The weather wasn’t ideal for baseball in Chehalis on Saturday afternoon, but that didn’t stop dozens of local baseball players from competing in the second annual Twin Cities Babe Ruth Home Run Derby at Stan Hedwall Park.
League President Tony Baker considered delaying the event until later in the afternoon, but decided to stick with the original time to prevent last-minute confusion.
The rain impacted the event in more ways than one. Baker borrowed some turf from the other field to put at home plate and had to set up a canopy over the pitching machine near the mound.
While the machine wasn’t getting rained on, the waterlogged and dirty balls eventually jammed it anyway, even with volunteers cleaning each ball before putting it in the machine.
Baker took matters into his own hands, taking over as the pitcher.
“At least it was like batting practice,” Baker said with a smile. It was a little frustrating, but at the end of the day. I think the community will appreciate that we just kept it as an annual thing that we’re trying to do every year … I couldn’t give up on it, because I didn’t want to let the community down.”
The kids didn’t mind getting a little wet.
Gabe Wion won at ages 10 and 11, Kolten Archer won at 12-13, and Westyn Hansen won at 14-15.
No 16 year olds participated, but 15-year-olds Hayden Collins and Lakin Baker decided to move up and compete against each other in the 16-year-old division.
That meant that they’d be swinging for fences at 210 feet, but they also decided to add some extra rules to make things more interesting. The main addition? If either could clear the field’s main fence, that home run would be worth four.
Collins and Lakin Baker both hit seven home runs during their three-minute round, which led to a six-swing tiebreaker.
After Baker failed to clear the fence, Collins launched a pitch down the left field line, clearing the 210-foot fence with ease to win the 16-year-old division. Collins simply put his hands at bat in the air as he walked away from home plate.
“It was really fun,” Collins said. “I just wanted to hit against Lakin … On our team, he’s the power hitter and I’m the contact hitter. His home runs were probably further than mine, but mine were liners.”
Tony Baker, Lakin’s dad, said it was cool to see the two teammates compete against each other, and he noted that for now, Collins has the bragging rights.
“They’ll go back and forth with it for a few years about who got the derby,” Tony Baker said with a laugh. “It’s super cool, I love it.”
Tony Baker said the goal is to bring the derby back for a third time next summer. Beyond that, he said he would love to have a derby towards the beginning of the season as well as the one at the end of the season, though those logistics would have to be worked out down the line.
Either way, he’s already excited about next summer.
“Just looking forward to next year,” Tony Baker said.
