It wasn’t Bryce Harper facing Justin Verlander, though batter and pitcher might indeed achieve such lofty status in the seasons ahead.
The attendance was in the hundreds, not the tens of thousands.
And instead of the Philadelphia Phillies vs. the Houston Astros in the World Series, it was the Peoria Javelinas versus the Glendale Desert Dogs at Camelback Ranch and the Salt River Rafters against the Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox and Surprise Saguaros.
What it was, to quote a variation of Andy Griffith’s first monologue while a student at the University of North Carolina decades ago, was the Arizona Fall League, where future stars get their first taste of playing against each other. It’s nirvana for real baseball fans (who actually talk baseball during the game, if they talk at all), and after a week up close, I recommend it.
The AZFL began play in 1992, a year before the Rockies took the field for the first time. With a year lost to Covid, this marks its 30th anniversary.
The 30 Major League teams stock the six AZFL teams, each sending at least seven highly regarded prospects, mostly from Class A and AA levels. Five MLB clubs support each Fall League team, the Rockies joining Arizona, St. Louis, Toronto and Detroit in supplying the Rafters.
The teams play a 30-game schedule in October and early November at six Cactus League venues. Admission is inexpensive ($8 for seniors); parking is free; and open seating allows anyone who so chooses to sit right behind the plate, within earshot of the pop of the catcher’s mitt and the calls of the ump.
Since ’92 almost 60% of all AZFL players have appeared in the Majors, including superstars such as Pujols, Jeter, Arenado, a guy named Helton and Arvada’s favorite son, the late Roy Halladay. Their ranks include almost two dozen Most Valuable Player Award winners and numerous Rookies of the Year and Cy Young Award recipients.
After a week in the Valley of the Sun, I’m looking forward to seeing which players I watched in the AZFL join them, or at least appear in a Big League game.
If there’s a future Harper/Verlander-type matchup in the making in this year’s AZFL, it might involve (based on what I saw):
Desert Dogs righthander Emmet Sheehan, a sixth-round draft choice from Boston College, who went 7-2 with a 2.83 earned run average for the Dodgers’ Great Lakes team in the High-A Midwest League in 2022 and worked five scoreless innings the day I saw him. Yes, another Dodgers pitcher.
Pitching to . . .
Rafters outfielder Jordan Walker, the 21st player chosen in the 2020 draft from Decatur (GA) High, and the Cardinals’ No. 6 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s top 100, who has slugged 33 homers with 116 runs batted in and a .310 batting average in his first two minor league seasons combined. He lined a rocket-shot homer to left center at Scottsdale Stadium the first time I laid eyes on him.
For those who wonder about future Rockies playing in the AZFL, two prospects, in particular, were worth noting.
Outfielder Zac Veen, Colorado’s top pick in 2020, showed a good eye leading off for the Rafters with double-figure bases-on-balls, including three in one game, to go with a .333 batting average; pop in his bat; and running speed as advertised (a league-leading 16 steals in 18 tries). He was named the AZFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Third baseman Warming Bernabel (pronounced ber-NAY-bul), who has hit over. 300 in both of his previous minor league seasons, showed uncommon defensive ability at third base with a diving stop in the hole and charging a slow roller, both resulting in impressive outs at first.
In addition to previewing the next wave of Major League superstars, everyone who attended the AZFL this year also got to see how the game will unfold under MLB’s latest attempt to speed up play.
The big one, the pitch clock, definitely keeps play moving.
The pitcher throws . . . the catcher tosses it back . . . the hitter steps out of the batter’s box—with ONE foot—then quickly assumes his stance . . . the pitcher toes the rubber as the timer flashes 3-2-1. And so it goes, every 15 seconds (or 20 if there’s a runner on base)—unless someone calls “time” to avoid a violation.
Game times during my week in the desert ranged from just over two hours to slightly more than 2:30. The average was about 2:20.
I can hardly wait to see how that translates to a game at Coors Field.
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Denny Dressman is a veteran of 43 years in the newspaper business, including 25 at the Rocky Mountain News, where he began as executive sports editor. He is the author of 14 books, eight of them sports-related. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.