Home at last

by George Kay
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 2:01 PM MDT

The Casper Connie Mack baseball teams finally got an opportunity to play on the home diamonds over the past weekend, and they enjoyed the experience. Both the Casper Hurricanes and their developmental team, the Storm, were involved in the first-ever Mike Devereaux Tournament.

Previously, the Casper teams have been forced to play their games on the road, in Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota. The heavy dose of road games was made necessary following the breakup between the Casper Baseball Club Inc. and the local American Legion Post.

Even though the Legion decided not to field a team this summer, officials have prevented the Connie Mack teams from playing games against Legion teams from other cities in Wyoming.

That ban against the Hurricanes and Storm did not prevent Colorado American Legion teams from taking part in the recent Devereaux tournament. And the Casper teams have been competing against Legion teams, as well as other sponsoring organizations in neighboring states.

The Devereaux tournament was my first look at the Casper teams. I was impressed by the way they competed against the visiting teams from Colorado, many of which were teams made up of players from high school teams.

Some were well ahead of their Wyoming counterparts in experience. Still, the Hurricanes proved to be more than competitive against the visitors. I was especially impressed with the Hurricanes’ 4-3 victory over the Evergreen, Colo., American Legion Post 2001 team on Saturday afternoon.

Chris Metzger is in his first year as he head coach of the Hurricanes, and the local junior high school teacher has done an outstanding job. He has exhibited great enthusiasm and a work ethic that has helped his ball club compete at a high level.

This team has some talent and has played with determination and spirit. To compete at the high level of Connie Mack baseball in Colorado isn’t easy.

I would venture a guess that this Hurricanes team probably would stand out among Wyoming Legion teams with the possible exception of the Cheyenne and Gillette varsity clubs.

It is a shame that the opportunity is denied this group because Legion officials won’t allow it.

The bottom line at this point in the season is that a group of young Casper ballplayers are enjoying playing the game despite not being able to play a full-slate of home games.

The level of competition that the Casper teams have faced and will face in the future is certainly more advanced than would be the case if they were simply limited to in-state opponents.

The Casper Storm is the developmental team. This group has been able to compete against some more experienced players, mainly on the road. The good news is that a healthy number of local athletes are able to play baseball, even though the situation is far from ideal since most of the games are away.

It is a real achievement that the Casper Baseball Club Inc. has been able to overcome the odds to keep this age group of our youth involved in competitive baseball.

It was nice to see Casper native, Mike Devereaux, on hand to add to last weekend’s tournament. No one can predict that Casper will produce another Mike Devereaux, Tom Browning, Mike Lansing or Mark Lee.

But it is good to know that teenage baseball is still alive and well in the Oil City.

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