Trop draws high school baseball players from around the world
Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, January 4, 2009
Chris Marconcini, 16, of Franklin, Tenn., is among 62 baseball players participating in the third International High School Power Showcase Home Run Derby.
ST. PETERSBURG — They came to Tropicana Field from all over the globe — Australia, the Czech Republic, Italy, even New Jersey — united in one goal:
To swing for the fences.
"Gone!" screamed the announcer Saturday as Pasco High School's Jake Schrader belted a home run 420 feet over the Trop's leftfield wall.
"That one felt good," he said afterward.
That was the whole point of the third International High School Power Showcase Home Run Derby at Tropicana Field: to unleash the world's up-and-coming power hitters.
Competing for top honors this year was a field of 62 of the top high school baseball prospects from the United States and Puerto Rico. Eight international prospects from nations such as Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany and Nicaragua also were invited.
Two hail from the Tampa Bay area: Schrader, the senior shortstop from Pasco High, and Clearwater Central Catholic High senior first baseman Cody Slaughter.
For them, the showcase offered something just as enticing as competing against the best: playing on the same field as the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays.
"It's pretty cool to bat where Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford batted from," said Slaughter, 18.
Schrader, 17 struggled in his first at-bats with a wooden bat. But he caught fire in the metal-bat portion of the contest.
"See ya!," said the announcer as Schrader launched one 390 feet into leftfield. But the Dade City product saved his best for last: a 428-foot home run.
"I'm having a blast," said Schrader, 17, "with all the kids who smash."
Linda Ruth Tosetti, 54, came down from Connecticut to hand out an award for the longest home run.
The award is named after her grandfather: Babe Ruth. St. Petersburg, she said, was the ideal venue for this year's derby.
"It was a city that Babe loved," she said.
Jamal Thalji can be reached at thalji@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8472.
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