The Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, a wood-bat baseball league for athletes at the college level, seems to be preparing more than just the players for a future in what the baseball crowd calls “the Bigs.” Now, two former broadcasters of the League, Dan Watson and Scott Bacon, hold jobs broadcasting for minor league teams and are on the way up in the baseball world.
“I have always believed that the Great Lakes League is a developmental league for all the people associated with it,” says commissioner, Dr. Kim Lance. “The goal of our league is to prepare people for the next level.”
And the League did just that. Dan Watson is currently broadcasting for the Daytona Cubs, a Class A farm club for the Chicago Cubs based in Daytona Beach, FL, and Scott Bacon is working with the Lynchburg Hillcats a Class A club out of Lynchburg, VA.
Scott Bacon, a former broadcaster for the Columbus All-Americans, compares his journey as a broadcaster to that of a player, except he uses a longer time scale. He has worked his way up becoming an assistant broadcaster. Within the next few years he plans to make the next step up.
“It’s just like the players,” Bacon says, “I don’t want to be stuck in one place for too long and be known as that guy, the minor league guy that never makes it up.”
The ultimate goal for both Bacon and Dan Watson is to make it to the Majors, although Watson says that his real dream is to broadcast for his hometown team, the Cleveland Indians.
Both professional broadcasters stated that the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League helped prepare them for their current positions by giving them much-needed experience that all employers look for.
“It’s just a good introduction to get better. You get to learn by trial and error with a laid-back atmosphere with a lot of encouragement. If you mess up, you can fix it, learn from your mistakes,” says Watson.
And they still see many of the players they called games for in the GLSCL, as the players move up the ranks as well, but the play is comparable.
“With the Great Lakes League, they’re looking to diversify players. For example, if a pitcher has a really good fastball and curve, they’ll try to get him to work on a slider and change up. Here, at the higher levels, the players are looking to perfect what they already know well, rather than expand their repertoire,” says Scott Bacon.
Watson agrees saying that the play is comparable because the higher leagues get the best players from all of the wood-bat leagues, like Great Lakes, from across the country, making the competition that much steeper when the best of the best are present.
However, although Bacon and Watson have both stepped up to the high Class A leagues, they still hold fond memories of working with the GLSCL.
Bacon says his best came from the Columbus All-Americans’ win of the League championship in 2003, the year he started with them. Watson cited that calling the All-Star game for the League two years in a row in Athens, OH was his personal favorite, along with the people he worked with, including Scott Bacon and Commissioner Kim Lance.
The League, and others like it, the pair said, is just one more rung on the ladder toward Major League Baseball. Although the climb is a little slower for broadcasters, it seems the two that the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League has sent up to the minors are well on their way to their dream jobs.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Waves at "The Lakes" - Week Two
The following players had outstanding performances in Week Two of GLSCL action:
Rick Betsch (Cincinnati Steam) - The Butler Bulldog batted 0.444 in three games.
Evan Crawford (Delaware Cows) - The Indiana Hoosier hit 0.500 with a double and three RBIs in three games.
Bryan Bonner (Lima Locos) - The Georgetown Tiger batted 0.375 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
The following pitchers had outstanding performances in Week Two of GLSCL action:
Adam Quinn (Lima Locos) - The Ball State Cardinal went 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA and six strikeouts in 9.0 innings pitched.
Brad Stillings (Columbus All-Americans) - The Kent State Golden Flash amassed a 1-0 record in 6.0 innings pitches with six strikeouts.
Rick Betsch (Cincinnati Steam) - The Butler Bulldog batted 0.444 in three games.
Evan Crawford (Delaware Cows) - The Indiana Hoosier hit 0.500 with a double and three RBIs in three games.
Bryan Bonner (Lima Locos) - The Georgetown Tiger batted 0.375 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
The following pitchers had outstanding performances in Week Two of GLSCL action:
Adam Quinn (Lima Locos) - The Ball State Cardinal went 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA and six strikeouts in 9.0 innings pitched.
Brad Stillings (Columbus All-Americans) - The Kent State Golden Flash amassed a 1-0 record in 6.0 innings pitches with six strikeouts.
Pitcher of the Week - Week Two - Charlie Leesman - Cincinnati Steam
Cincinnati, home of the Reds, the Bengals, and now the recently named Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 18-24 of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, a wood-bat baseball league for college athletes. Charlie Leesman, a Cincinnati native, and sophomore at Xavier University, turned in a beautiful pitching performance, a single-hit game, against the Stark County Terriers to earn him the title this week.
Although a hometown atmosphere can put extra pressure on players to do well, the fact that Leesman is playing to the home crowd works to his favor.
“It make things a lot better because there’s a lot of Elder [Leesman’s high school] fans,” Leesman says.
Hopefully they continue to cheer because it seems to help.
“Charlie [Leesman] is pitching very well this season,” says Assistant General Manager Tony Brumfield. “The only run he’s given up all year was a home run on opening night. He’s pitched perfectly.”
The “perfect” pitching definitely shows up in Leesman’s stats. He has an ERA of 0.56 and an opponent batting average of 0.085 in 16 innings with a record of 2-1, putting him almost at the lead of all pitchers in the League.
Leesman says his fastball helped do the trick for the game against the Terriers. Considering that he’s fresh off of a shoulder surgery, pitching a one-hit game is more than most could hope for, but he never really thought no-hitter during the game.
“I think about that that stuff before the game, but not during the game,” Leesman said, although he was pitching a perfect game until the Terriers got a base in the fourth inning. However, Leesman maintains that it’s slightly easier to pitch in this league because players are still making adjustments to compensate for the heavier wood bat.
The pitching certainly looks like it’s coming easy for Leesman, and hard on the batters that face him.
Coach Brumfield says, “He’s only given up four hits within 16 innings… and he’s coming off a tremendous spring with Xavier.”
Hopefully, that tremendous spring will spill into tremendous summer with the Cincinnati Steam.
Although a hometown atmosphere can put extra pressure on players to do well, the fact that Leesman is playing to the home crowd works to his favor.
“It make things a lot better because there’s a lot of Elder [Leesman’s high school] fans,” Leesman says.
Hopefully they continue to cheer because it seems to help.
“Charlie [Leesman] is pitching very well this season,” says Assistant General Manager Tony Brumfield. “The only run he’s given up all year was a home run on opening night. He’s pitched perfectly.”
The “perfect” pitching definitely shows up in Leesman’s stats. He has an ERA of 0.56 and an opponent batting average of 0.085 in 16 innings with a record of 2-1, putting him almost at the lead of all pitchers in the League.
Leesman says his fastball helped do the trick for the game against the Terriers. Considering that he’s fresh off of a shoulder surgery, pitching a one-hit game is more than most could hope for, but he never really thought no-hitter during the game.
“I think about that that stuff before the game, but not during the game,” Leesman said, although he was pitching a perfect game until the Terriers got a base in the fourth inning. However, Leesman maintains that it’s slightly easier to pitch in this league because players are still making adjustments to compensate for the heavier wood bat.
The pitching certainly looks like it’s coming easy for Leesman, and hard on the batters that face him.
Coach Brumfield says, “He’s only given up four hits within 16 innings… and he’s coming off a tremendous spring with Xavier.”
Hopefully, that tremendous spring will spill into tremendous summer with the Cincinnati Steam.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Player of the Week - Week Two - Dean Anna - Columbus All-Americans
When a baseball player can tell his buddies that he’s batting a .467 with a slugging average of .667%, that generally earns some words or grunts of approval. And the boys are definitely approving of Dean Anna, the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League’s Player of the Week from June 18th- June 24th. Along with the first two impressive stats, which include one of the highest batting averages in the league, Anna has also racked up two doubles and a triple to further his team’s success.
Anna, a sophomore shortstop out of John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL, plays for the Columbus All-Americans, and, it seems is one of the best all-around players on the team.
Head Coach Brian Mannino attributes Dean Anna’s success to good pitch selection and batting technique.
“The biggest thing is that he hits the ball hard and makes good contact. He has a good approach to batting and hits good pitches,” Mannino says of his slugger from Mokena, IL.
Dean says his approach is derived from habit. “Before every pitch, I loosen and tighten my batting gloves, hit the bat with my left shoe once, and tap the plate twice.”
Whatever he’s doing, it’s working, even if getting used to the feel of a wood bat, as opposed to the metal that all colleges use, was a little difficult for him at first. Now, he’s got the hang of it, and his stats, and the team’s as well, have gone to the top of the league.
Anna looks for what everybody looks for, that perfect pitch, the fastball right down the middle, and opposing pitchers seem to throw what Anna likes to see, but the competition is still tough.
When comparing his college league to the GLSCL, Anna says, “The pitching’s a little better. The relievers and starters are all good pitchers. Here the competition is tougher.”
But he seems to be holding up well to the higher level of play. Coach Mannino says, “It’s not a fluke [that two shortstops have been Players of the Week]. You have a lot of the better players at that position. [Anna] is the lead off hitter, so every game sets the tone of the game. When he does well, the team does well.”
From the looks of it, the Columbus All-Americans, and Dean Anna, have perfect tone.
Anna, a sophomore shortstop out of John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL, plays for the Columbus All-Americans, and, it seems is one of the best all-around players on the team.
Head Coach Brian Mannino attributes Dean Anna’s success to good pitch selection and batting technique.
“The biggest thing is that he hits the ball hard and makes good contact. He has a good approach to batting and hits good pitches,” Mannino says of his slugger from Mokena, IL.
Dean says his approach is derived from habit. “Before every pitch, I loosen and tighten my batting gloves, hit the bat with my left shoe once, and tap the plate twice.”
Whatever he’s doing, it’s working, even if getting used to the feel of a wood bat, as opposed to the metal that all colleges use, was a little difficult for him at first. Now, he’s got the hang of it, and his stats, and the team’s as well, have gone to the top of the league.
Anna looks for what everybody looks for, that perfect pitch, the fastball right down the middle, and opposing pitchers seem to throw what Anna likes to see, but the competition is still tough.
When comparing his college league to the GLSCL, Anna says, “The pitching’s a little better. The relievers and starters are all good pitchers. Here the competition is tougher.”
But he seems to be holding up well to the higher level of play. Coach Mannino says, “It’s not a fluke [that two shortstops have been Players of the Week]. You have a lot of the better players at that position. [Anna] is the lead off hitter, so every game sets the tone of the game. When he does well, the team does well.”
From the looks of it, the Columbus All-Americans, and Dean Anna, have perfect tone.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Waves on "The Lakes"
The following players had outstanding performances in Week One of GLSCL action:
Ross Yoder (Stark County Terriers) - The Mount Vernon Nazerene University Cougar batted 0.440 with five RBIs in seven games.
Rick Betsch (Cincinnati Steam) - The Butler Bulldog batted 0.407 with three doubles and eight RBI.
Matt Stiffler (Southern Ohio Copperheads) - The Ohio Bobcat outfielder hit 0.400 with a double and six RBIs in five games.
Mike Stalter (Grand Lake Mariners) - The Lincoln Land Community College Logger swatted a robust 0.419 with four doubles in seven games.
Turning in outstanding pitching performances in Week One:
Eric Best (Licking County Settlers) - The Ohio State Buckeye recorded 13 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched in two appearances.
Lance Janke (Anderson Servants) - The San Diego Christian College Hawk recorded a 0.00 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 14 innings of work.
Dominique Rodgers (Southern Ohio Copperheads) - The Kent State Golden Flash earned a win with nine strikeouts in his outing against Xenia.
Ross Yoder (Stark County Terriers) - The Mount Vernon Nazerene University Cougar batted 0.440 with five RBIs in seven games.
Rick Betsch (Cincinnati Steam) - The Butler Bulldog batted 0.407 with three doubles and eight RBI.
Matt Stiffler (Southern Ohio Copperheads) - The Ohio Bobcat outfielder hit 0.400 with a double and six RBIs in five games.
Mike Stalter (Grand Lake Mariners) - The Lincoln Land Community College Logger swatted a robust 0.419 with four doubles in seven games.
Turning in outstanding pitching performances in Week One:
Eric Best (Licking County Settlers) - The Ohio State Buckeye recorded 13 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched in two appearances.
Lance Janke (Anderson Servants) - The San Diego Christian College Hawk recorded a 0.00 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 14 innings of work.
Dominique Rodgers (Southern Ohio Copperheads) - The Kent State Golden Flash earned a win with nine strikeouts in his outing against Xenia.
Player of the Week - Week One - Danny Gonzales - Anderson Servants
A batting average of .400 over a span of 10 games is certainly something to be proud of. For this, along with the five doubles, one triple and six RBIs he's racked up, the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Baseball League has selected Danny Gonzales of the Anderson Servants to be its Player of the Week for the week of June 8th- 17th.
Gonzales, a junior shortstop and a native of La Mirada, CA, found his way to Anderson, IN by way of San Diego Christian College. Anderson is a big change for him, not only in location but in the level of play.
"It's one of the biggest differences in my entire life," he says. "I'm so used to the big city, but this place is just wide open, [and]... the players are a lot bigger than I'm used to, these big corn-fed boys."
The change of venue and player size hasn't seemed to affect his game much, however.
Kyle Rayl, field manager for the Servants attributes Gonzales' early success to preparation.
"He plays with a solid league out in California. He came in well prepared with a good idea of what to expect," Rayl says.
Gonzales says he doesn't do anything special to prepare for each game, just what the rest of the team does for warm-ups, but he does try to "work the middle to opposite side of the field and keep [his] hands inside." He also looks for inside pitches.
Whatever he's doing, it's certainly working for him.
The icing on the cake would be for the Anderson Servants to break out of their recent five-game funk.
Gonzales advises that the team should "figure out how to close up the game. We're usually leading going into the last few innings, we just need to keep pushing on and on."
Sound advice from a solid player.
Gonzales, a junior shortstop and a native of La Mirada, CA, found his way to Anderson, IN by way of San Diego Christian College. Anderson is a big change for him, not only in location but in the level of play.
"It's one of the biggest differences in my entire life," he says. "I'm so used to the big city, but this place is just wide open, [and]... the players are a lot bigger than I'm used to, these big corn-fed boys."
The change of venue and player size hasn't seemed to affect his game much, however.
Kyle Rayl, field manager for the Servants attributes Gonzales' early success to preparation.
"He plays with a solid league out in California. He came in well prepared with a good idea of what to expect," Rayl says.
Gonzales says he doesn't do anything special to prepare for each game, just what the rest of the team does for warm-ups, but he does try to "work the middle to opposite side of the field and keep [his] hands inside." He also looks for inside pitches.
Whatever he's doing, it's certainly working for him.
The icing on the cake would be for the Anderson Servants to break out of their recent five-game funk.
Gonzales advises that the team should "figure out how to close up the game. We're usually leading going into the last few innings, we just need to keep pushing on and on."
Sound advice from a solid player.
Pitcher of the Week - Week One - Jay Jackson - Delaware Cows
For the first time in over a decade, the Delaware Cows can claim the credit for a no-hitter. All honor goes to the pitcher, Jay Jackson of Furman University in Furman, SC. This feat, a game against Xenia on June 17th, earned him the title of Pitcher of the Week for the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, a collegiate wood-bat baseball league.
"I told the guys, and Jay, that this [no-hitter] is the single most dominating and impressive pitching performance I've seen since I've been coach," says nine-year field manager Bruce Heine of his sophomore hurler.
Jackson, a Taylors, SC native with a record of 2-0, struck out 10 batters and had an opponent batting average of 0.091 over the course of 9.2 innings. He attributes his success to a good handle on his fastball, which, according to him, was "running in the upper 80s to lower 90s [mph]."
And hopefully the scouts were watching.
Jackson has pitched a no-hitter before, as a junior in high school, but says this one was much harder to win.
"Here there are better hitters with more skill. There's just a higher caliber of player," he says.
Coach Bruce Heine says that he suspected that Jackson could achieve a no-hit game during the 5th inning, but still let his pitcher and catcher, Mike Cero, call their own shots, which clearly paid off in the end.
Jackson didn't even have to deal with traditional superstitions, such as not talking to a pitcher in the dugout during a possible no-hitter. The Cows "just kept everything the same and just enjoy[ed] the summer league." says Jackson.
Being that the 17th was Fathers' Day, the game held a little extra meaning.
Jackson says, "I always try to do something nice for my parents... for Mothers' and Fathers' Day, so this was pretty great."
Most fathers would gladly accept their son's no-hitter as a gift.
"I told the guys, and Jay, that this [no-hitter] is the single most dominating and impressive pitching performance I've seen since I've been coach," says nine-year field manager Bruce Heine of his sophomore hurler.
Jackson, a Taylors, SC native with a record of 2-0, struck out 10 batters and had an opponent batting average of 0.091 over the course of 9.2 innings. He attributes his success to a good handle on his fastball, which, according to him, was "running in the upper 80s to lower 90s [mph]."
And hopefully the scouts were watching.
Jackson has pitched a no-hitter before, as a junior in high school, but says this one was much harder to win.
"Here there are better hitters with more skill. There's just a higher caliber of player," he says.
Coach Bruce Heine says that he suspected that Jackson could achieve a no-hit game during the 5th inning, but still let his pitcher and catcher, Mike Cero, call their own shots, which clearly paid off in the end.
Jackson didn't even have to deal with traditional superstitions, such as not talking to a pitcher in the dugout during a possible no-hitter. The Cows "just kept everything the same and just enjoy[ed] the summer league." says Jackson.
Being that the 17th was Fathers' Day, the game held a little extra meaning.
Jackson says, "I always try to do something nice for my parents... for Mothers' and Fathers' Day, so this was pretty great."
Most fathers would gladly accept their son's no-hitter as a gift.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Exciting New Venue in Xenia
Xenia's The Athletes in Action certainly have a home-field advantage on their newly created ballpark. The three-million dollar project also includes two new softball fields and two soccer fields all thanks to various private donations.
The longtime vision to create the facility started six years ago, with the completion drawing to a close in the next half a year. The team has already started playing on the brand new all-turf field, but the completion will bring stands holding more than a 650-person seating capacity.
General Manager for the team, John Mclaughlin, has nothing but optimism for the new ballpark, stating that it is a positive baseball enviornment which will have nothing but positive feedback-- not only the team-- but for for the league as well. Before, the Athletes in Action played their home games at Wilmington College. And while they are thankful for the college's services, they are glad to have a field of their own minus the thirty minute car ride.
Manager Mclaughlin is confident the new stadium will boost attendence and serve as a great facility that all teams in the league can enjoy and get the chance to play ball on.
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