Crack of the Bat
by Patrick Ebert

Seamless Transition

Playing every day over the course of the entire summer, host families, bus travel from city to city up to 800 miles away, and of course, wood bats.  These are a handful of things that college players participating in the Northwoods League get a taste for, things that they will experience should they be lucky enough to advance their career onto minor league baseball.

 

One thing that isn’t talked about very often is the baseball that is used.

 

Many college conferences, and summer collegiate leagues, use a much different baseball than the Rawlings ball that is used at the major and minor league levels, and at Perfect Game showcase and tournament events for that matter.  Many of the balls used in college, and even high school, are softer and have higher seams.  The softer consistency of the ball allows it to not carry as far, and the higher seams on the ball allow pitchers to get a better grip, particularly when throwing breaking pitches.  This ball is implemented to somewhat combat the advantage hitters have with a metal bat in their hands.

 

The summer college leagues already favor pitching simply given the use of wood bats.  This summer is the first year that the Northwoods League has adopted the Rawlings ball, previously using a much softer MacGregor ball.  It’s hard enough for hitters to adjust to the wood bat having used metal bats the rest of the year, and making contact with a softer ball makes it that much more difficult to make hard contact.

 

And while the ball doesn’t have as great of an impact on the performances on the field (in theory), it still does make a difference, and is yet another factor that gives the Northwoods League the total package, allowing college players in the summer to get a taste of what professional baseball is all about.

 

One year doesn’t make a trend, but this past summer runs were up 16% from 2006 based on team-by-team averages, since the league expanded by two teams this past year, although it should be noted that offense was down overall in 2006.  The league batting average increased from .240 to .252, and home runs were up more than seven per team.

 

Another benefit to the Northwoods League is the fact that it is one of the best at drawing big crowds, with an average of over 1,800 fans in attendance for each game (the Madison Mallards drew over 6,000 fans per game).

 

It doesn’t hurt that most of the cities that hosts the teams in the league have had professional baseball teams at some point in time.  The league actually has (and has had) very similar locales to the now defunct Northern League, with a very rich history dating back to the Civil War (the most famous of which was Hank Aaron, who began his professional career with the Eau Claire Bears in the Northern League back in 1952).

 

So, if you’re an aspiring young player trying to get a taste for what life in the minor leagues could be like, or a baseball fan eager to take in a blend of professional and college baseball, be sure to give the Northwoods League a try.

 

Three for Three

Two names that stood out as I assembled the Northwoods League top prospect list were Kyle Blair and Victor Sanchez, two players just a couple of weeks removed from their high school graduation when they traveled East to Minnesota (Duluth and Alexandria respectively) to play with and against players with at least one year of college under their belt.

 

Blair’s negotiation with the Dodgers went right down to the August 15^th signing deadline, with Blair opting not to sign to honor his commitment to theUniversity of San Diego.  Victor Sanchez has the same commitment, and he too went unsigned, as did one more talented high school player from California , former Aflac All-American Sequoyah Stonecipher.  That high profile trio gives the Toreros one of the more exciting recruiting classes in the nation, joined by a talented left-handed pitcher, Sammy Solis.

 

They join an already surging ball-club under the direction of Head Coach Rich Hill.  Brian Matusz is one of the nation’s premier starting pitchers who has a chance to be selected among the top three to five picks, if not first overall, in next June’s draft.  He and his fellow rotation mate, two-way threat Josh Romanski, return to San Diego after a successful summer with Team USA .

 

Cape Cod League All-Star Matt Couch also returns, meaning the entire weekend rotation that propelled an already successful team will be back in 2008, which of course only adds to the young talent base San Diego continues to accumulate.  Without a doubt, San Diego is a program on the rise.

 

Two other programs that have done very well for themselves with the draft signing deadline come and gone are Oregon State and Louisiana State .

 

Oregon State landed three high-profile recruits in Greg Peavey, Tanner Robles and Garrett Nash.  I noted in a previous column that the Beavers were poised to be successful no matter who they lost or gained, and it’s hard to match the talent level of any trio of recruits across the nation.  A program built on pitching in particular should continue to thrive with Peavey and Robles, a pair of former Aflac All-Americans.

 

The third trio of talented recruits is heading to Baton Rouge, Louisiana :  D.J. LeMahieu, Anthony Ranaudo and Taylor Martin.  Throw in Chad Jones for kicks, and we could be witnessing the return of what was formerly one of the most powerful baseball programs, year after year, just a few short years ago.

 

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA .  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.