Playing Ball with the Athens Pirates

As Local as the National Pastime Gets

originally published July 2, 2008

Michael Goethe

"Get to know tomorrow's Major League players today!" That's the first sentence the Athens Pirates, the area's college summer league baseball team, throws out in its promotions. Area players do indeed go on to make it at the top. Talk to a Pirate, though, and you learn that the operative word in the sentence is "know." As in, get to know the players. Bill Park, the team's General Manager, says, "We're doing this to help the next generation get the love of the sport. There is nothing that pleases me more than seeing a little kid looking up at one of our players like he was Chipper Jones." What makes the Athens Pirates unique is that a child can meet, play catch with, and get autographs from players who may go on to the pros. Families and players connect in an atmosphere that could not be more, as Park puts it, "like baseball was 125 years ago." The games are suffused by a community ethos that begins with a local field created on a whim and players who are recruited by pro scouts and college coaches who use the word "character."

Park himself delivers pocket schedules to local businesses with his 12-year-old daughter, confirming his belief that "baseball is a sport that connects the generations." The Athens Pirates themselves have been playing for almost a generation - 16 years. Park began a league with Gerald Decker as the Athens-Oconee Adult Baseball League; after a few years he realized his desire to create a team specifically for college players. The Pirates alternately played Stan Musial AABC league ball or played as independents until becoming affiliated with the Southern Collegiate Baseball League. The team then transitioned to the Georgia Collegiate League. Throughout its growth, the team has been a nationally known resource for college and pro scouts who send players to the Pirates. Since the team's inception as a college league, 90 schools have sent players to the Pirates. The demand for high-quality wood-bat summer baseball in the South led to further expansion: in 2006 the Georgia Collegiate League morphed into the Great South League, which is now a three-state league (Georgia, Alabama, Florida) comprised of 12 teams, including the Pirates. Bill Park also is the president of the Great South League, and promises expansion to 20 teams in at least four states next year.

Michael Goethe

Years ago, beginning with UGA baseball's Coach Robert Sapp, first college coaches, then pro scouts, began referring players to the Pirates for pre-professional college summer baseball. The Major League referrals have become a steady source of recruitment; on the current roster, 10 players have been drafted, eight of them right out of high school who elected to go to college instead. There are players from at least 15 colleges on the 2008 Pirates team. "If you sit on the bench you hear accents from everywhere. Long Island, The Virgin Islands, Brooklyn, Miami. All up and down the East Coast and a player from Canada, too," says Park. In accordance with NCAA rules, none of the players are paid. They volunteer their time to the Pirates and live with host families in the community - 16 host families for 21 players.

Michael Goethe

Park explains that major league scouts contact the team and ask that it take the players and develop them. The players are talented when they arrive; the Pirates are responsible for developing pro potential. The game they play is not like college ball. The Athens Pirates use wood bats, as do the big-leaguers, use major league balls, which are less forgiving and harder for pitchers to direct, and play according to American League rules. The only exception is that they abide by the college slide rule, which discourages physical contact - "We don't want anyone getting hurt," says Park. The romance of the wood bat is not only nostalgia and a link to the pros, but a genuine barometer of talent. You can really see what a swing is made of using wood. The summer league uses wooden bats to hone players' skills as they strive for the pros.

The Pirates have had four players drafted into the Major Leagues in the past five years: Chuck James of the Atlanta Braves, Jeff Keppinger of the Cincinnati Reds, John Lannan of the Washington Nationals, and Brett Campbell, formerly of the Nationals and now with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Three more players are playing AAA ball. The head coach, Ricky Jones, had his 10 years in the pros with the Baltimore Orioles, but as a backup for Cal Ripken, Jr. he didn't see the playing time he might otherwise have.

Obviously, there's a lot to look up to for a kid watching the Pirates. But the kids aren't looking from afar. Smith Field is a reminder of the fact that ball fields are called "parks." There's gently rolling grass on which fans set up blankets, chairs and even a chaise lounge or two to watch the game. Three and sometimes four generations of families are out there on the blankets. Children move from place to place to follow the ball. The dugout is a fluid concept; players will often get down on the grass with the crowd to watch the game. During opening ceremonies the field is thronged with kids, who are invited down to join the players. As they stand on the field and say the pledge of allegiance, their eyes shine as they look up at the players. A few of the children are in uniform; any kid who gets there early enough is eligible to be a bat boy (or girl). Prior to the game, players hang loose and mingle with the children, playing catch and signing autographs.

Michael Goethe

Some of the players have grown up with Smith Field. Over the years the field has hosted little league, high school ball, and now collegiate ball. Some of the boys who played on it went on to play college ball and became Pirates. Players from Athens and surrounding counties include Carl Della Torre, Luke Rogers, Jonathan Newsome, Taylor Hart and Blake Haagen. The field is behind the backyard of the Smith Family, who decided years ago that they had the land, Oconee County had no fields, so the solution was obvious. Part of the throwback experience involves the quiet setting of the field, out in what feels like the middle of nowhere. There is a corn field beyond the outfield, and a horse pasture behind left field. Yet the lights are professional and the field is as good as any.

The players are also hosting weekly summer camps for players ages five to 17 through July 24 ($100 for a four-day camp). There is one Pirates player for each two campers - All-Conference and All-Division players, most from Division 1 schools, working with young people to pass along their skills. For information or to register, call Bill Park at (706) 296-4054.

Admission to all Pirates games is $5 a game; $3 for students and seniors. Ten players are returning to the Pirates from last year's championship team; the Pirates have won two league championships over the past three years. Winning is important, but it's not the only thing, according to Park, who brought up his team's winning record almost as an afterthought. His priority is clear. "We do it for the kids. We want these kids as part of our team."

Deb Chasteen

* = Doubleheader. All home games are played at Smith Field on Old Epps Bridge Road in Oconee County. Locations for this season's post-season games have not been announced.

Find the complete Pirates calendar, directions to Smith Field and a link for Internet radio broadcasts of games at www.eteams.com/athenspirates. For more information, visit www.greatsouthleague.com.