Penn baseball players will go anywhere for a game

Most players scattered themselves across the country to play in summer baseball leagues. Baseball players are "The Boys of Summer." So what does that make collegiate players who, in the Northeast, are confined to five-week long college seasons ending in early May? At Penn, and most other competitive schools, they keep the slogan by keeping on top of the game in summer leagues. Much like basketball, these leagues are formed all over the country, and Penn's athletes scatter themselves to participate in several of them. Unlike the hoopsters, however, summer ball is considered a key factor in how well a player will perform during fall practices and into the spring. "In two weeks, I'll be able to tell who played this summer," Quakers baseball coach Bob Seddon said. "It's going to show." Encouraged by the coaches and egged on by the need to stay in shape, a plethora of members of the Penn baseball team participated in the annual summer leagues around the country. The top leagues, according to Seddon, include the Jayhawk, Great Lakes, Alaskan and Cape Cod leagues. Armen Simonian, the 1998 Penn captain, played for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod League, but, after being released last season, he could not find a team that would pick him up. "It's like trying to switch from one Ivy school to another," said Seddon, referring to Simonian's attempt to switch teams within the same league. "It's almost frowned upon." Although funded through corporate sponsorships, advertising and through the hometowns, the top leagues act more as a scouting combine for talented players. Returning Quakers captain Joe Carlon, Joe Corleto and Todd Mahoney all played for Twin Cities in the Illinois Wooden Bat League this summer, a league Seddon considers to be just below the top four on a prestige level. In terms of competition, though, it was probably just as tough. For instance, the starting shortstop of the College World Series runner-up Mississippi State played in that league, and, Seddon said, these leagues take players who are trying out for the USA National Team. Playing in a prestigious league is just a perk from what Seddon considers crucial summer play. For instance, senior designated hitter Mark Nagata played in the semi-pro Stan Musial League in Florida, where summer leagues aren't as popular as further north. Nagata says the competition is comparable to playing at Penn, yet the league includes players from top baseball schools such as Miami and Florida. "It allows me to play close to home so I can work and stuff," Nagata said. "There are good teams and bad teams. Some guys are there to stay in shape. Some younger guys are working and having fun." On the local front, the Amateur Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) is popular, as is the new up-and-coming Northeast League, which for the first time, took players from outside New England. But for the top leagues, rosters are filled by October or even September, with tryouts, if any, being held in the late spring for the summer a year later. Baseball News and Notes · Returning captain and starting shortstop Joe Carlon broke his wrist playing in the Illinois Wooden Bat League. Carlon broke the same bone in his wrist that Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners and former Penn shortstop Mark DeRosa did this year while swinging the bat in the minor leagues. Carlon is not expected to be at 100 percent at the start of fall practices, but his injury is not serious enough to limit his spring game. · 1997 Blair Bat (Ivy batting title) winner Mark Nagata tore cartilage in his knee, requiring surgery. Nagata should be back at full strength in time for fall ball. · Mark Nagata's twin brother Trent did not play in a summer league, but lost approximately 20 pounds and hopes to fill the hole in leftfield for the Quakers.

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