Home Run Derby, All-Star Game pack the park

by Rich Rosentreter

The first Empire League Home Run Derby and All-Star Game was held over the weekend and both attractions brought a full house to Municipal Park as fans braved overcast and rainy conditions.

Although Saturday’s All-Star Game could not be completed due to inclement weather, the game was still entertaining and the fans were able to see the fireworks show. Friday’s Home Run Derby, however, was completed to its finish and provided some drama as homers were hard to come by with a wind blowing in from the lake and competitors gave it their best slugging swings.

Despite the challenges posed by Mother Nature, the players performed at their highest level, and according to Jerry Gonzalez, a co-owner of the Empire League, everyone on the field had a good time.

“It’s not easy to hit home runs here and when you add the wind to it, it becomes a little more difficult,” he told the Free Press following the home run contest, adding that the players adapted by trying to locate spots where the ball had a better chance of carrying over the fence. “You could see they were trying to hit the spots where you could actually hit it out, and they found them, you could see they were going from center, to right then left field until they found that spot in left where they could actually get it out there.”

“But it was fun, toward the end the guys finally got into a groove and started hitting some out and they felt it,” he said, and then was asked if he was still happy with the turnout and show despite the lack of homers in bunches. “Absolutely. This isn’t the major leagues. It’s a big park and these guys are obviously big and strong, they’ve got the mechanics. They’re here for a reason and they’re working. It may take a few swings to get one out of here, but they got there.”

The derby

The Home Run Derby featured two Riverpigs, Edward Salcedo and Drew Thomas - and both made it to the championship round, two of only three players to go that far. In the opening round, Drew Thomas blasted a ball over the fence that nearly went foul, but got him on the homer board - and the Free Press was right on top of the action to talk to the hometown players after each one batted.

“I was just trying to get a little under the ball, the wind is blowing hard in, but I thought if I connect with it, it might go,” Drew said moments after finishing his first round. “I was worried it was going to go foul. I saw it going towards the Canadian flag, then wrapped around it. I was lucky.”

Following his turn, Drew moved into the next round, and was the first batter - and he again connected with a home run, taking him a round further into the semi-finals. After that, he said it helped that he was able to get right back up to bat.

“It felt just as good as the one last round,” he said. “Just let the ball get deep and let it drive. I’m feeling hot. I was warmed up and kept on swinging.”

Edward Salcedo also homered to advance to the semi-finals - but was getting close to his ten outs before hitting one out of the ballpark.

“It feels good,” he told the Free Press after connecting, adding that he was getting a little nervous when he got to eight outs. “I just went to calm down a little bit and tried to hit the ball. It feels good, I feel confident.”

Salcedo made it to the final round but could not connect and was eliminated.

“It’s OK, now I’m going to sit down and root for my teammate,” he said. “I had a lot of fun, but there’s too much wind.”

As for Drew, he had started with having teammate Magglio Ordonez Jr. pitch to him, but later changed to have old college friend Colin Conroy, who is from California, do the pitching.

“I love Magglio, but I wanted to switch it up. I’ve known Colin forever and thought he’d bring me some luck,” he said. But the switch couldn’t stop Malvin Matos of the Plattsburgh Thunderbirds, who went on to win the Home Run Derby.

Still, Drew said he enjoyed the event - and the pitching switch did play a role.

“I’m disappointed, but I did have a blast here. I’m glad I made it to the final round, because at one point I didn’t think I was going to hit any, but then we switched pitchers and I started hitting some,” he said.

“I had a great time, I think the fans were great, I loved the spirit they were in. The community is awesome. I just love playing here,” Drew added. “This was my first home run derby ever - maybe since I’ve been in seventh grade! I didn’t win, but Malvin had some pop in him!”

All-Stars

The All-Star Game on Saturday was fortunately able to start as any chance of playing baseball was in doubt as a steady rain fell - it pitted the East Division (New Hampshire Wild and Plattsburgh Thunderbirds) against the West Division (Tupper Lake Riverpigs and Saranac Lake Surge).

Andrew Noviello of the Wild, who later captured the Most Valuable Player Award in the All-Star Game, blasted a three-run homer in the first inning to give the east team a 3-0 lead.

In the home second, the west would make a comeback as the rally was started by two Surge players. Edel Luaces led off with a double and then the steady rain began to impact the pitchers as Brandon Gutzler walked to put runner on first and second to bring up a string of Riverpigs.

Drew Thomas walked to load the bases. Miguel Molina walked to bring in a run. Ron Krsolovic dribbled a slow roller for an infield hit and drove in another run to make the score 3-2. Robert Antunez then walked as the east pitcher could not find the strike zone to bring in another run and tie the score 3-3. At that point, perhaps in the spirit of good sportsmanship, the action was halted due to the rain, which had continued to come down harder with each walk.

With the field empty and rain falling, the ballpark announcer then boosted the spirits of the fans by announcing that the fireworks show would soon begin. Following the fireworks, the game did not resume and ended in a tie - but at least there was some baseball action when it had seemed there would be a total washout.

One thing the All-Star Weekend demonstrated, was the high level of camaraderie all the players have among one another - even if they play for different teams.

“All these guys are friends. I mean you look around and see different jerseys, but they know each other, they spend all year long playing against each other, so they’re really close friends even though in a game it’s a war,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “They’re out here to have a good time with something like this, and it’s been great. It was a blast, it got a little more interesting at the end for the fans, but at the end of the day, it was a lot of fun.”