Toby Johnson, who played for W.F. West, prepares to take a swing for the Black Bears in this photo from last season.
Michael Forgione, a Lewis County product who played for the Black Bears last year, is going to be the first base coach for the team this season.
LONGVIEW — There’s nothing like a pair of nearly 90 degree days to serve notice that the time for winter and extended-spring hibernation has finally come to a close. Sure enough, in just over a week, a gang of Black Bears will take the field for the very first time this season.
In this case, the Cowlitz Black Bears are a wood bat collegiate league baseball team based out of Longview. On June 1, the Black Bears are set to start their eighth campaign as a member of the West Coast League, which features 11 teams from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
After nine-plus months in a classroom, summer is a time when college kids like to let their hair down a bit, and it turns out that serious baseball players are no different. As a platform for those college athletes, the Cowlitz Black Bears have embraced that fun-loving spirit and created a unique ballpark atmosphere that hinges on a product of quality baseball and carefree summer nights.
Depending on the cut of one’s jib, it may be a dose of slick glove work or the supple crack of a wood bat that titillates and entertains. Others may be most fascinated with the shenanigans taking place on the Party Deck in left field, or the slapstick competition between innings in the form of potato sack and wheelbarrow races on the field.
“We are very, very big on family,” said Black Bears general manager Jim Appleby. “We have a lot of people who come to the games night in and night out that are families. We have lots of things for the kids that come out to the park and we try to do things for the adults as well. If you’re 85 years old you're going to find some things that you think are funny, and if you're 6 years old you're going to have a blast — and everybody in between.”
This season, one of the Black Bear’s West Coast League opponents has done plenty to add intrigue and notoriety to the league. Last week, the Victoria, British Columbia HarbourCats signed knuckleball pitcher Claire Eccles to be the very first woman to compete in the West Coast League. Eccles, 19, is a sophomore at the University of British Columbia. Last September, she pitched for Team Canada in the Women’s Baseball World Cup in South Korea and struck out five batters while allowing just two hits in 8.2 innings of work that included a complete game.
“I’m extremely excited to be getting the opportunity to play at such a high level of ball, and being the first female in Canada to do so,” said Eccles in a press release from the HarbourCats. “The HarbourCats seem like an amazing organization and I can’t wait to play for them. As much as this is an accomplishment for myself, I can’t help but realize that this is a step in the right direction for any girl with a dream of playing baseball. There’s a bigger picture out there.”
The signing of Eccles to play in a historically male-only baseball league was noteworthy enough that former Seattle Mariner knuckleball pitcher and Cy Young Award winner R.A Dickey tweeted out a congratulations to Eccles. Predictably, not everyone in the baseball establishment is thrilled about the development. One team official from the league dismissed the signing offhand as a publicity stunt that could wind up hurting the integrity of the West Coast League. The Black Bears and the West Coast League brass have taken a different stance on the historic development though.
“The West Coast League is about providing opportunities,” said Tony Bonacci, acting president of the West Coast League and owner/president of the Cowlitz Black Bears, in a press release. “We are all looking for talented, competitive players to improve our ball clubs. Claire has demonstrated both, and we congratulate her and the HarbourCats on what is a tremendous opportunity for both of them.”
Locals will have an opportunity to get out and see what all the fuss is about when the Black Bears host the HarbourCats for a three-game series from July 28-30.
Appleby noted that there will also be new wrinkles in store for Black Bears fans to enjoy this season that don’t hang on the fluttering unpredictability of another team’s unproven knuckleballer. First and foremost on that list is the brand new artificial turf that has been installed to cover both the infield and the outfield at David Story Field next to Lower Columbia College, where the Black Bears play their home games.
“It takes an already nice facility and makes it really nice. It’s extremely well done. A lot safer with true hops and that kind of thing,” said Appleby.
Another focus this season is to increase the concession offerings and staffing so that nobody has to miss a pitch, or a potato sack race, while trying to get another cold beverage or hot dog. Appleby noted that his year they will up the ante from one grill to three grills, including one station dedicated entirely to the good-natured gluttony of the Party Deck.
“We’re trying to never have lines. That’s the goal,” said Appleby.
Of course, it’s the on-field product that separates the Black Bears from the rest of the summer baseball programs in the area. Where American Legion and Senior Babe Ruth teams are typically comprised of high school or recently graduated ballplayers, the West Coast League is stocked with bonafide college baseball players and pro prospects.
“For the people who come out they never know who they’re going to see who might be on TV doing big things in four or five years,” noted Appleby.
Appleby said one example of a former Black Bear who has gone on to make a name for himself is Domenic Mazza of the Augusta GreenJackets, a single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Mazza was a Black Bear in 2013, and earlier this year he found the wrong kind of notoriety when he gave up the first professional home run of former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow’s now fledgling baseball career. Just one week later though, Mazza flipped the script when he went out and pitched a perfect game. That performance was the first nine-inning perfect game ever pitched in the South Atlantic League.
“He goes from getting roasted one week for giving up Tebow’s first home run to going out and throwing a perfect game and getting on SportsCenter,” said Appleby.
Appleby noted that the West Coast League provides a top tier format for baseball players who are hoping to catch on at the next level, whatever that may be.
“It sure seems that way because the guys play in front of a lot of college coaches and scouts and that sort of thing wherever they go,” explained Appleby, a former LCC Red Devil himself. “It’s kind of crazy. They just beat their way around.”
Over the years, plenty of local talent has graced the Black Bears lineup including Toby Johnson, formerly of Curtis, and Michael Forgione, of W.F. West. This year, the Black Bears will bring on Yancy Bird, a pitcher from Lower Columbia College who graduated from Kelso.
Forgione, who recently wrapped up his collegiate playing career at the University of Portland, will be rejoining the Black Bears in a new position as first base coach this summer.
“My role is pretty much to get the basics and learn under head coach Grady Tweit and picking up coaching pointers throughout the season. It’s a great way to get my foot in the door for college coaching, which is something that I have my eyes on,” said Forgione. The former Bearcat said that playing for Tweit last summer was one of his favorite baseball experiences and he is excited for the chance to be a part of the game from the other side of the chalk line.
Forgione, who played two years for the LCC Red Devils before shipping off to Portland, added that playing for an organization so close to home allowed his friends and family to regularly pack the stands for home games. He says he would encourage anyone who has an interest in baseball to get out and give the Black Bears a chance to keep them entertained.
“I would tell them that it’s a great experience to go watch a baseball game at David Story Field,” said Forgione. “The Longview-Kelso area does love baseball, and I know that the Lewis County area loves baseball as well. Playing high school ball there I know that baseball is something the community cares about.”
As he adjusts to the world of coaching, Forgione says he would also encourage any local ballplayers who get the chance to spike up for the Black Bears to jump at the opportunity.
“If you talk to college baseball players, summer baseball is the best time you’re going to have. The environment is unbelievable when there’s a crowd there and they get a little rowdy,” said Forgione. “It’s a lot of fun because it makes you feel like you’re a big leaguer.”
For those who are hoping to get their first taste of the Black Bears offerings this summer Appleby suggests coming out to the ballpark for their Two-Dollar-Tuesdays promotion. At those frugal home games fans can get in for just $2 with the purchase of another regularly priced ticket. Once inside, those savings can be put toward concessions goodies as everything, including beers, hot dogs and sodas, will be priced at just $2.
The Fourth of July may be an even better deal for fans as the Black Bears plan to let everyone into the park for free in honor of America’s birthday.
“It’s free for all on the fourth. We let everybody come to the ballpark,” said Appleby, who noted the day’s festivities will include a fireworks show. “It’s going to give a lot of people a chance to come out and see a game that wouldn’t usually get that opportunity. We just want to pack the park and give people a place to go on the 4th of July.”
Appleby said it’s been an incredible experience so far watching the Black Bears organization become part of the community fabric of southwest Washington and he’s excited for the opportunity to bring more and more folks from Lewis, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties into the fold.
“It’s been incredible. Our numbers just continue to go up. It’s hard to believe we’re in our eigth year,” noted Appleby. “People up that way have a choice. They can head up to Tacoma or Seattle or they can head down the road and come see us. We’d love to have them and we’ll do what we can do make sure people have fun and they’ll come back.”
