25 June 2008

Y-D Red Sox look to repeat with talent, character

By Katie Julian
The Register

REGIONAL —

Growing up in Miami, 1,500 miles from Cape Cod, Yarmouth-Dennis catcher Tony Sanchez knew of the Cape Cod Baseball League’s storied tradition of excellence and its success as a feeder program for Major League Baseball. 

“Playing here has been a goal for me since I signed with Boston College. It’s really a dream come true.” 

But Sanchez didn’t anticipate how stiff the competition would be. “The pitching here is a whole different world compared to college. Nobody throws soft anymore. I’m going to have to strive to get better.” 

That’s saying something, considering Sanchez led his team in batting average and has played two years in the Atlantic Coast Conference that features perennial powerhouses Miami, Florida State and College World Series team North Carolina.

He and other first-year players who signed with the defending champion Y-D Red Sox, recruited based on their projected performance and the recommendation of their college coaches, will be asked to make major adjustments and contributions this summer. In addition to playing six or seven days a week for a team that has won three of the last four championships, the biggest change of all for new Cape Leaguers is the move from aluminum to wooden bats.

“We expect the transition from aluminum to wood will take 100-150 points off their batting average at first, but the good hitters figure it out,” says Y-D General Manager Jim Martin, noting that coach Scott Pickler “has a talent for working with hitters. He’s in the batting tunnel every morning for guys who want some extra instruction.”

If the rookies can succeed at Red Wilson Field, the odds of success are good for them in the majors. One in seven Major Leaguers played in the Cape League, and three of the top 10 players in the MLB draft, including Florida State catcher and number five pick Buster Posey, played for Y-D last summer. “Between 75 and 125 MLB scouts will be at the Cape League All-Star Game this summer,” adds Martin.

Notable Cape League alumni include Boston Red Sox players Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell and Jacoby Ellsbury. It has been especially enjoyable for Martin to watch Y-D players develop into Major Leaguers, including Seattle Mariner Brandon Mauro, who invited his host family and Martin to opening day at Fenway Park.

Working with a winning team certainly boosts merchandise and concession sales, but Cape League teams don’t charge fans an entrance fee to attend games. Instead, they rely on fan donations, a successful youth baseball clinic and an all-volunteer staff, including host families, to pay the bills.

“We actually had too many host families this year. There’s a good nucleus of people who will open up their homes to players and treat them like their children, says Martin, who has served as GM since 1999.

In the Cape League, teams play more of a National League style, relying on speed, bunting and the ability to manufacture runs in order to edge out a win. “There’s so much parity in this league, which leads to a lot of one-run games.” This makes Y-D’s achievement of winning 31 games last season, the best since Chatham in 1992, even more remarkable.

The team, however, is off to a slow start this year, due to a lack of timely hitting, despite solid pitching. But the Red Sox expect to add talented Oregon State players Ryan Ortiz and Kevin Rhoderick after the College World Series and Team USA tryouts conclude to their permanent 25-man roster. Dominant San Diego State pitcher Steve Strasburg has opted to play for Team USA instead of returning to the Red Sox.

Assembling a winning team doesn’t just take talent, however, but a mix of natural ability and solid character. During the recruiting process, which begins Sept. 1for the following summer, Martin says Pickler weighs heavily the moral fiber of the player before offering him a contract. “Scott will ask the coach, ‘would you be proud to call this young man your son?’ And we’ve never had a discipline problem on this team.”

With that rule of thumb in place, Martin has brought in players like Mike Tamsin, a Connecticut native who plays outfield for Northeastern. As a temporary player, Tamsin will fill in where needed until the permanent roster recruits arrive.

“Michael is a wonderful young man and if I was young and good enough to play on this team, I would want Mike Tamsin as my teammate,” Martin says.

Tamsin played in the Cape League before and says it’s an honor to play with the best. He looks forward to the day he can don a Major League uniform and recognize many of his teammates and opposing players from his days in the Cape League.

“The level of competition and the tradition of winning here day in and day out is amazing,” he says. Not to mention the perks of being a player.

“I do enjoy the free mini-golf at Pirate’s Cove,” he says.