Only someone like Lew Holmes would take on something as big as the Continental Amateur Baseball Association (CABA) World Series. And that's precisely what Big Lew is doing, all the while hoping that he willget some help from the community.
Holmes, who is regional director for the CABA, in addition to his other local volunteer baseball duties, has signed a contract for Anne Arundel County to play host to the 18-and-under CABA World Series July 21-31.
It's quite an undertaking, a $25,000 undertaking, with 16 teams participating. Two of those teams will be from the county, while the other 14 will come from all over, including Canada and Honolulu.
"We need to raise about $25,000 to do this thing right, and I'm going door-to-door to get help," said Holmes, who also is president of the Anne Arundel Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) and vice president/tournament director of the Linthicum-Ferndale Youth Athletic Association.
"We've got some fund-raisingactivities planned, but what we mainly need is for a local community organization, club, something likethat, to get involved. It would be great for a local organization tooffer its members as volunteers in helping to raise money, organize the tournament and supervise it."
Holmes is keeping his fingers crossed that some local group will step forward to possibly sell tickets and ads for a tournament program magazine.
"We're not in this tomake money, but to bring in money to host a first-class tournament in the new Joe Cannon Stadium," said Holmes.
"A national tournamentin our county will bring money into our economy. With 14 teams coming in with players, parents and fans, it can only be a positive thing for local business."
I can speak firsthand that the CABA tournaments do pump bucks into an economy because all the teams stay around for nearly 10 days. Having taken the Kazmarek Little Orioles baseball team out to Tarkio, Mo., last summer for the CABA 11-and-under World Series, I know we spent a lot of money in that little Midwest town.
The tournaments are round robin -- none of this "lose two games, pack your bags and hit the trail some 1,000 miles back home after just acouple days."
With 16 teams planned for the 18-and-under round robin, followed by a championship double-elimination of the top eight, and the same for the consolation eight, teams are guaranteed nine games.
So, quite obviously, when the out-of-towners hit Anne Arundel,they will set up camp for almost two weeks and bring money to spend.
Holmes will play most of the biggames in the newly constructed Cannon Stadium in Harmans. He also will use the fields at Arundel and North County high schools, as well as Saw Mill Creek Park.
The county will collect a fee for Cannon Stadium, while the other fields are free.
Some of the fund-raisers planned include a baseball card show, a beauty contest, a banquet, raffles and special ticket plans.
The baseball card show is set for Saturday, May 18, at North County High School. The special guest is former major-league Gold Glove firstbaseman Jim Spencer.
Spencer, who played at Andover High School before going onto a 15-year big-league career (1968-1982) with the California Angels, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and Oakland A's, will sign autographs at the card show for -- get this -- free.
He will be signing his name for the benefit of the Ferndale American Legion Post No. 289 18-and-under team that will play hostto the tournament. Also, some of the proceeds will go to Coach Don
Usewick's North County High baseball team.
When is the last timea pro or former pro signed his name at such a show without getting apenny out of it? And believe me, this is no ordinary former major-leaguer.
Spencer holds the American League career record for highestfielding percentage by a first baseman at .995 in 1,221 games. A No.1 draft pick of the Angels in 1965, Spencer won two Gold Gloves, including one in 1973 when he tied the single-season fielding record of .999 set by John McGinnis of the 1921 Boston Red Sox.
In high school, he also excelled in basketball and soccer and in 1987 was inducted into the prestigious Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame.
His children are current members of the LFYAA program.
"He's just a class act, and to do this for us is great, although not a surprise to those who know him," said Holmes.
The beauty contest will be orchestrated by Lucy Decker to find three girls for each team to serve as princesses for the CABA tournament. The girls serve as bat girls and aids for the guys to find their way around.
Sen. Mike Wagner, who always is ready and willing to help amateur baseball, and his buddy, Big Lew, will enable the CABA tournament committee to sell tickets to the banquet for a profit. Wagner will only charge costs for the expenses of a banquet at his plush Michael's 8th Avenue Hall in Glen Burnie.
No doubt the wheels are moving toward conducting a first-class tournament with the fund-raising initiated by the generous and thoughtful Brooklyn Park Youth Athletic Association. BPYAA donated $500 to get Holmes going, and now Lew can only hope the entire community will get involved in making Anne Arundel County proud.
A national tournament of this magnitude is something our county should be playing host to every year now that we have such a wonderful facility like Cannon Stadium.
But it has to be a community effort, with a lot of people getting involved. It will not only be good for baseball and the players, but for the county, its people and many of those who run a business here.
To get involved, give Holmes a call at 760-4138.
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In other county sports, let's talk a little lacrosse with a sampleof Q's without A's, sports fans.
* Doesn't veteran Arundel High boys lacrosse coach Clint Gosnell make still another valid point on the continuing stick check controversy when he states, "There is no standard way to properly measure the sticks, with the head of the stick not a square surface being the problem when refs measure them. And assticks age, they lose their shape and we end up with illegal sticks."
Gosnell was referring to the newly adopted NCAA rule for high schools that requires officials to make four random mandatory stick checks -- two per team during a game.
Several coaches, and even some of the referees from the Chesapeake Lacrosse Officials Association, are concerned about the extra time tacked on to games for stick checks. But most are beginning to realize that it's a good rule that was needed.
Sticks must be at least 6 1/2 inches wide at the top or theyare considered illegal because they restrict movement of the ball. Many high school kids have unknowingly purchased illegal sticks from the manufacturers who didn't know the sticks were illegal.
And of course, there may also be some monkey business out there, as well, with kids baking the pockets to make them smaller in width. But Gosnell raises another pertinent issue nobody has brought up.
"You want sticks to maintain the hour-glass shape, but that's not always possiblebecause as (the sticks) age, they lose their shape," he said. "College teams get new sticks every year, but the high schools and kids can't afford to do that, so that's where you run into a problem.
"If you put a stick in a hot, dry place, the plastic gets brittle and eventually loses its resiliency.
"In addition, some stoppers the kidsput in their pockets are thinner than others, so it's more of a manufacturer's problem than the kid's."
Gosnell feels the new rule is a good one and predicts the problem of so many illegal sticks will beremedied by next year, starting with the manufacturers.
But as the Wildcats coach said, "As they age, they lose their shape," so one wonders about the cost factor of buying new sticks every year.
* For those of you who caught Army's 11-10 overtime thriller over Navy Saturday on WYRE (810 AM), didn't former University of Maryland All-American attackman John Lamon, of Severna Park, do an excellent job in his play-by-play debut?
Won't it be a tough game for Lamon this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. when he gets behind the microphone for Navy's homecontest vs. his alma mater, the Terps of Maryland?
As the Navy broadcaster, who does John root for in this one?
* Isn't it amazing what Navy Athletic Director Jack Lengyel has done in terms of facility improvements since coming to Annapolis in August 1988, with the newfootball locker room's construction under way and a new visitor's center just around the corner?
Also, how excited do you think members of the media are about the fact that Lengyel soon will be putting in a new elevator to replace the nearly 40-year-old one still being used at Navy Marine Corps Stadium?