 | Mark Schremmer is a major contributor to KPREPS.com, a website dedicated to covering Kansas high school football. A Pittsburg native and Pittsburg State University graduate, he is assistant news editor at The Topeka Capital-Journal and has covered sports in Kansas since 2000. |
Sports
2013-06-25 09:50:14
A Jaycee game to remember...10 years ago
Many baseball greats have stepped foot on Pittsburg’s JayCee Ball Park at one time or another.
I’ve heard stories about Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Satchel Paige playing there. Bubba Starling, a first-round pick of the Kansas City Royals, played a high school game at JayCee.
With all the minor league games of the Pittsburg Browns, barnstorming events, all-star tournaments and high school and American Legion games, there are endless stories and memories that trace back to JayCee Ball Park.
But one of the coolest stories happened just 10 years ago.
On June 24, 2003, the USA Baseball Junior National team, which consisted of 27 of the best 17 and 18-year-old baseball players in the United States, played a single game against a group of Southeast Kansas All-Stars.
Team USA included Kansas City Royals designated hitter and All-Star Billy Butler, Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Neil Walker, New York Yankees outfielder Brennan Boesch, Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Daniel Bard, Washington Nationals relief pitcher Erik Davis, Miami Marlins infielder Chris Valaika, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Alex Presley, former Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Jeff Manship and 2004 No. 1 overall draft pick Matt Bush.
The SEK All-Stars roster included Pittsburg’s Garrett Forsythe, Cliff Wheeler and Jordan Garner, St. Mary’s-Colgan’s V.J. VanBecelaere, Nick Dellasega and Kenny Hallacy, Fort Scott’s Darryl Graham, Chanute’s Daniel Waggoner and Joe Bogle, Parsons’ Thomas Grillot, Girard’s T.J. Franklin and Quin Vinze, Humboldt’s Cole Rink, Baxter Springs’ Darrell Dinger and Columbus’ Rhett Murray. Don Gutteridge, who spent more than 60 years in professional baseball as a player, coach, manager and scout was the honorary manager, while Mike Watt and Gary Grimaldi served as the primary coaches.
“It will be a great memory to look back and say, ‘Hey, I played against that guy,’” Franklin was quoted as saying in the following day’s edition of The Morning Sun. “It’s an excellent opportunity for all of us. It’s a once in a lifetime deal.”
And the group from southeast Kansas made some good memories against a team filled with future professional baseball players.
Team USA won 8-3, but led only 1-0 entering the top of the fifth inning.
Dinger allowed only one run over three innings of work. SEK’s four pitchers -- Dinger, Garner, VanBecelaere and Waggoner -- combined for nine strikeouts over the nine innings. Franklin, a catcher, was 2-for-4 with an RBI and threw out two runners attempting to steal. Forsythe cracked a two-run double.
Team USA also had its share of highlights. Bush homered off the center field wall. Seth Garrison, who played for seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization, recorded an inside-the-park home run. Presley and Bush doubled.
The capacity crowd at JayCee Ball Park also got to see a unique sight. Butler, who has affectionately become known as “Country Breakfast” to Kansas City Royals fans, took the mound at JayCee Ball Park.
The stalky Royals designated hitter, who was then used primarily as a third baseman, pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
