Wild Things ready to play ball again
Holly Tonini/for the Observer-Reporter
Wild Things closer Zach Strecker set a league record for saves Tuesday night.
Outfielder Hector Roa, right, will be back for a fourth season with the Washington Wild Things. He has hit 45 home runs for Washington.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Wild Things’ Starting pitcher Michael Austin delivers a pitch against the Lake Erie Crushers.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Wild Things pitcher B.J. Sabol delivers a pitch. He is one of four returning players in the Wild Things’ bullpen.
It has been 635 days since the Washington Wild Things last played a Frontier League baseball game that counted in the standings.
During that time, much has changed for the league. It has said goodbye to the 2019 champion River City Rascals, expanded to a second country, absorbed teams from the defunct Can-Am League and added the Tri-City Valley Cats, a former affiliate of the Houston Astros. Longtime league commissioner Bill Lee has retired, the closed border between the United States and Canada is causing one team to be homeless until at least July 23, revised roster rules are in place and a new extra-innings tiebreaker that is even more gimmicky than the one used for the past five seasons has been approved.
While the winds of change have been blowing at gale force throughout the league, one of the few calm locales has been Washington. The Wild Things, who begin the 96-game regular season tonight (6:35 p.m.) at the Florence Y’alls, have 14 players who either previously played for Washington or was signed by the team prior to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting in 2020.
The 2021 Wild Things will put the powers of familiarity to the test.
“We have a lot of guys with good experience, guys who have played with affiliated teams, and guys who are familiar with one another,” said right fielder Hector Roa, who will be in Washington for a fourth season. “Good chemistry and doing the little things will get you far in this league.”
Though the roster has not been drastically overhauled, there is one major change for the Wild Things. Gregg Langbehn, who managed Washington four years and had the Wild Things within one victory of a league championship in 2018, has retired. In his place steps Tom Vaeth, an independent baseball veteran who spent 17 years as the hitting coach for the American Association’s Winnipeg Goldeyes.
It is Vaeth’s job to end Washington’s title drought. He was part of three league championships in Winnipeg.
“For me, this is a different league and there is going to be a learning period … but there are two types of habits – winning habits and losing habits. We will not develop losing habits here,” Vaeth promised.
The strength of the team appears to be the pitching staff. The starting rotation includes holdover Michael Austin, who is in his third season with the Wild Things, along with several newcomers, including righthanders Daren Osby, who was a Wild Things killer while playing for Joliet in 2018 and 2019, and Kevin McNorton, a 29-year-old who won 18 games in the Can-Am League over the last two seasons. Lefty McKenzie Mills has two 12-win seasons in the minor leagues.
Osby will get the starting assignment in the opener.
Washington returns much of its bullpen from 2019, led by closer Zach Strecker, who has 52 saves in three years in Washington. Also back are hard-throwing righthanders James Meeker and Jesus Balaguer and lefty sidearmer B.J. Sabol.
“I think our pitching staff is a whole lot more polished than in the past,” Strecker said. “We’ll be stingy when it comes to giving up runs. The bullpen is not going to give up many runs and the starters have great arms.”
The outfield returns Roa, who is chasing franchise records for career home runs and RBI. Left fielder Bralin Jackson, who was a Frontier League all-star with Washington in 2017 before playing the next two years for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Class AA affiliate in Altoona, has returned. If he can approach his numbers from 2017 (career-high 16 home runs, 76 RBI and .294 batting average), the middle of the batting order should be formidable.
Also back is catcher Cody Erickson, who batted .274 in 2019, when the Wild Things slipped to 47-49 record after reaching the league championship series the previous year. The versatile Erickson could play multiple positions this season.
The infield has shortstop Andrew Penner, who played for River City’s championship team two years ago, and several players Vaeth is high on, including third baseman Brian Sharp, who is a strong defensive player and hit 11 home runs in 2019 for a New York Mets affiliate.
The infield also includes two WPIAL products, John Sansone (Neshannock) and Joe Campagna (Blackhawk), along with Nick Ward, a former standout in the PSAC at West Chester. Ward will begin the season on the injured list.
During the exhibition games, pitching has been ahead of the hitting. Roa said that is a result of having a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused the 2020 season to be canceled.
“That had a huge impact on the hitters,” he said. “Not seeing live pitching for two years, not having somebody working with you every day, it’s a hard to get back to where you were. It’s a little early, but once we get everybody back to the level they were at, I think our lineup, from 1 through 9, will be able to handle business.”
With the Frontier League’s expansion and two Canadian teams being unable to play because of the closed border, the league will have 14 teams divided into two conferences. Washington will play in the three-team Northeast Division along with the New Jersey Jackals and Sussex County Miners, two former Can-Am League teams. Washington will play only 23 of 96 games against their old Frontier League rivals.
“I’m very optimistic,” Strecker said. “This team has what’s needed on both sides, pitching and hitting, and a lot of experienced guys.”