puts it,
"like baseball was 125 years ago." The games are suffused by
a community ethos that begins with a local field created on a
whim and players who are recruited by pro scouts and college
coaches who use the word "character."
8. FLAGPOLE.COM-JULY 2, 2008
§ . M00.3J0S0AJ1 • 800S ,S YJUl
NEWS & FEATURES I CALENDAR I MOVIES I A&E I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
in'
3£A
MICHAEL GOETHE