APRIL 29, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A17
Mavericks League manager's roundtable
1
t
r
a
P
By JOSHUA MANES
Of the Keizertimes
With opening day for the second sea-
son of the Mavericks League less than
three weeks away, the KeizerTimes sat
down with the managers from all four
teams to discuss independent league
baseball and the Mavericks League.
What is it about independent league
baseball that’s different or that
draws you to it?
Dave Wong (Salem Senators): It’s
baseball. I don’t think there’s anything
different whether it’s minor league,
independent league, little league or
college. It’s baseball and that’s what
we love to do and that’s why we’re here.
We’re looking forward to kicking off the
season again, season number two, hope-
fully making this league as good as it
can get.
Tony
Torcato
(Salem-Keizer
Volcanoes): I feel you, Dave, on that
one. It’s a good place to play, a great
stadium. It’s basically a chance for
these guys to get a second look, get
some exposure. Because that’s our goal
to get these guys into affiliated ball or
a higher independent league. Last year
was a success, it was fun.
Alex Alvarado (Campesinos de
Salem-Keizer): There was really good
turnover last year from guys that moved
on after this league that went on to
some affiliated leagues. So I think if we
just continue to provide the opportu-
nity for them to do so. We’ve got good
coaching staffs, this'll be a fun year.
Scott Binder (Portland Mavericks):
I think everybody has a goal of winning
and continuing to play the game they
love. Some of the guys aren’t ready to
hang up the spikes and some of the
guys want to continue playing at a high
level so I think it’s a great opportunity.
I wish this opportunity was around
when I was their age. We went straight
to mens league. It was fun, but it wasn’t
getting me to where I needed to be
growing up, and that was playing pro-
fessional baseball. So having these
guys in an environment where they can
continue playing a game they love until
somebody tells them it’s time to hang
it up they should continue playing the
game they love and reach the highest
level they can achieve.
Do your season goals lean towards
player development or wins?
DW: Obviously everybody here is
competitive so everybody wants to win.
But I’ve got players ranging from 40 to
18. Those older guys are here because
they love to play and they have an
opportunity to play at a high level.
The younger guys obviously want to
develop and hopefully get a chance to
move to another independent league or
get picked up by an affiliated team, and
that’s the ultimate goal.
But our goal is to just make the base-
ball as high quality as possible here
and draw some people and put on some
entertainment and hopefully these
young guys can move on.
TT: My goal is to put a quality prod-
uct on the field for the fans. Obviously
we all want to win, but I want these guys
to have fun and live out their dream that
they want to keep playing ball. That’s
basically what I’m here for.
Like Dave said, we had eight to 10
guys get picked up so that’s a good
chance for them to get exposure. We’re
just here to help them.
AA: The age difference between the
players is going to be good for both
sides, younger and older. The older
guys can pass down some things and
the young guys can learn from the older
guys.
As far as development, we’re going
to provide them with opportunities to
practice to get better and hopefully the
older guys take it upon themselves to
help out the younger guys. And hope-
fully the younger guys are open minded
enough to listen to the older guys that
have been there and seen it and been
through it.
SB: All the managers so far have said
they want to have a competitive team
and I’m right there with them. Last year
when we would bring in a player I would
ask them what are their goals, what are
their expectations, what do they want to
see happen at the end of their summer?
And I’d try to help them through that
process.
If somebody tells me they want to
play the highest level of baseball they
can then I’m going to try and work with
them on the mental side of the game.
A lot of these guys at this level aren’t
going to have too many physical issues
in the sense of flaws or mechanical
issues. So a lot of it can be on the men-
tal side of the game and playing the
game the right way and being in the
right mind space and thinking a pitch
ahead or a play ahead. If it helps them
enjoy the game more, that’s great. If
it helps them sign on like some of the
guys did last year then that’s great too.
What struggles do you encounter
building a roster?
DW: The biggest problem is getting
high quality talent. When you’re play-
ing in a league that’s not going to pay
you and they’re charging you a registra-
tion fee and an equipment fee and obvi-
ously there’s some other out-of-pocket
costs where these guys may not have
jobs, it’s tough to find enough quality
players.
There’s only so many people, and
so many leagues, and so many players.
There’s lots of guys that can play the
game but only so many leagues to fit
into so we’ll get the guys, it’s just a mat-
ter of time.
It’s like coaching at the Division
I level or the NAIA, which I coached
at both. I can’t go recruit a guy that’s
going to go to Oregon State or a guy
that’s going to go to Texas. But I can
recruit a guy that’s a really good high
school player that’s going to be a good
college player, he just can’t play at that
level.
TT: That pretty much nailed it.
We’re just trying to find the best talent.
There’s other tryouts for other leagues
so after they get done trying out there
and don’t make a squad they’ll hope-
fully try out here for our league and we
can pick them up.
But I recruit guys too, word of
mouth from guys who have buddies
that played. So we do it like that also
through our contacts. I know some
scouts. I know other coaches too, so I
pick their brain and go that route also.
By opening night we’ll have a hell of a
squad out there.
AA: I have four or five guys that I
coached when they were younger. Local
guys, guys that are in college that are
coming back. Yes, it is very hard to get
a guy that is a very high quality player
to come out and play for us here with
everything. But if you can get a guy here
and he can perform, that’s all we need is
for someone to come out and perform.
I think whether we’re paying them or
not that we’re providing them an oppor-
tunity to continue to play. I’ve never
been to a mens league game where they
announce your name before your at-bat,
you have your own walk up music. So
that feeling of still being in an environ-
ment where you’re appreciated as a ball
player I think is important.
SB: The toughest part for me is
maybe separating my expectations
from what their expectations are.
Because they’re not getting paid I try
to put myself in their shoes and take a
look at what other opportunities are out
there and players that are getting paid.
I’ve had pretty good success I think
when I’ve come across somebody,
whether it’s somebody that I personally
talked to or somebody that’s referred to
me, being able to lay out the process of
what this league is about, what we want
to do for them during the season.
The money, I think, has been a little
bit of a struggle for some of the play-
ers as far as coming up with the deposit
on the uniform right now. We’re help-
ing with host families. They’re going to
have to have some money while they’re
out here or be working a part-time job.
It’s unknown for them too. A lot of them
haven’t been to this area. I have quite a
few players coming in from Venezuela
so there’s a lot of unknowns for them.
Part 2 available
next week, or read
the full story now
online at
keizertimes.com