Navy pitcher Mitch Harris knows he competes against a lot of quality players in the Patriot League during the college season.
Still, he understands that the best way of becoming a more complete pitcher is to seek out some tougher competitionin the summer. This, Harris believes, will also improve his chances of turning pro after he completes his military commitment.
The opportunity to accomplish this goal came earlier this year when he received an invitation to play for the Baltimore Orioles scout team, Youse?s Maryland Orioles. Harris jumped at the chance to be a part of the highly- successful summer team that is the defending All American Amateur Baseball Association national and member of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League.
The six-team Ripken Sr. league began last year and brings together many of the top college players and professional prospects from throughout the country. Local schools such as Coppin State, UMBC, Navy and Towson, along with national programs such as Alabama, Louisville and Georgia Tech, all have players competing for various teams in the league this summer.
“This is some of the best competition around,” Harris said. “The players here are better than those I see in the Patriot League, and the exposure you can get here is amazing.”
Adding an additional challenge for batters in the league is that all games are played using wooden bats. This change allows pitchers to be more aggressive, while hitters have to be more selective than they would have been with an aluminum bat.
Johns Hopkins infielder Ian Christie, who plays for the Cockeysville-based Maryland Redbirds, said he loves the challenge of using a wooden bat and feels it will only make him a better player when the college season resumes.
“Your approach has to be different with a wooden bat because you can?t hit the ball as far as you would with an aluminum bat,” he said. “You also know the pitchers will challenge you more because of the difference.”
Redbirds teammate Tommy Herman shares a similar belief.
“You really learn how to hit using a wooden bat,” said Herman, a Cockeysville native and senior at Ursinus. “You really have to fine tune your swing because you don?t get away with us much compared to an aluminum bat.”
Christie, Hermann and the Redbirds learned how tough the competition can be in the league when they jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Maryland Orioles June 14 at Bachman Park in Glen Burnie only to lose, 10-9.
Maryland Orioles manager Dean Albany said the league provides its players with a great learning environment while also giving the Orioles a venue to track players they have drafted and/or are interested in drafting. Current Orioles pitching prospects Brandon Erbe and Chorye Spoone are just two players Albany has coached recently.
“This league helps us a great deal in preparing for Johnstown,” said Albany, referring to AAABA host town in Pennsylvania. “If you can play against this competition, you can play against anybody.”
