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Monday, April 27, 2009

Baseball, And What Not....

The Fairfield Expos youth baseball organization poured money and hard work into turning the town's Laurel Creek Park into their home field.

The organization constructed batting cages -- one down each foul line and restored the dugouts. There were two tiny bleachers, now there is a high-rise seating area behind home plate. The seats have backs, just like the seats at a big league ball park.

Most interestingly, the organization installed all-purpose turf in the infield. The number of first-rate youth baseball facilities in the area with grass or dirt infields is dwindling to the point it's apparent that the cost of all-purpose turf is offset by the ease of maintenance and its availability even after some wet weather.

I stopped in to see the ball park and caught an inning of men's league baseball. The Solano Mud Cats were playing a team from the Bay Area. The Mud Cats featured a couple of former minor leaguers, one was a catcher who bounced around pro ball for years because he remains a sterling defender. It occurred to me that my hometown Humboldt Crabs always open their summer collegiate season against the Fairfield Indians. The Indians just added a young player who was selected in the first five rounds of the Major League Baseball draft, then struggled in the low minors for years. But, the Indians are just an average men's league baseball team, not even as good as Solano County's other men's league team -- the Mud Cats.

It would serve the Crabs college talent and their fans if the Mud Cats and Indians threw together the best 18 players (and a boat load of pitchers) to go play the Crabs in June. It would be great baseball and, potentially, the visiting team might even win a game.

The Sunday afternoon game I watched drew a pretty good crowd for a men's league game in Fairfield. There were probably, oh, 30 or 35 fans.

My son and I noted players who were standouts in Solano County, including the kid who's actually returning to play in an independent minor league team today.

I noted that one former college star looked like he'd put on 40 pounds. My daughter asked, "How can you tell if they're out of shape?"

"If they're built close to the way I'm built," I said, "they're out of shape. Baseball players don't usually have love handles or pot bellies."

3 comments:

Shawn Scibek said...

Ted, I like your style. But this not men's league baseball. We may not be your typical semi-pro baseball team, but we have a great mix of college, ex-college , pro and ex pro players. We have played the crabs tough, and so have the Indians. The Mudcats have been around for 19 years. The Indians probably 30, which I was a part for 6. The Crabs have a winning tradition and strong backing from the people and business community. We are a lifetime .500 club. Also we have never had a community following, even though we have given baseball camps, coaches camps, and done field maintenance all over Solano and Yolo counties for free for many years. This is a great baseball area. Both Indians and Mudcats have been in the shadows of the Tbirds and Steelheads for years. We used to get major recognition before the two. Maybe one day we will again. We will give the Crabs a good series even though it is on a Wednesday night. Solano Mudcats coach Shawn Scibek

Shawn Scibek said...

Ted, I like your style. But this not men's league baseball. We may not be your typical semi-pro baseball team, but we have a great mix of college, ex-college , pro and ex pro players. We have played the crabs tough, and so have the Indians. The Mudcats have been around for 19 years. The Indians probably 30, which I was a part for 6. The Crabs have a winning tradition and strong backing from the people and business community. We are a lifetime .500 club. Also we have never had a community following, even though we have given baseball camps, coaches camps, and done field maintenance all over Solano and Yolo counties for free for many years. This is a great baseball area. Both Indians and Mudcats have been in the shadows of the Tbirds and Steelheads for years. We used to get major recognition before the two. Maybe one day we will again. We will give the Crabs a good series even though it is on a Wednesday night. Solano Mudcats coach Shawn Scibek

Anonymous said...

To who ever wrote this article regarding the Mudcats and the Indians. Like my friend Shawn Scibek said, the Indians and the Mudcats have a long history in this area,the cats 20 years and the Indians 33. We have provided an opportunity for many young men to enter college and play ball.The games you saw when visiting the park were early season games. Most players were not even on the roster yet. Get a good look in the summer. norm Thomson, Gen. MGR/founder Fairfield Indians