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Monday, September 27, 2004
Fall league gives players life after summer
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||
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Most of the high school season is played in the rain, mud and cold. And the Little League, Babe Ruth League and American Legion seasons are cut short in summer to accommodate all-star competition. But there's baseball beyond the major leagues this time of year if one knows where to look. Try Morton and McGuire fields in Augusta. That's where 12 teams from Bangor to Blue Hill to Westbrook gather each Sunday for six, nine-inning games. This is the fifth season of the Augusta Rec Fall Baseball League and this year it's bigger than ever. "We had four teams initially," said Al Cloutier, who helps run the league. "Last year we had eight and this year we have 12." A league in Portland is just beginning this season, but otherwise, Augusta is state's only established fall league for high school players. "We know how well the Augusta league has been run in recent years," Westbrook coach John Anthony said. "It's organized very well, the competition level is very good, and the fields are maintained excellently by Al and his crew." Anthony's team is essentially next year's Westbrook High school varsity squad. With 12 seniors and a sophomore, it's one of the league's strongest teams. Other teams are drawn from schools and players in their general areas and are a little less structured. All are coached by volunteers like Anthony who are not affiliated with their high school teams. "I like it," said Peter Lewis who plays for Gardiner. "It's pretty loose but it's still pretty competitive." Lewis lives in Gardiner but plays baseball at St. Dominic High School in Auburn. This fall, he's also playing soccer, but like many players in the league who participate in fall sports, he gets Sundays off. Teams will play 10 games and all have umpires, but beyond that rules are fairly relaxed. No standings are kept and there are no playoffs. And teams may bat all the players on their roster consecutively whether they play in the field or not. "We hit everybody," Lewis said. "So even if you're not in the field, you're still in the game." Many teams have sponsors to defray cost of uniforms. The cost to play is $50 per player for non-residents and $40 for residents of Augusta. Proceeds go toward paying umpires as well as the Augusta Babe Ruth League which gets a stipend for use of the fields. "This year we probably should have kept the concession stand open," said Cloutier, who is president of the Augusta Babe Ruth League. "It's pretty good for the local economy and it kind of showcases our fields." Some pretty good players have come through the league including Mt. Ararat pitcher Mark Rogers, the fifth overall player selected in the major league draft this spring. The league not only attracts parents and casual baseball fans but college coaches and scouts as well. University of Maine coach Paul Kostacopoulos has looked at a few players, and so has Dick Small of the Major League Scouting Bureau. "I found a couple over there that are worth following," Small said. Along with Westbrook and Gardiner, there are teams in the league from Pittsfield, Blue Hill, Old Town, Oakland, Augusta, Lewiston, Bath, Mt. Ararat, Apple Valley and Knox County. Most coaches use four or five pitchers a game and play every player that shows up. Games are played at 9:30, 12:30 and 3:30 and the latter time may be pushing daylight on the last day of competition, Oct. 31. Many, if not most of the participants, are "baseball first" athletes, while some are two-and three-sport stars who recognize the value of keeping themselves in the game year-round. Several will move on to indoor facilities once the league ends. There is, however, nothing like playing the game in the bright September sunlight. "I think it's wonderful," Small said. "You've got nice ball fields, good baseball, good umpires. All those guys have to do is come and play." Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638 ghawkins@centralmaine.com
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