FARMINGTON, New Mexico
One of the best amateur baseball tournaments in the country has been a staple of Farmington, New Mexico for 50 years, but the tournament also holds a special place in the hearts of some of Bayfield and Durango’s best ballplayers.
The 50th American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack World Series began Friday night at Ricketts Park just 50 miles south of Durango in Farmington. Ten teams featuring the some of the finest 17- to 18-year-old baseball players in the country, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico, get the chance to showcase their talents in front of college and professional scouts in a double-elimination tournament that spans the first week of August.
This year, six players from La Plata County – Casey Dunlap, Matthew Knickerbocker, Isiah and Lawrence Mayberry, Kelton McCoy and Ben Wiley – have their chance to show off for the scouts, but it was another major star that had everyone’s attention Friday night at Ricketts Park, as former Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox star slugger Ken Griffey Jr. was in attendance to be inducted into the CMWS Hall of Fame.
“This is an opportunity to play against some of the best young talent in the country,” Griffey said of the CMWS during a brief interview Friday night following the tournament’s lavish opening ceremonies. “Not being able to play in the Little League World Series, this is the next best thing.”
Griffey quickly left the stadium after delivering his hall of fame induction speech, but, before he left, he gave a message to the players encouraging them to value their time at the CMWS and to use it as a stepping stone to get them to the next phase of their playing careers.
“It is crazy to think he was in our spot that we’re in right now, and him saying how big of a deal it was and how much of a part of his life it was, you have to cherish every moment,” said Dunlap, who will be a senior at Durango High School this fall.
Griffey played for the Midland Redskins club team from 1985-87. Midland has won a record 13 CMWS titles, including Griffey’s 1985 season. In 22 seasons in the majors, Griffey accumulated 630 career home runs while making 13 All-Star game appearances. He also won 10 Gold Glove Awards and seven Silver Slugger Awards and was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1997.
Griffey was inducted into the CMWS Hall of Fame alongside another MLB star and 2012 MLB Hall of Fame inductee Barry Larkin, the longtime Cincinnati Reds shortstop. Larkin, who was a member of the Midland Redskins from 1981-82, played 19 seasons in the majors and was selected to 12 All-Star games and was named the National League MVP in 1995. He also took home nine Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Gloves. Larkin was unable to attend the ceremony, but Griffey was more than enough to excite the coaches, fans and players.
“He’s an incredible guy to watch, and, seeing him there, I’m excited for sure,” said Knickerbocker, who will be a senior at Bayfield High School this year. “I couldn’t pick out one favorite Griffey moment because I was just too young, but I love watching his swing and highlights.”
Over the last five years, players from La Plata County have played an integral part in helping Farmington’s Strike Zone Baseball club team earn the right to host the tournament and receive a bid into the 10-team field. Players such as Durango’s Connor Dugan, Danny Rowley and Bayfield’s Clay Miller all have shined when given the opportunity to perform on the “Diamond in the Desert,” as Ricketts Park affectionately is called.
“It is incredible just to try and do what Clay did last year with these guys in the World Series,” said Knickerbocker, who played with Miller at BHS. “He did well and got a lot of phone calls after, and I hope I do the same.”
Strike Zone head coach Adam Morrissey, a former big leaguer from Australia, said the Colorado players have been key to the success of the team in the CMWS the last five seasons.
“They’ve been the core of our team. Casey Dunlap had a great summer with us as well as Matt Knickerbocker. It’s been a huge Colorado impact this year for our team, and they’ve really been the heartbeat of the team all summer,” Morrissey said.
Morrissey said the Colorado section of the Four Corners has produced a steady stream of talented baseball stars, and he has been happy to help groom them into next-level talents.
“Durango is right up the street, and there are a lot of talented athletes and ballplayers coming out of there,” he said. “We love to have them down here, and they’ve helped us a lot.”
Dunlap, the son of Aaron and Julie Dunlap, said he enjoys playing alongside high school teammates such as the Mayberry’s and Wiley as well as the two Bayfield boys, but he was equally excited about joining a new team and getting the opportunity to play baseball all over the country during the summer.
Knickerbocker called it an incredible summer that he hopes to cap off with a couple of wins before the week is over.
Win or lose, playing in front of 8,000 screaming fans cheering on the host team, which has never won a CMWS, is still reward enough. It was for Griffey, and it still is for all the players today.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Griffey said of Farmington and the CMWS. “It’s the only place that everybody comes here and watches baseball – closing down and going to watch baseball. You can tell that it’s grown since I was here.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
