Swinging for the fences -- and charity
CLEVELAND -- Dave Plusquellic played in some of college baseball's finest stadiums in the 1990s, when he was a member of the Kent State University baseball team.Plusquellic played at Oklahoma State's 4,000-seat Allie P. Reynolds Stadium and at Russ Chandler Stadium, home of the Georgia Tech baseball team in the heart of Atlanta. He also played under Miami's sunny skies against the Hurricanes, whose stadium earned College Baseball Diamond of the Year honors in 1997.
As remarkable as playing in those ballparks was, no stadium ranks as high on Plusquellic's radar as Jacobs Field. For that's where he and his coworkers at FirstEnergy have played annually for the last five years as part of the Pepsi Hitting Challenge hosted by the Indians.
"At Kent, we played all around," said Plusquellic, a 31-year-old Akron native. "Still, if you love the game, the [Hitting Challenge] tends to bring out the little boy in you. I certainly hope when I'm 80 years old, I still have the same feeling walking out on Jacobs Field as the first time I had to do it."
The odds are high that more participants will be getting goose bumps when they walk onto the field for the 10th annual Pepsi Hitting Challenge being held July 29-31 at The Jake. Team registration for the Hitting Challenge costs $3,300, which benefit Cleveland Indians Charities.
Sixteen teams compete in the Hitting Challenge to score the most "hits" off of a pitching machine -- set between 60 and 70 mph -- during a single-elimination tournament. A team advances to the next round by accumulating the most points, which an official umpire determines.
The tournament finalists will be recognized during a pregame ceremony at Jacobs Field, but the champion gets an extra incentive.
"The winner also gets to come back and play a traditional baseball game against one of the other teams in the bracket, which is randomly chosen," said Melissa Zapanta, director of charitable programs for CIC.
Jim Anderson, a 35-year-old KeyBank player, has been fortunate to compete in one of those seven-inning games at Jacobs Field. For him, the experience was "a dream come true."
"I keep coming back because it's a wonderful lifetime opportunity," said Anderson, who pitched, caught and played center field at The Jake for seven innings. "It's amazing to be down on Jacobs Field and take pitches out of the park.
Anderson said he has taken 11 pitches "yard" at The Jake throughout several Hitting Challenges. Plusquellic has homered a couple of times, too.
"I had to go the shortest route, right down the [left-field] line," Plusquellic said with a chuckle. "It's just really a neat experience. It's one of those things that you kind of stop for a moment and go, 'I just hit one out of Jacobs Field.'"
While Plusquellic's home runs will forever stick in his mind, a home run that his father hammered stands out most.
"His first practice swing he actually hit a home run," Plusquellic said of his father. "He was kind of goofing around saying he would try to hit one out. Everybody was saying, 'Yeah right, you're 50 years old; no way.' That was actually pretty neat."
As neat as slugging a home run over the 19-foot left-field wall can be for some, the chance to escape the office for a weekend to play ball with friends and co-workers is just as great for others.
"It's just a neat opportunity to get out of work and do something with your co-workers," Anderson said.
Demand from co-workers to play in the Hitting Challenge has been great as well, Plusquellic said. Still, demand to play is even greater among other teams.
Try Giant Eagle.
"I know the guy at Giant Eagle, which we beat in the championship a couple of years ago," said Plusquellic, who captains FirstEnergy. "He said that he actually had so many people interested that he had to run tryouts. He had so many people that he had company employees meet him at batting cages, where he pared it down."
Giant Eagle's approach is one way to prepare for the Hitting Challenge. Plusquellic, on the other hand, tries to shuffle the opportunity around the office each year.
"I have probably four new guys this year that I've said something to," he said. "You should see their faces light up when they hear they get to hit on Jacobs Field."
Playing the field at The Jake is something special, too.
"If you have a nice day, it's awesome," Plusquellic said.
For Plusquellic, planting his cleats into a college field was one thing. Standing in the The Jake's outfield poised to snare a line drive is quite another.
"Almost everybody who has ever gone said, 'Make sure to let me know if you need me next year,' he said. "Almost everybody wants to do it again."
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
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