Baseball: Summer Ball Comes to the Island

For fans who don't feel like making the trek down to the Oakland Coliseum or AT&T Park this summer, there will be a great option to catch some high quality baseball right down the street.

The Neptune Beach Pearl, a non-profit organization that consists of Division I collegiate baseball players from all over the country, will officially become a member of the Far West summer league this coming June.

The Pearl, while certainly in its infant stages (this will be the first season the program will play), has already secured verbal commitments from several talented athletes around the country, including players from such schools as Boston College, Cornell, Princeton, St. Mary's, Santa Clara, San Jose State, Washington, Hawaii, Michigan, University of San Francisco and Virginia Commonwealth, among others.

"We've talked about doing this for a couple of years and it's been a long process trying to get this together," said Dustin Chavez, Pearl's general manager . "We are really excited that we are getting players from such high-profile schools."

The first game of the season will be on June 1. The team will play roughly 60 games between June and July. Twenty-five of those games will be played right here in Alameda at Encinal Field, according to Chavez. Admission to games will be free.

"Being born and raised in Alameda, I know first hand how strong this community is," Chavez said. "We have been fortunate to have guys like Dontrelle Willis and Jimmy Rollins come out of here and make it to the major leagues. Hopefully, there might be a freshman (in college) that plays on this team and in five years he might be in the majors. Who knows?"

For residents who don't quite understand the logistics of summer baseball, the blueprint is pretty simple.

After the college season is over, the majority of Division I baseball players take a short break before packing their bags to join their various summer teams. The purpose of playing in the summer is to continue the process of honing one's baseball skill-set while also further developing their mental acumen.

Before the summer even begins, however, collegiate players pick a specific summer league team to play for, such as the Pearl.

"Like in any other profession, our coaches have personal relationships with others coaches around the country," explained Chavez, referring to Beach Pearl coaches Brant Cummings and Jordan Bautista. "They are going on trust that (the Beach Pearl) will be a good fit for their players to come out here and get the playing time they need."

Competition will certainly be tough for the Beach Pearl this season, as the team will compete against other more established summer squads in the newly formed, 11-team Far West league.

"The league consists of programs as far north as Southern Oregon and down to Fresno," Chavez said.

So where exactly will the players coming from out-of-town to play for the Beach Pearl live?

With host families.

And that's where the community comes into play.

Chavez said that the program still needs more host families for their players. If you are interested in being a host or just want more information about the team, visit the Beach Pearl website or contact Dustin Chavez.

"We have a lot of kids coming from out of town and they are going to live in Alameda for the summer," said Chavez. "I wanted to do this in Alameda. Hopefully we can get as much support from the community as we can. The team itself is a non-profit organization and we are doing this for the community. The games are going to be free to attend and hopefully people will come out and enjoy some baseball."