Shoreview Stumpgrinders

Samuel Franzen makes the play at second base

Quamba, Minnesota is a small town about halfway from the Twin Cities to Duluth.  The town has registered right around 100 residents throughout its entire census history and it has the feel of a little whistle stop off the beaten path of the main north-south thoroughfare in northeastern Minnesota. This week I visited Quamba with the Shoreview Stumpgrinders who played a double header against the hosts and Chisago Lakes.  It's a unique system that The Quamba Cubs have devised and several Metro Minny teams will be taking advantage of it this summer.  On Sundays two teams head north where there is a single day, 3 game rotation allowing every team to play two without having the burden of extra travel.  Quite a nice system and a huge thank you to Quamba for hosting us for three of these triangle contests this year.  

Shoreview was one of my favorite teams to cover last season for one reason.  It really feels like a fraternity.  Not in the hazing, partying, toxically masculine way, but in a way that invites everyone in to have a good time while deeply caring about each individual and their lives away from the park.  I really wanted to dig into this so I asked the guys about the atmosphere surrounding this team to get a better sense of how they built this camaraderie.  

Chad Wakabayashi hits a double in Quamba

The founding member of The Shoreview Stumpgrinders who acts as their manager and representative at league meetings is Chad Wakabayashi.  Chad is a sincere, kind guy and when I asked him about the identity of the team and its connections to University of Northwestern he made it clear that he really just wanted a place to stay connected with the guys he played with in college and to build relationships with those who came after him.  Northwestern is a private, non-denominational Christian college on the north side of Roseville that hosts Stumpgrinder games through the summer.  Around half of the current Shoreview team are Northwestern alums or current players and this has led to a real sense of unity.  But, Chad (and others) made a point of telling me, “being Christian or a Northwestern student is not a requirement” to be a Stump.  

This is made abundantly clear with their off-season signings this year.  One of their newest members, Jake Tarara, bucks the trend.  That doesn’t mean he is an outsider.  Instead he was welcomed with open arms and is even bringing a few of his connections to Shoreview as well.  There is a new pipeline building from Woodbury High School with these recent signings.  What ultimately unites this group of men is their love of baseball, but there are deeper connections as well.

New signing Brady Sahr (C/OF) joined with Tarara

When I asked around the group about their Christian identity it felt like there was some trepidation.  They wanted to make it clear that everyone is welcome to ride with the Stumps.  I know that this stems from a feeling these days that faith is individual and that Christianity can be cultish or exclusionary.  This is absolutely true.  There are a myriad of examples of this and I have written, expressed and strongly hold this belief. However, some of the most important relationships I have built are because of the faith communities I’ve been involved in.  It’s the quintessential challenge of faith communities these days, “how do we heal trauma, welcome the marginalized, and provide a loving community when so many have been hurt by folks like us”.  I think these guys have it figured out. 

When I arrived in Quamba I was already running late.  I had spent the last week fighting a sinus infection and had to sneak in a nap around lunch time to fight off a headache.  I was worried that it would be weird when I walked into the dugout without an introduction from Chad.  Some of the guys know me from last year but there are always new faces and you never know how they’ll feel.  Jake Orthaus was sitting in the dugout with a couple other guys but the rest of the team was on the field.  The second I walked in, a huge smile spread across Jake’s face.  It was like a long-lost brother had returned.  He couldn’t believe I drove the hour up to Quamba to cover the game.  

Andrew Simonson celebrates a double

We immediately began briefing each other on the team makeup for the coming year and what to expect from The Stumps in 2024.  As we were catching up the inning ended an the rest of the team made their way into the dugout.  Every single guy said hello to me as they came in.  Phil Wall, both Franzen brothers, Chad, they all gave me a fist bump, a huge smile, and welcomed me back into the fold.  Chad was concerned that I missed his early game home run so I told him he’ll just have to hit another one.  There was one face, in particular, that made me feel like I had never left these guys and that is Andrew Simonson.  Simo (see-mo) is one of those guys that just wants to have fun.  All the time.  He’s quick with a joke and is always looking for the guy who isn’t feeling the best and makes an effort to pick him up.  When he comes in from a defensive inning he will wait for a fist bump if you don’t see him and make sure that every single person in the dugout is seen and valued.  He is, without a doubt, the epitome of a Stump.  It’s this attitude that brought back so many of the guys from the 2023 season despite a rough first year in the league.  

In 2023 The Stumpgrinders were newborns.  Many of the guys had played for Plymouth Hitdawgs in previous seasons, but they were starting a brand new team in a strong league.  The league leaders, Champlin Park Logators, had finished 2nd in the state in 2022 and had a lot of other teams gunning for them.  It would be easy for an upstart like The Stumps to get buried under the weight of expectation from the league.  It wasn’t a great year.  They fell to the bottom of the league and drew Logators in the section tournament.  The scorelines from the tournament games don’t tell the whole story, but they took Champlin Park to extras in an elimination game and they lived up to their favorite saying, “Nobody no-hits the Stumps!”

It would be easy for a team to have a season like they had and fold under the pressure.  Teams do it every year.  But, there is a different feel to this group that I noticed even last year.  It never felt like the team was out of games.  Sure, the scoreboard was ugly sometimes but the guys kept playing.  They picked each other up.  They fought.  It truly was a brotherhood and, as expected, the brothers stuck together.  That is why the core of the team is back.  Turning them into winners, though, is a challenge that Chad and his brothers are taking very seriously.

When I asked Chad if Tim Shows (who was absent Sunday) would be slotting into the regular third baseman role like last season he thought for a moment before saying, “we’ll go with whoever is hot.”  That seems like an obvious statement but it wasn’t so simple before.  Shoreview didn’t always have the luxury of moving guys around to keep the hot bats in the lineup.  Sometimes you just had to play even if you were struggling.  Chad continued, “that’s what the good teams can do.  We’ll be playing enough non-conference games that everyone will get time on the field, but in league play we’ll go with who is hot.  That’s what I’m trying to build here.”  

Jake Orthaus threw a perfect 5-inning game vs Chisago

It really gives us an insight into how to build a team in amateur baseball.  Sure, you can put together a group of guys and get on the field but to find success you have to have some depth.  You have to reload each year to replace retirements or guys that move on.  In a town like Quamba the majority of the team are local guys.  In fact only one member of the Quamba Cubs comes from outside the town.  But in the Metro Minny teams are always looking for new pipelines for talent.  That can come from college connections, a new high school, or former townball team connections.  This year The Stumps found a connection at Woodbury High School and one guy has brought three more with him.  This is how you build a team.  And Shoreview has figured out the secret to building strong relationships, built on faith and inclusivity.  That is truly special and we’ll see if it can translate into a strong showing on the field as well.

If this first weekend is any indication there are good things to come.  The bats were active and Jake Orthaus threw a perfect game in 5 innings that ended early with a 13 run lead.  If this keeps up, look out for the Stumps as they take root in the Metro Minny this year.

Stats and Schedules available at Metrominny.com

Opening Day

Forest Lake's Austin Radtke slides into home plate

Like Austin Radtke of the Forest Lake Brewers, the Metro Minny slid into home on Sunday and it was a welcome relief.  After eight months off three teams hit the field on a perfect day for baseball.  Over the course of the day guys who had not seen each other in months reconnected, commiserated over being out of shape, and, eventually, played some ball.  It really felt like summer had arrived in the Twin Cities.  

Ben Resnick debuts for Andover

The day started in Andover where the Aces were matched up with Chisago Lakes.  The Aces were debuting a brand new lefty on the mound in Ben Resnick.  After a year off due to paperwork issues Ben returned to the mound on Sunday and looked good.  Having a lefty in your dugout is always important and especially one with a slow, looping curveball.  It will be interesting to watch through the season to see if he can control his off speed pitches while maintaining velocity on his fastball to keep batters on their toes. On the offensive side it was a lot of familiar faces for the Aces with Connor Stoik and Sam Plohasz in the 1-2 and Tyler Brick cleaning up and anchoring the defense at first base.  In a  lot of ways it was a great first game for the Metro Minny that felt like coming home.

Davis Bryan comes out firing for Forest Lake

After Andover got started I ran over to Forest Lake and Schumacher Field for The Brewers vs Lyons Pub Warriors.  This game had a very different atmosphere.  Lyons Pub is a perennial contender out of Minneapolis and their preseason games always feel like they matter that much more.  Forest Lake lost a couple of big names in their dugout with Jackie Fosten and Jed Hanson both retiring.  However, they brought back the team's all-time steals leader in Brent Kolbow.  Despite Kolbow’s return the story on the basepaths was catcher Joe Rydel getting the first steal of the season for the Brew Crew.  On the mound it was another dominant performance from Davis Bryan who picked up right where he left off in the fall. In a league that can sometimes feel like a party and beers in the parking lot can stretch well into the night, Davis is a baller.  He arrives focused, prepares mentally and physically, then goes out and dominates.  In addition to his pitching Bryan also fielded his position incredibly well with 3 putouts in the first two innings.  

Anoka's Trent Fredenburg blasts one to right

From Forest Lake the opening day took us back south to Anoka and Castle Field where the Anoka Bucs took on the Minneapolis North Stars.  Anoka had the largest contingent of players for their first week and they used just about everyone in the dugout.  It was a flotilla approach from the bullpen with no pitcher going more than a couple of innings.  In the field, team captain and regular second baseman JD Wells played all over including third base and right field.  But, the story of the afternoon in Anoka was the middle of the lineup.  Wells, Trent Fredenburg, and Jackson Hauge were peppering the ball all over the field and stretching everything into extra base hits.  Both Fredenburg and Hauge had 3 hits and both added steals to their stat line as well.  

Current Buc and future Jayhawk Jackson Hauge

The Fredenburg-Hauge connection highlights the theme of the first weeks in townball.  The majority of players on the opening day are out of school, working jobs, and getting in as much work in the offseason as possible.  Fredenburg falls into this category.  The last time we saw “Freddy” he was hitting a homerun in the state tournament in September.  I asked him what he does in the offseason to stay ready and he mentioned being a gym rat.  He didn’t get in the hitting cage, he didn’t throw much.  But he lifted, alot, and you can tell.  He muscled balls into the outfield and most of his hits came on hanging curveballs that he could time up and send into the right field wall.  When he gets his timing back it could be scary as fastballs probably would have carried out of the park.  

Hauge, on the other hand, is a young buck.  He just finished up his time at Mankato State University and has committed to The University of Kansas for the 2024 season.  Most college guys are still in their collegiate uniforms right now but Hauge jumped back in with the Bucs and he looked like a ballplayer on day one.  It’s rare for townball teams to get Division 1 talent on their rosters because a number of those players are playing in the Northwoods League (or similar) where the competition is stiffer.  If Hauge stays with the Bucs through the season, and plays like a Jayhawk, he could be an MVP candidate in the Metro Minny.  

Off season activities was a primary topic of conversation on Sunday.  I found it particularly interesting how different pitchers keep their game up during the winter.  Davis Bryan (Forest Lake) shared that he continues to work through the off season to keep his arm healthy and ready to go.  On the other end of the spectrum Taylor Nelson (Anoka) rests his arm in the off season so that he can have as much longevity as possible during the season.  Nelson only pitched two innings on Sunday and shared that he’ll try to pitch in every game through May in some capacity to get the rhythm back without over extending.  In June we’ll probably start to see him going longer stretches and balancing that with off days.  In Andover I asked Jake Dujmovic about his offseason activities and he shared that he basically took the winter off.  A week or so prior to opening day he tossed a flat pen session and will also be taking a slow road back to longer outings.  

In a league where there is a balance of college guys who are coming off of a full season of ball and older guys who are out of school and on their own through the winter and spring it really is a mish-mash of approaches where one size does not fit all.  Each guy brings his own approach and experience.  They all talk shop with each other in the dugout. And, hopefully, they put together a winning season full of excitement and low on injury.  They certainly provided the aforementioned on Sunday with The Aces winning 2-1, The Brewers going 13 innings, and The Bucs getting their bats on fire and winning 10-1.  With that, we’re off and running.  There are a few games at the end of this week (mostly on the road) and then we get really busy next week.

Check Metrominny.com for the schedule.

Off-season Preparations

On a typical early spring day in Minnesota a group of guys gather in the back room of a local bar in Ramsey.  Around the room is a collection of men ranging from young guys with a deep love of the game who are quick with a joke and even quicker with a quip about The Twins roster troubles to grizzled veterans of the amateur baseball scene who can entertain you with stories of players and managers from the past while explaining all the intricacies and details of operating a baseball league on a tight budget.  This is Townball in Minnesota.

The winter of 2023-24 has been an odd one in Minnesota.  It has felt more like Indiana with mild temps and very little precipitation.  However, on the night the Metro Minny League gathers for its signing day meeting outside a spring snowstorm is brewing.  By the time we head to the parking lot after the meeting there is already snow on all the cars and the roads are beginning to get treacherous.  

Inside the room is warm.  Both temperatures and community contribute to this feeling.  It’s 2-for-1 drink night and everyone has a beer or a cocktail in front of them as the meeting gets rolling.  Topics range from invitations to seminars on field maintenance to the Minnesota Baseball Association’s rules on roster requirements.  There is planning for the section tournament and discussion of umpire availability.  While it would seem to be a Metro Minny vacuum, when it comes to umpires and scheduling other leagues in the area are taken into consideration and a commissioner from Eastern Minny is present to offer their needs and support.  No one in Townball is on an island.  They all collaborate, share, and support each other.  It’s a giant family that stretches from Roseau to Rochester. 

There’s been a lot of frustration in the last year around the association’s structure, rules, and enforcement.  It makes sense.  With almost 300 teams around the state there are no two teams who have the same needs and challenges.  Creating a system that works for all is a challenge and changes will continue to be made in an effort to provide support and opportunities to all the teams who call Minnesota Baseball Association home.  But, it doesn’t lessen the bureaucracy that faces a league when they gather for a planning meeting.  

Around the room there are laptops open and phones in hand to look at roster spreadsheets, balance books, and schedules.  It would take a team of league secretaries to keep up with all the details and that is just not possible.  So, instead, managers from each team come together, ask questions, navigate websites, and plan tournaments.  All so that we can have a team to support in our hometown. THIS is Townball in Minnesota.

A month later the scenery has changed.  At a  fire department building in East Bethel the Eastern Minny Teams gather to discuss field maintenance and care with a representative of Reinders Inc, a field specialist and sponsor of MBA.  Outside it feels like baseball weather.  70 degrees, sunny, barely a cloud in the sky.  The following day I would be taking photos of the St. Paul Saints AAA team and complaining about the heat.  A far cry from six inches of snow a month earlier.  Spring is in the air, summer is around the corner and baseball is on everyone’s mind.  

Joe Churchill from Reinders presents to a group of team managers about field maintenance.

Every one of these meetings I enter is like a quiz in Minnesota geography.  Around the room everyone wears a ballcap in their team’s colors and a jacket or shirt with their team’s name printed across it.  In a few weeks they’ll be rivals on the field but today they share a nice breakfast spread and laugh at each other’s jokes.  They discuss which team has signed new players (hint: there is a former minor leaguer making his Townball debut), who has lost players to the Northwoods League, and who is attempting to start a new team in their own town.  THIS is Townball in Minnesota.  

As the gathering of Eastern Minny Teams wraps up Joe Churchill of Reinders expresses his availability for support or guidance in field maintenance.  I asked him for his contact info and he gave me his email address, work number, and cell number.  They are listed at the end of this article.  That is how available everyone is to support these teams in their efforts to create a place for baseball to thrive in Minnesota.  As Joe presented his guidance for teams to ensure a safe, beautiful playing surface he often got into the weeds, pun intended, with deep dive explanations of fertilization and aeration.  At times it felt like suggestions for major league clubs with recommendations of $40,000 machinery, but he kept coming back to the central premise that you work with what you have and do your best.  Within budget constrictions there are so many ways to care for your field and get the most out of it.  

So many of the teams in MBA are not stand alone entities.  They collaborate with their municipality or local high school to care for their fields and provide entertainment.  In the Metro Minny there are teams who play in municipal baseball complexes, high school facilities, a town park, and even one team that travels almost exclusively until the collegiate season ends when they can begin to host at a local college.  This presents challenges when it comes to field maintenance and use as the teams are dependent on the organizations they are partnering with to provide the best possible experience.  There are fields without lights, fields without irrigation, fields that have other teams using them, but there are also fields with gorgeous stands, fields with a backdrop of northern pine forests, and turf fields that feel almost professional.  THIS is Townball in Minnesota.

At the end of the Metro Minny meeting in March there is a long discussion regarding section playoffs.  For a number of years the Coon Rapids Cardinals have hosted the tournament with their multi-field facility where virtually all of the games could be played on a staggered schedule on one weekend.  This year will be different.  In an effort to spread the experience around to more teams and give the Cardinals an opportunity to do the aforementioned field maintenance and rest two teams will host this year.  The Champlin Park Logators (perennial contenders for the Metro Minny title) and The Anoka Bucs will share hosting duties.  

The Logators just finished a facility upgrade last season and will have a chance to show of the updates in the late summer as they host half of the tournament games.  Anoka, on the other hand, has long had a high quality facility for hosting at Castle Field.  It is a great opportunity to showcase the excellent facilities around the area and hopefully, with some success and our support, could encourage other municipalities to see the value of investing in their local amateur team.  At the end of last season I spoke with a number of the managers in the Metro Minny about the possibility that we might see Metro Minny bid to host the MBA Championship in the future.  Right now there are a couple of parks in the Metro Minny that could serve that dream.  But it’s still a dream.  And that’s what we have in Minnesota.  A dream.  A dream for amateur baseball to be a summer staple of every town, city, and community in Minnesota.  And THAT is Townball in Minnesota.

Joe Churchill from Reinders can be reached in the following ways.  He would love to speak with you about your field and how he can help you keep it in top shape this season.  If you’d like to have his input you can reach him at 612.790.7333 or jchurchill@reinders.com