The question was never would Ryan Kalish earn a battlefield promotion from Portland to Pawtucket.
It was always a matter of when. And when came about Monday, when the 22-year-old outfielder was given the word. No longer a Double-A Sea Dog, Kalish henceforth was now Triple-A PawSox.
“These guys kind of show us when they’re ready to get out of here,” said Sea Dogs’ manager Arnie Beyeler.
Over the previous six games, Kalish stated his case in resounding fashion.
Hitting a rather sluggish .244 heading into the May 22 double-header against Trenton, Kalish went on terrific, 13-for-23 tear, punctuated (with a sharp exclamation point) by his 5-for-5 tattoing of New Britain pitching on Saturday.
“I’ve been seeing the ball really well,” said Kalish. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I’ve been trying not to press over numbers, or anything. That’s the hardest thing to do in baseball, (is) look at numbers and get stressed out. I’ve just been having some fun with the guys. And I felt comfortable (lately).”
By Monday, and his 2-for-4 outing, it was clearly time for Kalish to move on.
Kalish, who filled the void in the Dogs’ line up last year when another highly touted outfielder, Josh Reddick, was promoted to Pawtucket, will be hard to replace.
His spot on the roster will be taken by utility man Ryan Khoury, who was sent down from the PawSox.
Another Sea Dog blue chipper, shortstop Jose Iglesias, has been sidelined since Saturday, after being struck on the knuckle of his throwing hand by New Britain hurler Mike McCardle.
It was feared at the time that the young Cuban-born phenom might have suffered a broken hand.
Such proved not to be the case, and Iglesias is expected to be back on the field in a day or two.
In the meantime, shortstop Yamaico Navarro (once considered to be on the fast track himself) has filled in admirably for Iglesias.
Heading into Tuesday night’s game at Trenton, Navarro had gone 5-for-11 at the plate ”“ including the game-winning homer in Monday’s 10-6 comeback win over New Britain ”“ and was error-free in the field.
“I’m just glad to be playing,” said Navarro, who has occasionally strayed into Beyeler’s dog house. “I’m just doing my job.”
Beyeler said that Navarro, who lost his shortstop job (which is a thing of pride to any youngster hailing from San Pedro de Marcoris) to Iglesias, is capable of big things, if he puts his mind to it.
“He’s a dangerous kid,” Beyeler said. “He’s got a lot of ability. We’ve got to keep him showing up every day. He’s just got to keep working hard, keep himself on the field. Good things will happen for him, if he’ll do that.”
You may not have heard of Miles Wolff, but if you are a baseball fan (and why else would you be reading this?), you’ve seen his handiwork.
Wolff, a self-styled baseball entrepreneur, once owned the Durham Bulls (which provided the inspiration for the movie, “Bull Durham”), and also owned the highly respected magazine, Baseball America.
These days, Wolff is a mover and shaker in the world of independent (as opposed to affiliated) professional baseball, and is the commissioner of the six-team Can Am League.
A week ago, two Can Am teams, the Brockton Rox and the Quebec Capitales, played a two-game pre-season series at the Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, bringing pro baseball back to the newly restored facility after a 22-year absence.
Besides giving those teams a chance to work out their kinks in a neutral setting, Wolff said it gave him a chance to assess Old Orchard as a possible Can Am League city.
“If there’s a potential site that makes sense for us,” said Wolff, “then we’d like to consider it. That’s another reason we (were) here. Yeah. Maybe down the road, Old Orchard could have a pro team. That’s another consideration.
“We’re always looking for good markets, and (our) season (which runs from May to September) would work really well. I’ve liked everything I’ve seen so far.”
Wolff, who said he attended one game at the Ballpark back in the mid-1980’s, said he was taken aback by the volunteer effort ”“ headed by OOB baseball coach Tom LaChance ”“ to bring the seemingly-dead facility back to life.
“It’s just amazing what they’ve done,” he said. “It looks like the community support is here.”
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