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5/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 14, 2002
by Ted Hutton
Sun-Sentinel
Dan Touchet and Nelson Lopez were a long way from home on June 21.
Far enough away that at 10 p.m. there was enough daylight for a baseball game.
Touchet, who grew up in Palm Beach Gardens and was going to the University of Miami, and Lopez, a Miami native playing at Florida Atlantic, couldn't have come farther and still been in the United States.
Touchet, a pitcher for the UM team that had just won the College World Series, was in Alaska. His anchorage Glacier Pilots were playing the Anchorage Bucs.
Lopez, a senior pitcher for FAU, was in Kenai, where his Peninsula Oilers were hosting the Mat Su Miners.
"It was really weird," said Touchet, a UM sophomore. "The sun doesn't even go down until about 11 at night and then it never really gets dark."
June 21 is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and while the Oilers and Glacier Pilots were in action, the Fairbanks Goldpanners' Midnight Sun Classic wouldn't even start until 10:30 p.m., and the entire game would be played with no artificial light.
Welcome to the world of the Alaska Baseball League, a six-team league that plays from early June to early August and attracts college players.
Players from UM, FAU, Central Florida, Florida International and other colleges will be packing their bags soon and heading out to play on the myriad summer league teams that are seeking players.
While most won't travel as far as Lopez or Touchet, they will all be seeking the same thing: a higher level of baseball that will help them improve their games and increase the chances of making it to the professional level. A big part of that is the chance to play with wooden bats, which they will use if they play professionally after college. Another is to get the feel of the minor league lifestyle.
Attendance at major league games may be down, but baseball is growing in small towns across the country as new summer leagues form and existing leagues expand.
The leagues have several key things in common. They use wooden bats instead of the metal bats used at the high school and college levels. Players are not paid but receive free lodging, food and equipment. And the leagues recruit players.
While summer leagues have been around since 1885, when the Cape Cod League started, the last decade has seen a growth spurt.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League was formed in 1993 with six teams. This summer there will be 12 teams spread across five states.
The Northwoods League started in 1994 with six teams. The league now has eight teams and is one of the top leagues in attendance, averaging more than 1,000 fans per game.
Northwoods teams play 64 games in 68 days with some long bus rides and overnight stays. "It is designed to be just like the minors," said Steve Foster, who will coach the Wisconsin Woodchucks this season.
The league was created with the concept of using a professional format for college baseball.
"The players get to know what baseball on that level is like," said Foster, who played for the Cincinnati Reds organization and was a scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before taking the full-time job with the Woodchucks as general manager and field manager.
Foster said the leagues are also attracting people like him, who have had professional experience and like the idea of grooming college players for a chance at pro ball.
This rapid increase in teams has mirrored the growth of college baseball.
"It's a great opportunity for the players to get better quickly," said FIU coach Danny Price. "Using a wooden bat can make you a better hitter."
UCF coach Jay Bergman assigns one of his coaches to place as many of his players as possible in summer leagues.
"It's good for the players to get out and see different situations and be around different players. These are basically college all-star teams, so they learn that they need to work hard to compete at that level," Bergman said.
"I think that's what all the good programs do," Stetson coach Pete Dunn said about finding spots on summer league teams for his players.
"It's a vital aspect of eeveloping college players," FAU coach Kevin Cooney said. "To get better in baseball, you have to play it. These leagues give players a chance to play a lot for games against a lot of good players."
The players agree.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience." Lopez called his Alaska summer. "I got to go deep-sea fishing and hike in the mountains, and I got a lot better as a player."
FAU's leading hitter, L.J. Biernbaum, credits the Cape Cod League, where he played on the Hyannis Mets, with helping him improve at the plate.
"It's harder to hit with a wooden bat, so you have to concentrate and practice harder," he said. "Then you are playing against top competition, so you really have to focus on your game."
As senior, Lopez and Biernbaum cannot play in the summer leagues, since they are restricted to players who still have college eligibility. They will wait and see if the summer leagues and college were enough to get them drafted in June.
Touchet is still deciding where he will spend his summer. As much as he like Alaska, he said he will probably go for a league closer to home.
"I'm leaning toward the Valley," he said of the Virginia-based league that stretches through towns in the Shenandoah.
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