Four teams of young men played some old-fashioned baseball last week on the fields at Oxford High School.
No scores were recorded. No stats, like RBIs or ERAs, were written down. No awards or scholarships were on the line.
It was all about having fun on beautiful summer day and making every player’s ‘field of dreams? come true.
Teams from Oxford, Clio, Milford and Lapeer West competed in the inaugural ‘Ty Cobb Surprise Mini-tournament? held July 19. Organized by Oxford resident Rod Charles, the informal event was inspired by the legendary Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer’s visit to this community on August 17, 1906.
According to local reports, Cobb, who played for the Tigers from 1905-26, feigned illness or injury to get out of accompanying his team on a long road trip. With the team out of town, Cobb came here to do a little fishing on Stony Lake.
While strolling along main street, he was recognized and invited to play for Oxford’s baseball team against Bay City.
Cobb surprised everyone by agreeing to play. He manned third base rather than his usual center field position.
Despite the baseball star’s presence on the field, Oxford lost to Bay City.
Cobb later returned to help Oxford defeat both Imlay City and Cadillac.
Cobb played here not for money or fame, but for fun and out of a genuine love for the game. That’s exactly the spirit Charles said this mini-tournament was trying to recreate and keep alive.
‘It’s not about leagues,? he said. ‘It’s not about trophies. We don’t have a trophy.?
In a world where everything’s so highly organized and hyper-competitive, Charles said the event was about preserving and enjoying the ‘pure spirit of the game.?
‘Get out there, play some hard baseball, have some fun and let the best man win,? he said.
Consisting of 13 high school students, Oxford’s boys of summer were described by Charles as a ‘tournament team? that’s not part of any formal league.
‘We’re like Notre Dame,? he said.
Playing for Oxford are Johnathon Brown, Bo Cantara, Geoffrey Charles, Ryan Collier, Coby Etherton, Eric Meyer, Michael Myer, Matthew Pollack, James Roberts, Nick Tombrella, Elliot Wicker, Corey Hrischuk and Gabe Grifka. The coach is Jason Stinson.
Games are arranged with a phone call and a handshake, not by a set schedule. If the team wants to enter a formal tournament, they pay the fee and play.
Everyone played hard in last week’s mini-tournament and the ‘kids really had a good time.? Unfortunately for Oxford, the day belonged to Clio, who won both its games and the tournament.
‘We could have used Ty Cobb,? Charles said.