Sharks Prep for Opening Day

When the Island’s new wooden-bat collegiate baseball team, the , takes to the mound on Friday, June 10 at 5 p.m. for Opening Day against the New Hampshire-based Seacoast Mavericks, they’ll unveil a roster of could-be-future-superstars.

Collegiate leagues like the Sharks are the first step for many young players, some already drafted, who want to impress the scouts who work these summer leagues looking for the next Big Papi. Sharks players have come from Georgia, California, from big-name and lesser-known schools, to see if they're the one.

How many of the Island’s summer stars will make it to the Big Show remains to be seen. But the excitement over the team’s arrival is palpable, and the work that’s —already on display at the , the Shark’s home field—is an indication of good things to come.

On Monday, just days before the first pitch was to be thrown, Patch walked that field with prime mover Darren Harrison-Panis and Bob Tankard, vice president of baseball operations. To date, the Sharks have invested some $200,000 into improving the facility, located behind Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

For guys making virtually no money running this non-profit team, they act like they just merged with Google.

No wonder.

The diamond itself is perfect—manicured infield and outfield, 315 feet down the lines and close to 400 feet to deep center field. There’s seating for 200 to 300 around home plate. Beyond the outfield fences is Harrison-Panis' favorite part.

“We left this natural berm just like it was, perfect for baseball. Perfect sight lines. Bring a chair or a blanket,” Harrison-Panis said, sweeping his arm across a hill gently rolling down from first base past right field to dead center field. “This is how baseball was meant to be watched,” he said.

Details are important to Harrison-Panis, and he knows what he's doing. “Minor league baseball is my business. This is my passion,” the president of Carminucci Sports Group said. To that end, Martha’s Vineyard Baseball Park will feature three concession stands: one for organic foods; one for ice cream, soda and chips; and one for hot dogs and burgers. “No fried food. Healthy food,” he said.

“We want a safe, family-friendly environment,” said Harrison-Panis, walking to the Kid's Zone, sponsored by Our Market, where kids will jump in a bouncy castle, shoot hoops or build sandcastles. Face-painting is in the offing. They will hone hitting skills in the high-tech batting cage. “Kids can't watch a whole ballgame but their parents may want to,” he grinned.

“This facility has the family amenities you see in every minor league park in America. Major league parks are just beginning to add them,” he said.

Carminucci Sports runs minor league teams, such as the Brockton Rox, now managed by former Red Sox Bill Buckner, and has strong ties to the Boston club. Former Red Sox pitcher Bob Stanley, pitching coach for the Lowell Spinners, a Red Sox minor league club, will throw out the first pitch on Friday.

For Tankard, a 50-year Island resident, MVP has the same community resonance as the new YMCA. “This isn't a field; it's a community meeting place. The same kind of support—community outpouring, really—happened here just like it did for the Y,” he said.

“Lots of people come to the Island and promise to do things. These guys showed up and did what they said what they were going to do," Tankard said, sitting in a dugout, facing the outfield fences already lined with more than two dozen signs by business sponsors and organizations. “Wait and see, just like the Y, this will become a community meeting place.”

To that end, each home game will include a recognition of a community group, including Native American and African-American organizations.

The Sharks have provided jobs for Island companies and for Island kids. “Those kids weeded and pulled up every blade of grass along the first and third base lines. They love this,” Harrison-Panis said.

The Sharks hope to draw 1,000 a game, but may be happily surprised. At five bucks a ticket ($3 for kids), a chance to schmooze and watch some ball, you can't beat this deal with a stick.

The Martha's Vineyard Sharks will face off against the New Hampshire-based Seacoast Mavericks on Friday, June 10 at 5 p.m. at the Vineyard Baseball Park. Tickets are $5, $3 for children. Want to meet the players in advance? They'll at Z Burgers in Vineyard Haven on Thursday, June 9 at 5:30 p.m.