Consecutive College World Series appearances does not just comewith seasonal practice for the LSU baseball team. Aside from nearlya month’s worth of practice in the fall and a season lastingmore than five months, many LSU baseball players choose toparticipate in numerous summer leagues, lasting from mid-June toAugust.
Select players, including junior Will Harris, joined the CapeCod Baseball League to improve his baseball skills.
“It’s a chance to go out and and get 100 or moreextra at bats,” Harris said. “It’s good to taketime off, but we get to face some of the best pitching [in the CapeLeague]. They have a lot of good arms, and it’s real goodcompetition.”
Due to Harris’ time in the summer league, he had toreplace time he normally could spend relaxing in the summer withplaying three extra months of baseball.
“It was a great experience,” Harris said. “Igot to win the championship. It was fun.”
Harris’ team, which included LSU teammate Justin Meier,won the summer league championship.
Meier said he chose to play in order to stick with baseballduring the off-season.
“If I’d take off the whole summer, I might lose thatgroove I was in,” Meier said. “So I like to have somekind of competition year-round to keep that mentality.”
Meier and Harris lived together with a host family during theseason, having to also work in order to support the hostfamily.
“[Living with a host family] is nice,” Meier said.”You build up a good relationship with them.”
For players like Harris and Meier who live with a host family,summer jobs also are required to help pay for living expenses.
Despite having to juggle summer baseball and a job, Meier saidhe is able to manage his time.
“It’s nothing demanding,” Meier said.”They don’t practice you every day. You come out, showup at the ball field, play a game, and go home.”
On a regular day, Meier said he would be at work by seven in themorning. Getting off at twelve, Meier would either eat lunch orworkout, then head to the field that afternoon.
Meier repeated that routine six days a week, with the seventhday serving as not only an off day, but also a day for make-upgames.
Aside from a higher level of competition in the Cape League,players must also adjust to using a wooden bat, as opposed to thecollegiate aluminum bat.
“It’s a different game,” Harris said.”It takes a couple of weeks to get used to [using a woodenbat]. And when you get back [to LSU] in the fall and you pick upthe aluminum bat, it feels like you’re playing wiffleball.”
While Harris and Meier earned the league championship, LSUteammate Ryan Patterson brought home batting champion honors.
Playing for the Brewster Whitecaps, Patterson said he benefitsas a hitter by playing summer league baseball.
“Every single summer, you seem to learn new things,”Patterson said. “If I didn’t go to summer league, Iwouldn’t be half the hitter I am now.”
One advantage players like Patterson have in playing summerleague baseball is that he can focus entirely on baseball, asopposed to managing school as well.
“To an extent, all you do is play baseball,”Patterson said. “It’s a little different [from being atLSU]. You’re whole day is surrounded by playing a game.It’s not like you go to class and then you play.”
Despite the experience of the summer leagues, LSU baseball coachSmoke Laval said the leagues are not always focused on theimprovement of certain players.
“It’s good and bad,” Laval said. “A lotof [the teams] turn into must-win situations. So instead of guysworking on a breaking ball or hitting the ball the other way, theyhave to do things to stay in the lineup.”
Laval said if a player can get the proper experience, the summerleague can help.
“I guess its just like any summer league,” Lavalsaid. “If you do well, you can go up in the draft. But if youdon’t, it can kill you.”