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By Ben McCarty
News staff writer
June 20, 2009
Frank
Jackson skipped around the bases, his feet maybe touching the
ground once or twice in the process, before being mobbed at home
plate by his teammates.
The
three-run home run to win the boys Little League title for
Maritime was undoubtedly a highlight for many of the team’s
players.
But
after the game there was something even more important than
trophies, pictures or medals — snow cones!
Many of
the players on the Elks and Maritime teams play together at the
JBO level.
During
the game players on the opposing teams gave each other high
fives for great plays or big hits, and after the game was over
they gathered for a smiling group shot.
Maybe
some day one of those smiling faces will wind up pitching in
front of thousands of paying fans at the professional level. Or
maybe not.
Either
way, those kinds of things don’t really matter when you are 10
years old. Snow cones matter.
Andy
Baldwin is one of the few lucky enough to get a chance to play
professionally.
The
former HRVHS player was in Portland earlier in the week with his
Tacoma Rainiers team as he continues on his quest to make it to
the big leagues.
I got a
chance to talk to Baldwin Wednesday after he helped the Rainiers
beat the Beavers. Throughout our conversation, the word
“opportunity” came up a lot.
That’s
all Baldwin wants: a chance to show what he can do at the big
league level.
A fellow
Hood River-ite, Don Wakamatsu, never had much of an opportunity
in the majors, but he made the most of it. Wakamatsu appeared in
just 18 games for the Chicago White Sox in 1991, his only season
in the major leagues.
After
that one brief cup of coffee in “The Show,” Wakamatsu bounced
around the minor leagues, taking the opportunity to learn the
ins and outs of the game.
Knowing
those ins and outs impressed the Seattle Mariners enough that
they hired him as their manager this season.
And for
Wakamatsu, taking that opportunity led to him returning the
second-worst team in the major leagues last season back to
respectability.
It also
got him a spot as a coach in the all-star game for the American
League team next month in St. Louis.
Baldwin
is still waiting for his opportunity.
When it
comes, it may be long, like it was for Jamie Moyer a player he
was once traded for, who made it the majors and has stuck around
for years.
Or it
could be brief.
Ron
Wright, a former Rainiers player, was called up to the Mariners
in 2001. The call-up came too late for his parents to make it to
his first game. He told them not to worry, that they could see
him in the next game.
In his
debut, Wright batted three times, striking out, hitting into a
double play, and a triple play — the only player in major league
history to accomplish that feat in a game.
After
the game he was sent back to the minors, never to appear in the
major leagues again.
That is
how quick the opportunity can come and go.
Hopefully Baldwin’s opportunity will last longer than that when
it comes, and Wakamatsu continues to reap the rewards of his
shot with the Mariners.
Frank
Jackson certainly made the most of his big opportunity last
Saturday.
Always
nice to come up big when there are snow cones and treats
waiting.
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