Getting back to the diamond
Legion teams excited to start games again
LINCOLN – Nick Croteau couldn’t believe his good fortune this past winter when he tried out for and earned the starting job at third base for the Wheaton College varsity baseball team.
“I played second when I was at Cumberland (High last year), but the coach asked me to make the switch, so I did, and I won the job,” he stated. “We played eight games this year, and we ended up winning seven of them. I started all of them, which was a dream. It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun being out there.
“I mean, we were flying high, we were playing fantastic,” he added. “We were up around 70 runs scored through those eight and had only allowed, like, 11-12. We were down in Florida, about an hour from Orlando, so our spring training trip was going great.”
Suddenly, however, the NCAA powers-that-be decided the threat of the coronavirus couldn’t be ignored, so canceled its entire spring sports slate in all three divisions. That included what appeared to be a most promising Wheaton season.
“When the word filtered down to us, it was very emotional,” Croteau admitted. “Some of the seniors were sobbing, knowing this was their final chance; we all knew how special this season could be considering the start we had.
“When I found out about this new league, I was pumped to get back out here and start playing with everybody; that’s what’s most important, being with your team, working as a unit.”
— Shane Calabro
“All of a sudden, the (school) A.D. and head coach told us we were flying home, that was it,” he continued. “To hear everything had been taken away from us, it was tough to accept.”
Approximately two months later, he learned his American Legion campaign had been erased for the same COVID-19 reason, but then came a glimmer of hope. A group of R.I. American Legion board members and coaches got together and decided to form a non-affiliated new entity named the R.I. 1920 Elite Baseball League.
(Of course, the name is rather creative, as the “19” stands for COVID and the “20” for the year).
It would consist of eight of the usual 11 Legion Senior Division squads (three opted not to participate), and Croteau’s Upper Deck club was one of them. He attended his first practice of any kind since returning from Florida on Saturday morning at the Lima Acres Park diamond, and he claimed he hadn’t felt such elation since around March 17, “C-Day” for the Wheaton program.
“We did some hitting and fielding, but it felt even better to be with the other guys out here slinging it around,” he grinned. “I’m extremely happy and grateful the coaches put something together this quickly for the kids. I will say I never thought we’d have something like this even a month ago.”
Croteau is a member of the “old guard” at Upper Deck, one of the wily veterans who has captured two straight state Legion championships and looking for a “sort of” third. Randall Hien, a recent Lincoln High grad who missed his final varsity season for obvious reasons, is a newcomer, but he had a similar take on his return to ball.
“When I found out about this, I thought, ‘At least I’ve got something!’” he explained. “I didn’t play with this team last year, but I knew I would; I was playing with the L&M travel program, but I aged out of it last year.
“When I discovered Legion had been canceled, I thought it was all over – I wouldn’t be able to play any baseball this spring or summer. Someone actually asked me the other day, ‘When’s the last time you went the spring and summer without it?’ and I really couldn’t answer because I don’t know. I’ve been playing since I was a tyke.
“But then (UD veteran Shane Calabro, who just graduated from Cumberland) sent me a text telling me about this league, so I called the head coach (UD skipper Matt Allard), and he asked me I wanted to play. I texted him back, ‘Are you kidding? I’m so excited!’”
Hien has reason, as he wants to improve his game this summer before he moves on to play “Fall Ball” at Siena College later this year.
He claimed to be a bit rusty, especially with the bat, during this initial workout, but he was just glad to return to the turf.
“I never wanted to leave,” he said. “It’s so much different being here with teammates than just working on your own. I’ve known a lot of these guys for years – I used to play against some of them, so they were my rivals, but now they’re my teammates. We all know each other well, so we’re expecting good things this summer.”
So is Allard, who indicated his 14-game campaign will start on July 6 if Gov. Gina Raimondo moves the state into Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan.
“It went great for the first tine being out here,” he noted. “I don’t know if the kids have been out practicing, out on the field, but I was very impressed. What impressed me most was their camaraderie; all the kids know each other, even though we only have four or five guys coming back. Everyone else is new, but they all looked like they knew each other extremely well.
“They were playing on the field like they had been playing the whole year,” he continued. “I was thinking, ‘Did these guys secretly have a high school season I didn’t know about?’ That’s how fluid they looked. They looked better than I thought they would.”
Allard claimed he held a live meeting at the Tucker Field gridiron a few days before to meet up with players in both of his junior and senior divisions, and to explain to them the safety protocols they must follow if they want this league to continue this summer.
“We talked about how masks are not mandatory, but we all must keep six feet apart as much as possible, which in baseball is pretty easy,” he offered. “We can have our coaches and some players in the dugout, while some of the other players will have to be six feet apart (and in out-of-play sections) down each baseline.
“We don’t need to share equipment, but if someone needs to borrow a bat, we’ll have plenty of hand sanitizer and cleaners to take care of it. We’ll also use our own baseballs when we’re in the field, the same goes for the other team, and the umpire will stand behind the pitcher, not the catcher.
“We also went over other rules, and informed them of the release waiver form they had to sign for COVID. We told them of our (practice) schedule and what will be expected of them, and they were all ready to go. If we could have had practice, the guys would have jumped at the chance.”
He laughed when conveying the fact he threw batting practice.
“I have a rubber arm, so I can throw all day,” he smiled. “But that’s another thing that surprised me. They were even hitting well. You could tell they were all anxious. We didn’t have tryouts, but they were all out there playing like they thought it was. They seemed like they were trying to impress the coaches – and they did.”
Stated Calabro, whose father Mike and Mike Murphy serves as assistants to Allard: “It feels so awesome being back out here; it actually feels like we never left. You know, for most of us, this is the last (ball) team we played for, and that goes back to last summer.
“When I found out about this new league, I was pumped to get back out here and start playing with everybody; that’s what’s most important, being with your team, working as a unit.”
When asked how he fared against live pitching, Calabro shrugged, “It took some getting used to; obviously, the timing’s off, but I don’t care. I’m just glad to be back out here swinging.”