Like Austin Radtke of the Forest Lake Brewers, the Metro Minny slid into home on Sunday and it was a welcome relief. After eight months off three teams hit the field on a perfect day for baseball. Over the course of the day guys who had not seen each other in months reconnected, commiserated over being out of shape, and, eventually, played some ball. It really felt like summer had arrived in the Twin Cities.
The day started in Andover where the Aces were matched up with Chisago Lakes. The Aces were debuting a brand new lefty on the mound in Ben Resnick. After a year off due to paperwork issues Ben returned to the mound on Sunday and looked good. Having a lefty in your dugout is always important and especially one with a slow, looping curveball. It will be interesting to watch through the season to see if he can control his off speed pitches while maintaining velocity on his fastball to keep batters on their toes. On the offensive side it was a lot of familiar faces for the Aces with Connor Stoik and Sam Plohasz in the 1-2 and Tyler Brick cleaning up and anchoring the defense at first base. In a lot of ways it was a great first game for the Metro Minny that felt like coming home.
After Andover got started I ran over to Forest Lake and Schumacher Field for The Brewers vs Lyons Pub Warriors. This game had a very different atmosphere. Lyons Pub is a perennial contender out of Minneapolis and their preseason games always feel like they matter that much more. Forest Lake lost a couple of big names in their dugout with Jackie Fosten and Jed Hanson both retiring. However, they brought back the team's all-time steals leader in Brent Kolbow. Despite Kolbow’s return the story on the basepaths was catcher Joe Rydel getting the first steal of the season for the Brew Crew. On the mound it was another dominant performance from Davis Bryan who picked up right where he left off in the fall. In a league that can sometimes feel like a party and beers in the parking lot can stretch well into the night, Davis is a baller. He arrives focused, prepares mentally and physically, then goes out and dominates. In addition to his pitching Bryan also fielded his position incredibly well with 3 putouts in the first two innings.
From Forest Lake the opening day took us back south to Anoka and Castle Field where the Anoka Bucs took on the Minneapolis North Stars. Anoka had the largest contingent of players for their first week and they used just about everyone in the dugout. It was a flotilla approach from the bullpen with no pitcher going more than a couple of innings. In the field, team captain and regular second baseman JD Wells played all over including third base and right field. But, the story of the afternoon in Anoka was the middle of the lineup. Wells, Trent Fredenburg, and Jackson Hauge were peppering the ball all over the field and stretching everything into extra base hits. Both Fredenburg and Hauge had 3 hits and both added steals to their stat line as well.
The Fredenburg-Hauge connection highlights the theme of the first weeks in townball. The majority of players on the opening day are out of school, working jobs, and getting in as much work in the offseason as possible. Fredenburg falls into this category. The last time we saw “Freddy” he was hitting a homerun in the state tournament in September. I asked him what he does in the offseason to stay ready and he mentioned being a gym rat. He didn’t get in the hitting cage, he didn’t throw much. But he lifted, alot, and you can tell. He muscled balls into the outfield and most of his hits came on hanging curveballs that he could time up and send into the right field wall. When he gets his timing back it could be scary as fastballs probably would have carried out of the park.
Hauge, on the other hand, is a young buck. He just finished up his time at Mankato State University and has committed to The University of Kansas for the 2024 season. Most college guys are still in their collegiate uniforms right now but Hauge jumped back in with the Bucs and he looked like a ballplayer on day one. It’s rare for townball teams to get Division 1 talent on their rosters because a number of those players are playing in the Northwoods League (or similar) where the competition is stiffer. If Hauge stays with the Bucs through the season, and plays like a Jayhawk, he could be an MVP candidate in the Metro Minny.
Off season activities was a primary topic of conversation on Sunday. I found it particularly interesting how different pitchers keep their game up during the winter. Davis Bryan (Forest Lake) shared that he continues to work through the off season to keep his arm healthy and ready to go. On the other end of the spectrum Taylor Nelson (Anoka) rests his arm in the off season so that he can have as much longevity as possible during the season. Nelson only pitched two innings on Sunday and shared that he’ll try to pitch in every game through May in some capacity to get the rhythm back without over extending. In June we’ll probably start to see him going longer stretches and balancing that with off days. In Andover I asked Jake Dujmovic about his offseason activities and he shared that he basically took the winter off. A week or so prior to opening day he tossed a flat pen session and will also be taking a slow road back to longer outings.
In a league where there is a balance of college guys who are coming off of a full season of ball and older guys who are out of school and on their own through the winter and spring it really is a mish-mash of approaches where one size does not fit all. Each guy brings his own approach and experience. They all talk shop with each other in the dugout. And, hopefully, they put together a winning season full of excitement and low on injury. They certainly provided the aforementioned on Sunday with The Aces winning 2-1, The Brewers going 13 innings, and The Bucs getting their bats on fire and winning 10-1. With that, we’re off and running. There are a few games at the end of this week (mostly on the road) and then we get really busy next week.
Check Metrominny.com for the schedule.
