Fan Speak 8/12/07

Understatement

To the Editor:

I'd like to thank Kenny Urhahn for his work as the Cape Youth Baseball 10-year old division coordinator. The position of division coordinator requires an enormous amount of work and putting up with a lot of baloney.

From the perspective of one of the division's coaches, it was an excellent season. Thanks, Kenny, for your work.

I would also like to congratulate the players and coaches on the all-star team from that same 10-year old division. Kenny Urhahn, Mike Himmelberg and John Harding are the coaches. They have led the team to a district championship, a state championship and a regional championship in the Cal Ripkin 10-year old division.

A recent "Fan speak" entry referred to winning the regional as a "good accomplishment." Let's put this in perspective. This year, counting the American Legion teams, Cape Girardeau sent 10 teams to district tournaments. The Cape 10s were the only district champion.

Winning district was a "good accomplishment."

Cape Youth Baseball has continuously competed in the Babe Ruth organization since approximately 1990. Ever since, Cape has been sending several teams from various age groups into district tournaments each year. To my knowledge, one Cape Babe Ruth team won the state title. This year's Cape 10 all-star squad is the first Cape team to advance all the way to the World Series for Babe Ruth baseball (Cal Ripken is the name now given to the younger divisions of Babe Ruth baseball).

The Cape 10s did not buy themselves into a World Series. They did it the old-fashioned way; they earned it on the field. To describe what the Cape 10s have done as a "good accomplishment" is a vast understatement.

MIKE PAYNE

Cape Girardeau

(Payne coached the Marlins in the 10-year-old division.)

MVP

To the editor:

This is my 18th season of American Legion baseball, and in all the zone tournaments I've been associated with, Jeremy Patton's performance in the zone has to go to the top of my list as all-time best.

If there was a most valuable player in the tournament it no doubt would be Jeremy. Congrats to him.

RON CLIFTON

St. Louis

(Clifton is the general manager for the Anheuser-Busch American Legion Post 299 team that won the zone tournament in Jackson last weekend by beating Dunklin County and Patton.)