NORMAL – Catcher Jeff Dunbar got his season off to a good start during the first road trip for the Normal CornBelters. The 6 foot-4, 225 pound Dunbar smacked two home runs in one game against the Florence Freedom on May 25, aiding Normal’s 9-5 victory.
His first home run was a solo shot in the top of the third with no one on base. His homer led the charge because his teammate, outfielder Colin Moro, hit a homer right after, giving Normal a 3-0 lead after 4 ½ innings. Dunbar’s second home run of that game came with two men on and two out in the top of the 8th inning.
Dunbar modestly called the game in which he hit those homers “just one of those days.â€
“The first one was a little wind-aided,†Dunbar said. “The second one was one where I was just seeing the ball well and it was just a good day for everybody. I think, as a team, we had four home runs that game.â€
“When I signed on, I was signed thinking I would be, pretty much of a utility player, and I didn’t think I’d be doing that much catching,†Dunbar said, reflecting on the role he thought he would be playing once he joined the club. â€But now that I have been catching a lot, things have been really good. I’m enjoying it back there and feel like I’m definitely contributing.â€
Before joining Manager Hal Lanier’s CornBelters, Dunbar played in the now-defunct Northern League for Lake County in 2010 and Schaumburg in 2009.
“Now that I have been here and have been experiencing competition within it, I think the Frontier League is a good league,†Dunbar said.
“He was a first baseman, outfielder, and catcher,†Lanier said about Dunbar. “He really wanted to come here and catch. He’s done a great job here with the pitching staff.â€
At first, Lanier thought Dunbar would be in left field when he first got to the team. But after acquiring Alvaro Ramirez and putting him in the outfield, Dunbar was moved to behind the plate.
Lanier said he liked what he saw in this team when he, his coaching staff and Nick Belmonte, the CornBelters’ director of player procurement, put this team together.
“I think we have a more experienced club than we had last year,†Lanier told me. “Some guys have gotten off to a good start swinging the bat and some guys need for hits to fall in.†He said there is no panic at this stage of the season.
“We have players who have a lot more experience than what we had last year,†Lanier said. “We got a lot more quality players this year compared to last year. We had a lot of young kids last year and they made a lot of mistakes.â€
Lanier said he is not taking away anything from the skills of the players he had last year when he says that. After all, he points out, big leaguers make mistakes, too.
The point Lanier is making about this group is that they know how to play the game a little more consistently. That, he said, is going to show up in the win-loss column.
“Steve Alexander is off to great start,†Lanier said, pointing to three homers the 26-year-old first baseman had on the CornBelters’ season-starting road trip. Lanier points to Alexander having had 11 homers in 2009 as a member of Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association, and 16 he had in Normal’s first season last year. That number could have been higher had Alexander not been fighting injuries, Lanier said.
Overall, Lanier said, “We just have a more balanced ball club this year. It’s not just going to be one or two or three guys contributing. We have guys on the ball club who can contribute every day swinging the bat. If someone is not hot at bat, hopefully, someone can pick things up at that particular time.â€
On another subject, former major league reliever Lee Smith, who played 8 seasons as a Wrigley Field regular and 4 in St. Louis in an 18-year career visited The Corn Crib for the Summer’s first “Star Struck Saturday†promotion. Before signing autographs for fans, he visited with CornBelters players on May 28.
Like everybody else in this area and especially around Chicago’s North side, Smith said he thought Hall-Of-Famer Ryne Sandberg would have been the most-likely person to succeed Lou Pinella as Cubs manager. But despite Sandberg’s two year successful stint at Class A Peoria, in Class AA Tennessee, and at Class AAA Iowa, Cubs management chose their third base coach, Mike Quade, to succeed the man known as “Sweet Lou.â€
“Things didn’t pan out as everyone knows,†Smith said about the Cubs’ managerial decision. “I think Ryno did the right thing by going to another organization because baseball clubs don’t show loyalty to former players anymore. That’s a tough thing. He did a really good job going through the minor leagues.†Sandberg is now managing in the minors within the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
What message did Smith want to pass along to the CornBelters players? “There’s nothing in this world better than being a major league player,†Smith said was among wisdom he wanted to pass along. “To be able to go out on the field when the game is on the line with 50,000 people watching is just the best,†he said.
More often than not, when Smith’s turn to take the mound came, it was usually as a closer. He was the guy in the late innings that fans of the opposing team usually booed, Smith said. He said he relished being in that exact situation.
“I loved those situations,†Smith said. “To be able to go out there when the game is on the line….Just the thought of it…I get goose bumps thinking about it.
“I want to make sure these players here understand the most important thing is to make quality pitches and do it on a consistent basis,†Smith said. And what’s more, Smith added, make those pitches look almost effortless in the process while being consistent.â€
For young guys, that’s not easy to do without some guidance from a pitching coach. Luckily for players within the San Francisco Giants minor league system, their roving pitching coach is Lee Smith. He has been with the Giants organization for 11 years. We’ll have to keep that in mind when San Francisco’s minor league system starts promoting its players to the big club.
Before he started his volunteer concession work at The Corn Crib for one of the local baseball teams, the Twin City Bandits, Sam Fisher got a ball autographed by Smith. “It was pretty cool to get his autograph,†Fisher said as he headed back to his spot working behind the counter. “
Sam, who will be an eighth grader at Chiddix Junior High next year, said he never thought he would get a former big leaguer’s autograph while here in town. Sam was pretty low key, but you had to believe he was excited by the opportunity.
Having a guy like Smith, who played for both the Cubs and the Cards was wonderful to have visit the area. The CornBelters’ next “Star Struck Saturday†visitor will bring back memories for Chicago White Sox fans, as on June 4, Ron Kittle, who played a variety of positions in a decade-long career, will appear at The Corn Crib. Kittle played as a designated hitter, in left field, and first Base. In addition to playing on the South side, for eight seasons (1982-86; 1989-91), he also played for the Yankees, Cleveland, and Baltimore. In addition to “Star Struck Saturday,†Saturday’s promotion is “Automobile Night.â€
On another subject, We may have been discouraged by the wet conditions over the homestand’s opening weekend, but, as we have all seen, the folks in Joplin, Mo. have been dealing with their community’s being ravaged by a tornado on May 22.
For Zach Ziler, vice president for fan experiences for the CornBelters, the Joplin tornado literally hit close to home. Ziler is a native of Carthage, Mo., about 10 miles east of Joplin.
Ziler explained what happened in Joplin affected him because “Joplin is the center of our universe growing up†so near to it. “If we need to go eat, or have fun, or go to the mall, Joplin is where we go. So, being right next door to it, Joplin feels like home to me.â€
Ziler asked CornBelters President Steve Malliet if it would be okay to take the team’s half of the proceeds from the nightly “50-50†drawing last weekend and donate that money to the American Red Cross to help aid their efforts in Joplin. Malliet approved the idea. Over the three-day home stand this past weekend, the team raised $248.
On another subject, if you looked at my column last week, I closed by wishing the Normal CornBelters the following for their opening homestand: Good crowds, great weather, and big wins.
Lanier and his troops got a good crowd on opening night against the Southern Illinois Miners. As for the weather and the victories, I wish I had wished a little harder. It seemed The Miners were not the only opponent Normal faced over the weekend, as the weather was cold May 27, when over 4,400 people showed up for the CornBelters’ home opener.
Cold and damp conditions followed on May 28, making May 29 the only real dry day during the homestand. Under the circumstances, there was low attendance at those games, which was a shame.
This weekend, the CornBelters hit the road for a mid-week three game series at Lake Erie before returning to The Corn Crib to begin a 7-day, six game homestand. The Washington (Pa.) Wild Things will be in town June 3, 4, and 5. The team will get a day off June 6, then play host to Lake Erie Tuesday-Thursday, June 7-9. Games Monday through Saturday begin at 7p.m. Sunday games start at 6p.m.
The CornBelters finished the opening month of the season with a 4-6 record, including a three-game sweep over Florence on the road. Here’s hoping June will be warm and dry while our CornBelters turn red hot for the first full month of the season.
Lastly, congratulations to those CornBelters players who are near the top of the league stat chart. Alexander is in a three-way tie for second for home runs, chasing current leader, Florence’s Mark Samuelson. CornBelters right-hander Bobby Pritchett is fifth among league pitchers in strikeouts thrown, with 15, trying to topple Washington’s Vidal Nuno. CornBelters second baseman Frank Martinez is fifth in the league in batting average, holding steady at .378.