Sunday, Jul. 17, 2011

Finding the right league

Area players have a number of options for summertime baseball

If a high school baseball team is lucky enough to make it all the way to the state championship game - Holly Springs did this year - its season ends at about the first weekend of June. For others it's sooner, and for even more it's been over for weeks by then.

But that doesn't mean the baseball season has to end.

In southwestern Wake, no matter when spring ball ends, there's always summer ball. And there are several different options for those who wish to continue honing their skills and competing.

There is American Legion, Babe Ruth and Scholastic League baseball. Each offers something different and caters to a variety of ages and skill levels.

Senior Legion

Cary's Senior Legion team is fed by the Junior Legion programs. The senior team is 19-and-under and generally made up of graduating seniors and college freshman who return home to play summer ball.

This team, managed by Robert Stephenson, is considered by many to be at the top when it comes to summer baseball teams in the area.

"Given the high percentage of college-level players we have in this league, it's a good transition to the college game for graduating seniors," said Stephenson, who is in his first season as manager. "Our competition is higher than most high school baseball leagues. There, you might face a college-bound pitcher once every other week. Here, you're probably going to face one every game."

Cary's senior team pulls from Athens Drive, Green Hope, Cary and Cary Christian, and plays in a league that includes teams from Apex, Clayton, Garner, Durham and Raleigh. "There's just not enough American Legions," Stephenson said. "Some kids don't have the Legion-ball option, and that's unfortunate."

Junior Legion

Cary American Legion Post 67 sponsors a summer baseball league in Cary that is split into two leagues with three teams.

The Junior League has two teams - the Bulls and the Colts. Both are made up of players ages 16-and-under, but the Bulls are given first choice at the tryout.

Bulls manager Ron Powell picks his 18 first and Colts manager Dan Pike takes his 18 from the remaining group. This season 54 players - all from Athens Drive, Cary, Green Hope or Cardinal Gibbons high schools - tried out. Eighteen were not chosen at all.

"Every year we have to turn some kids away," Pike said. "We have numerous people try out and everybody can't make it. This year we had to turn away a lot because they didn't go to one of our feeder schools."

Cary's American Legion teams have a specific enrollment cap that it cannot exceed. That's why it can only accept players from certain schools. It does change sometimes based on changes in enrollment at the schools. Some years one of the schools must be dropped and others a new school may be able to be picked up.

It is not, however, a requirement for players to live in Cary to play. In fact, many that attend Cardinal Gibbons - a private high school - live outside the county.

In that circumstance, if there is another American Legion team in the area where a player lives, that coach must release the player to allow him to play for Cary Post 67.

Babe Ruth

There is an alternative to American Legion baseball in Cary, and that's the senior Babe Ruth league.

Babe Ruth summer baseball is for ages 16-18 and is generally a mix of players who have either aged out of Junior Legion, decided Senior Legion is not for them or didn't make the roster. The town of Cary sponsors the team and charges a fee for playing. Cary residents are required to pay $44 for the summer, while non-residents must pay $69.

This season's team is similar to others in the past said manager Jere Morton, who is also an assistant coach at Middle Creek High School. But he added that there were more players who tried out this year - and a few more from Middle Creek, who wanted to keep playing for him.

"The Legion teams don't really have enough spots," he said, "especially with college freshman coming back for the summer. We don't recruit those guys away from Legion, but we do get a lot from the Cary and Apex areas."

Babe Ruth also offers a shorter season, which is appealing to those who do not want to have their entire summers overtaken by baseball.

The regular season is only 16 games long, and they are played on eight nights - a doubleheader every night. Cary's team plays in a league that includes teams from Franklinton, South Granville, Henderson and Louisburg.

"We have a lot of fun," Morton said. "The stress is not as high as it is in Legion ball and our schedule is great. We get the whole season done in eight days over the summer. Our players can still have summer jobs or go to the beach if they want to."

Scholastic League

In the greater-Cary area, American Legion and Babe Ruth offer summer baseball options to similar groups. A third option, Scholastic League baseball, is there for those who don't live in areas that offer Legion or Babe Ruth teams, or just want a different experience.

In 2006, the Central Carolina Scholastic Summer Baseball League was established.

The league is made up of 60 high school teams that play together throughout the summer.

There are two levels of scholastic baseball - junior varsity and varsity. Graduating seniors are not allowed to play.

Almost every high school in the area has a scholastic team, which gives players without other options a place to play. In Fuquay-Varina, players have the option to play Senior Legion ball with a Garner-based team or scholastic ball.

"We even encourage players to go and play Legion if they want to and can," said Bengals coach and co-creator of the scholastic summer league Milton Senter. "We do, however, have one requirement for a player who decides to play Legion ball. He must play. If he's not getting to play on his Legion team, we bring him back to the scholastic league and get him in the game."

The league plays no weekend games, Senter said, to allow players to participate in weekend showcase leagues. He added that the scholastic league is about the player getting experience and exposure.