SANFORD – Lincoln Sanborn might have left Maine to attend college, but unlike many ballplayers who spend their summers in some far-flung locality, he has returned home to play a little baseball. Sanborn, 20, graduated from Bonny Eagle High School in 2010, and is now one of the rotating third basemen for the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s Sanford Mainers this summer, and he will be returning to the St. John’s Red Storm baseball team next season.
The Mainers presently occupy fourth place in the Eastern Division of the NECBL. But with three weeks of baseball left to be played, and the Mainers just 11?2 games out of first, there will be lots of chances for them to regain the top spot. It looks like Sanborn’s return to Maine may coincide with a down-to-the-wire finish for his team.
“It’s been great,” Sanborn said. “We’re just a few games out of first place. Sanford runs a good program. I’m looking forward to the team making the playoffs because they will play in some three-game series. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Fun, of course, isn’t the only reason Sanborn is playing. Like the more famous Cape Cod League, the NECBL grants additional exposure to college players, as well as giving them an opportunity to continue to hone their skills after the collegiate season has ended. It’s not a league that players simply walk into – there are only enough roster spots for the best out there – and most players like Sanborn are drawn from Division 1 schools to play.
“St. John’s is like most D1 programs in that it is usually mandatory to play in a summer league,” Sanborn said. “One of the nice things about St. John’s is that they are good about player requests on where they want to play their summer ball, and I requested the Mainers because they are close to home. Coach (Aaron) Izaryk saw me play a number of times and allowed me to come play for him.”
“Cape Cod is definitely the No. 1 league in the country,” Sanborn added, “but I think the NECBL is in the top five. There are a couple of other good leagues like the Alaska League and the Northwoods League, but the NECBL is very, very competitive.”
It should come as no surprise that Sanborn is so closely affiliated with baseball. His father, Will Sanborn, is in his 20th season as the head coach of the St. Joseph’s College Monks. According to the younger Sanborn, his earliest memories of the game involve playing on Little League teams coached by his father.
“I always remember my dad coaching those teams,” he said. “I have never been able to play for him as a college player, but I did spend a lot of time hanging out in the dugout with him during St. Joe’s games and things like that.”
After middle school, Sanborn went on to play for the Scots, although his first season with the team was hardly ideal, as the team struggled. In Lincoln’s sophomore year, Bonny Eagle appointed Marc Sawyer as their new head coach, and Sanborn said he learned a lot about the game from Sawyer.
“He was great,” Sanborn said. “In my freshman year we had a rough season. The team went 1-15, and the organization wasn’t great. There was a group of seniors who were just impossible to control. When Coach Sawyer came in during my sophomore year, he made academics our first priority, and he made everyone accountable for what they did. He really straightened things out, and for the next three years, we went to the playoffs.”
The most obvious difference for Sanborn from other members of the Mainers is that he is able to go home routinely. Although he has a host family like the rest of his teammates, he only stays there when he has to be at the ballpark early, or come home extremely late from a road trip.
“My host family is really nice,” Sanborn said. “But on off days or after home games, I usually come home. I was glad get to play at home, especially since I just spent year away from Maine, and I missed it. It is definitely different for those guys who are coming here from other states. We all just spent the entire school year away from our families, and now they’re away for most of their summer.”
As a freshman at St. John’s, Sanborn did not get a lot of playing time for the Red Storm, though he is seeing more action as a member of the Mainers. He said that it’s difficult to nail down whether D1 college ball or the NECBL is more difficult, although there are some obvious differences between the two.
“It’s tough to compare because they are both really good,” he said. “One thing about the NECBL is they use wood bats, and that really changes the game. On the other hand, the level of play is pretty similar, because the teams are like 85 to 90 percent Division 1 players. Plus, the Big East (where St. John’s plays) is a very competitive division. I will say that the NECBL is probably more of a pitcher’s league because of the wood bats.”
That figure is proven by the statistics of Sanborn and his teammates. As of last week, Sanborn was one of eight Mainers to have a batting average below .200, and only two members of the Sanford club have pushed that stat above .300. Those are pretty typical numbers across the league, as players who have spent their entire lives using metal bats have to adjust to the less-powerful wooden ones. Plus, Sanborn is still getting accustomed to the intensity of play at this level, and his numbers are almost certain to go up next year when he returns as a sophomore.
“I have just got to keep making adjustments,” Sanborn said. “I got two hits the other night, so that’s helpful. Everyone goes through struggles in this league, and you just have to keep making adjustments and working hard. There aren’t a lot of .400 hitters in the NECBL.”
As for playing baseball beyond college, Sanborn isn’t ruling it out. And why should he?
As a strong, tall third baseman with a lot of range, he’s got a shot. And while he’ll be focusing on the here and now for the rest of the summer, he’s cautiously eyeing the minor leagues just like most of the players who have made it this far.
“If I get a shot, yeah, I definitely want to play professionally,” he said. “Everybody wants to go to the next level. And if I get that chance, that will be great.”
Bonny Eagle graduate Lincoln Sanborn, now a member of the St.
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