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League puts players on deck to a college career

By Mike Camunas, Times Staff Writer
In print: Tuesday, July 8, 2008

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ADVERTISEMENT [(MIKE CAMUNAS I TIMES] Jared Simon stands on deck during a game June 28 at Sansone Park in Plant City.

PLANT CITY

There's hardly any cheering

It's all very unceremonious — an all-business, punch in, punch out, 9-to-5 workout and that's it. And it's supposed to be that way. At the Florida Summer Collegiate Baseball League, it's about the work, the practice, the playing time. Not the fans or admiration or ego trips.

This league that runs for seven weeks from May to July is about keeping local players sharp for their respective colleges during the offseason, as well as helping some pick up a spot at a community college.

"Not playing lets you get into bad habits," said Dylan Giella, a 2008 Pasco High grad who will play at Saint Leo in the spring. "And if you get into bad habits and take them into the fall season, then you'll be rusty there. This lets you get your reps against some competition and it keeps you fresh."

There are three teams in the league, that remarkably, use wooden bats. Most players here, while either fresh out of high school or off a college team, were using metal bats. Now, they have to adjust to using wooden ones against some of the top pitchers in the state.

"Lot of these guys come out hitting .300, .400," league president Dick Neitz said.

"Then they'll come here and get bombarded and take two weeks to hit a ball out of the infield. They have to adjust, but the opposite, pitchers can throw in and out and not worry about the metal bats."

Neitz adds that "a lot of colleges, in the fall, will have their players practice with wooden bats during fall," so using them here is far from counterproductive. That's because, for these players, it's either adjust or miss out. The teams — the Red, Royal Blue and Navy teams — play six games a week, then playoffs and possibly state tournaments.

"There's a lot of talent here already and it's good for all the kids who need a place to play," said Jason Hamm, a 2006 Gaither grad who's a catcher for Saint Leo. "It's beneficial for me because it gives me a place to play six times a week, to get in some (baseball) work in between workouts.

"It keeps me from getting rusty, for sure," Hamm added. "Any chance or shot you get to play, you should take it, right? That's what it lets everyone do."

Giella said former Saint Leo coach Ricky Ware pushed him into the league, saying it would be a great warm-up this summer.

"I like that you can play college kids or old guys — you're seeing everything," Giella said. "So when you get to college, then there's nothing you haven't seen and you're even more ready."

Speaking of old guys, the league has no age limit, and in the 10 years Neitz has been running it, he says there have only been about five guys who didn't graduate from high school play. However, there's at least one or two guys as old as 35.

"A lot of guys, they come home for whatever reasons," Neitz said. "Most of them are working or going to school or both. I mean, we have about 80 guys and probably about 40 of them are playing for a college."

Hamm and Giella are progressing just fine, not only from the league, but the talent on their teams. ("With baseball, you really can't take that much time off. You'd always rather be playing," Giella said).

But Neitz knows that with few options coming out of a local high school, the league is perfect for players who also have limited opportunities.

"Some of the kids are the top talent in the area," Neitz said. "(There's) AAU teams to go play on, which don't have as many games (as here). Those are guys right out of high school. We have guys with a few years' experience, that's what the league does: has different talent to test each player."

Community Sports Editor Mike Camunas can be reached at mcamunas@sptimes.com or (352) 544-9480.