Jul 10, 2020 4 min read

Has the recent string of 90-degree days left you feeling run down and worn out? Did the soaring temperatures turn your lawn from a sparkling shade of green to something that resembles dry straw?

If you answered yes to each of those questions, I have some good news. The next few weekends will be filled with rain.

How do I know this?

Simple. Baseball games will be played at Wild Things Park for the next nine weekends – Thursdays through Sundays – and that, for the last 18 years, has meant rain. Late-afternoon and evening rain. Those who have followed the Wild Things during their history in the Frontier League have probably noticed that when the ballclub is out of town, the weather in Washington typically is pleasant, comfortable and dry. When the team returns to Wild Things Park, the clouds empty.

So it was Thursday night when the Wild Things’ four-team league started its short season at the ballpark. Though it did not rain a drop in some nearby communities, it rained at Wild Things Park for several innings. It chased away some of the 125 or so spectators who showed up – capacity is limited because of social-gathering restrictions – to watch the Wild Things play the Steel City Slammin’ Sammies in the second game of the opening day doubleheader.

For the record, the Baseball Brilliance Sox routed the Road Warriors 12-2 in the opening game. In the second game, the Sammies edged the Wild Things 3-1 in what was essentially an intrasquad game.

Four teams are playing in the league at Wild Things Park that runs through Sept. 13 with two games scheduled for each day – 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sundays.

The Road Warriors and Baseball Brilliance Sox are teams of unsigned players, some with recent minor-league experience. The Wild Things players have been split into the other two teams. The Sammies are 15 of the 16 Pennsylvania natives under the Wild Things umbrella along with several players who have higher-level experience in affiliated ball. The Wild Things are the remaining Washington-rostered players plus a couple of players who are with other Frontier League teams.

Among the players on the Sammies is pitcher Tommy Shirley, a 31-year-old lefty from Irwin, who was signed by the Wild Things this offseason before the Frontier League canceled its season because of the coronavirus pandemic. Shirley, who has pitched in 42 games at the Class AAA level, threw four shutout innings Thursday night.

Also playing for the Sammies is pitcher Jordan Jankowski, a Peters Township High School graduate who made it to the major leagues with the Houston Astros in 2017. Jankowski pitched a scoreless ninth inning Thursday and was credited with a save.

Matt DeSalvo, a 39-year-old from New Castle, pitched for the Sammies Friday afternoon. DeSalvo started six games for the New York Yankees in 2007.

Nick Ward and Joe Campagna each hit solo home runs for the Sammies off Wild Things starter John Havird, who won six games for Washington last season.

The four-team league is similar to ones being played at Frontier League ballparks in Joliet, Illinois, and Florence, Ky. In Joliet, the teams are playing for the City of Champions Cup. In Florence, they are playing in the Battle of the Bourbon Trail.

The Wild Things’ league, which is the brainchild of general manager Tony Buccilli, does not have a name. How about Tony League Baseball?

The lack of a league name didn’t seem to put a damper on the fans’ enjoyment Thursday. Just seeing professional baseball at the ballpark was a welcomed change of pace, a step toward the return of normal. And normal in Washington includes raindrops in the middle innings.