Let’s talk, Sox fans!

 

We’re about 48 hours removed from one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in sports. I hope you agree that Daniel Nava’s grand slam is up there in the pantheon of coolest sports moments, even if you didn’t realize it at the time. We’re talking about a kid who was, and still is, relatively, a shrimp. He has joked that he was a high school student that couldn’t go with friends to an amusement park because he was not tall enough to experience most rides. He batted ninth on his high school team. In his first two years at Santa Clara, he was still too small and was reduced to ‘managing’ the baseball team, a tireless job that included doing the nightly laundry for the rest of the players.  

 

And the story goes on. Forced to attend junior college because his family could no longer afford tuition for Santa Clara, Nava finally cherished a true baseball playing opportunity. He hasn’t let one slip by since.

 

He led his team with a .400 average at San Mateo Junior College and received a scholarship to Santa Clara, where he led the league in hitting as senior. Someone else did the laundry.

 

He went undrafted, which means 30 teams passed on him at least 50 times each. Bet they feel silly now. Although he almost could not even get a job in independent ball; after he was cut by the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League, they called him back a week later and said he could come back. One of the other outfielder’s had gotten married and a spot was open. Love is bliss.

 

He led that independent league in hitting and was named MVP as his team won the pennant. What does he do with that Golden Baseball League Championship ring? Nothing, he never got one.

 

But the Red Sox did purchase his rights. Clearly they saw potential in the young man. Actually, they had never seen him play, but they saw his name on Baseball America’s list of top Indy ball prospects and signed him for a buck. Literally, one dollar.

 

As Nava made his climb up the Red Sox minor league ladder, most of this improbable tale was reported in local stories and regurgitated throughout solo radio broadcasts, mostly heard by just friends, families, and a few loyal diehards. With one swing on Saturday, Nava completed the remarkable journey, not just into the big leagues, but into baseball history.

 

******

 

After watching USA Soccer’s 1-1 win (according to the tabloids) over England, I arrived at Frederick’s Harry Grove Stadium on Saturday afternoon and quickly fired up my computer, hoping to catch Nava’s first at-bat. For whatever reason, my internet explorer decided to fritz, so when I restarted the mlb.com gametracker, I had just missed his at-bat live. Almost simultaneously, the gametracker loaded and my cell phone started buzzing like a vuvuzela. Nava was 1-1 with four RBI.

 

As Dave O’Brien exclaimed, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

 

“Can you believe it?” asked Joe Castiglione.

 

With no tv in the Frederick press box, I hurried to the visitor’s clubhouse, hoping to see a replay and share the moment. Perhaps a dozen guys were already in there watching, all with glazed expressions of excitement. Quickly, the FOX production team allowed us to relive the impact. First pitch, Boom!

 

Over the next 10-15 minutes, guys who missed it live trickled back into the clubhouse, some aware of what had happened, others who were not. Over and over again, I saw looks of disbelief, amazement, and happiness. I can’t say for sure if other guys had tears of joy welling up in their ducts, but I know I did. At the very least, everyone was giddy about what we had just seen.

 

Of course, as always happens in a baseball clubhouse, the jokes began. One player said that he was going to stay up all night voting for Nava to make the All-Star team. Another suggested that Nava was now the frontrunner for AL Rookie of the Year.

 

Underlying everything was the simple fact that EVERYONE liked this guy, and the energy the moment created was unlike anything I’ve seen in a clubhouse setting. Guys were truly overjoyed at Nava’s success.

 

Perhaps because of the goofy grins of satisfaction, Salem rocked Frederick on Saturday night 8-1. Right as the game was starting, Nava connected on another extra-base hit, a double, and finished the game 2-4. He went 2-4 again at Fenway Park on Sunday, cracking another double and driving in another run. Two games: 4-8 (.500), 2 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBI. In the big leagues. For the Boston Red Sox.

 

Of course, there’s the Salem connection. Nava played 29 games for the Salem Sox in 2009, hitting .339 with one homer (a game-tying two-run blast with two outs in the ninth in Lynchburg–Salem won the game in 15 innings). His 29 games played spanned nearly two months in June through August, part of which was spent on the DL with a muscle strain. Even after he got completely healthy, it was sometimes tough for him to break into the lineup, for he lacked ‘prospect’ status and other guys needed their ABs. But when he played, he produced. And when he was promoted to double-A, he raked in Portland as well.

 

At 27 years old, it is imperfect to call him a kid. But regardless of age, height, background, or previous standing, Nava has ascended to the Show with a youthful exuberance that could keep him there for a good while. Hitting .300 or better would not hurt either.

 

He’s leading off for Terry Francona’s club tonight. At the top of the lineup card, he’s taller than he’s ever been.

 

******

 

Meanwhile, here in the Roanoke Valley, the Salem Sox open up their penultimate series of the first half. The Red Sox have won six straight games over the Wilmington Blue Rocks dating back to April, and trailing by three and a half games with six to play, the Sox have little margin for error.

 

Hope you can join us on the radio or the web for the live broadcast at 7:03 for the 7:05 first pitch.

 

It’d be great to hear from you! You can e-mail me at elepler@salemsox.com

 

And I’d encourage you to check out the team on twitter, both at www.twitter.com/salemredsox and www.twitter.com/EvanLepler

 

Until next time, enjoy the baseball (and Go Celtics!),

Evan

 

                Frederick, MD (June 10, 2010) – Three positions players and two pitchers will represent the Salem Red Sox at the 2010 California-Carolina League All-Star Game, it was announced today. League RBI leader Ryan Lavarnway was chosen as the starting catcher, while Oscar Tejeda and Will Middlebrooks will start at second and third base, respectively. On the mound, the Red Sox send Brock Huntzinger and Alex Wilson, both righthanded starters who have shined in their first months in the Carolina League. Only the Winston-Salem Dash have more selections than Salem’s five, as seven Dash were named to the roster of 23 players.

                Lavarnway has been a steady presence in the middle of the Salem lineup throughout the season, leading the club in homers and RBI. Lavarnway’s 13 round-trippers are second-most in the league, and he leads the circuit with 48 RBI. Lavarnway also is tops in the Carolina League in runs scored with 45.

                Tejeda deservingly gets the nod at second base after a dynamite first 60 games of 2010. The 20-year old Dominican-native leads the team 21 multi-hit games, and his .324 average is tied for fifth-best in the league. Tejeda has also hit a career-high eight homers, one more than his total of seven from the previous two seasons combined.

                Middlebrooks earns the starting honor at third base for his excellent play both at the plate and at the hot corner. The Lone Star State-native has hit .299 with four homers, 18 doubles, and 23 RBI. Defensively, his skills are among the best in the league, utilizing lightning quick reactions along with his rocket right arm.

                Huntzinger and Wilson also are heading to Myrtle Beach as the representatives of the Salem pitching staff. Huntzinger was named pitcher of the month in May when he went 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA. Overall, the Pendleton, Indiana-native has gone 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA. Meanwhile, Wilson made the jump to the Carolina League after spending 2009 in the New York-Penn League with the Lowell Spinners, and after a slow start, has become one of the top starters in the league. Wilson is 2-1 with a 3.40 ERA and owns a 2.89 ERA since May 1.

                The quintet of Salem All-Stars will join the rest of their fellow Carolina League standouts at the 2010 California-Carolina League All-Star game on Tuesday, June 22 at BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach, SC. Last year, Red Sox pitcher Ryne Miller was named MVP of the midsummer classic in Lake Elsinore, CA after striking out five Cal Leaguers in two innings pitched.

                The Salem Red Sox are 35-25 through 60 games and currently trail first-place Winston-Salem by three games in the Southern Division with 10 games remaining before the break. The Sox open a four-game series in Frederick tonight at 7:00 PM.

Let’s talk, Sox fans.

 

A lot has happened since Jack’s eye closed for the final time. Unfortunately, the Salem Sox have hit a bit of a late-Spring slide (Just 11-17 in their last 28 games after a 21-7 start), but come-from-behind wins the past two nights have brought some of the great vibes back to the park. It’s interesting how a baseball season is a turbulent quest full of peaks and valleys, yet there certainly is some benefit for experiencing tribulations over the course of the grueling summer.

 

Plus, this is how the Red Sox want it. As Theo Epstein told the Boston Globe on Friday, “We want all our prospects, at some point or another, to struggle, make the adjustments, and learn to overcome it.”

 

******

 

Many local fans may not realize that a two-time World Series Champion is here at Lewis-Gale Field every single night. Usually, coaches at this level are up-and-comers or recently retired players trying their hand at molding players for the first time. There are many different styles and approaches, and coaches, just like players, are adjustment-makers, tinkering away at their craft on the way up the ladder.

 

Dick Such has already been to the top. He won two World Series rings as Pitching Coach for the Minnesota Twins. His pals in the baseball world are numerous and connected. And yet, here he is, at 65 years old, in his second year in Salem, Virginia, gradually dispensing his decades of baseball experiences to a bunch of 20-somethings, most of whom probably have no idea that “Suchie” ever played in the big leagues himself. Or who he played for…

 

Selected in the 8^th round of the 1966 Amateur Draft out of Elon University, the 22-year old 6’4″ righty ascended to the major leagues in 1970 with the Washington Senators, managed by some guy named Ted Williams.

 

“He didn’t like pitchers, and he didn’t like changeups,” remembered Such. “But he liked me because I could hit. I hit a grand slam in spring training that year.”

 

Such’s hitting acumen was nothing compared to the “Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived,” yet his relative skill at the plate was a natural ice-breaker with Williams, who managed the Senators/Rangers for four seasons, from 1969-72.

 

Like Williams, Such’s baseball career was impacted by his military service as a member of the army reserve. One of Such’s best starts of his lone season in the majors, a 2-1 loss at Yankee Stadium in which he threw seven innings, came just one day before jaunting off to Fort Stewart, GA for a military summer camp, where he worked in a tank.

 

“It was very dangerous,” Such said somberly. “I’m lucky I didn’t get hurt there.”

 

Such recalls Williams as a gruff skipper who did not take losing too well. He was stormy after some games and, predictably, preferred spending time on extra batting practice as opposed to fielding or pitching work.

 

Years later, Such ran into Williams at a New York hotel, and Such was “shocked” that Williams remembered him. Perhaps it was because Such had more hits than wins in the big leagues. Such went 1-5 with a 7.56 ERA in 21 games (five starts) in 1970, yet was 3-13 (.231) offensively, with a double and an RBI.

 

That was 40 years ago. Since then, Such has remained a baseball lifer, spending his summers by the diamond and working with young arms in the bullpen. It keeps him young as well, he says, and he has no timetable to call it quits.

 

He seems to be very happy where he is at, which is good news for Salem and all the pitchers who pass through the Carolina League, who get to hone their curveballs under the tutelage of a man whose experiences and jewelry collection, consisting of two coveted rings, prove that he’s more than just a guy who knew Teddy Ballgame.

 

But that, in itself, is still pretty cool.

 

******

 

Salem looks to make it three of four this weekend and nine of ten in the half against Myrtle Beach at 4:05 today here at Lewis-Gale Field. You can hear all the action at www.salemsox.com and on our Flagship Station in the Roanoke Valley, NewsTalk 960 WFIR.

 

It’d be great to hear from you! You can e-mail me at elepler@salemsox.com

 

And I’d encourage you to check out the team on twitter, both at www.twitter.com/salemredsox and www.twitter.com/EvanLepler

 

Until next time, enjoy the baseball (and Go Celtics!),

Evan