The Sporkball Journals

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

June 18th, 2008

See Part 2

• RELIEF FUND UPDATE •

June 26, 2008 — MiLB.com has stepped up and contributed to relief efforts by donating $50,000 to the four Iowa cities hit hardest by recent flooding: Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Davenport (Quad Cities) and Des Moines. Thank you, Minor League Baseball and a very special thanks to Jonathan Mayo for helping to make this happen. You da’ man!

• RELIEF FUND UPDATE •

June 26, 2008 — A local relief fund has been established to aid the flood victims in Cedar Rapids. I will leave the original links to the Red Cross and United Way on the blog, however I would like to encourage readers to send a check to the local fund, which directly assists the Cedar Rapids community.

Please make your checks payable to “Kernels Foundation Flood Relief” and mail them to:
Kernels Foundation Flood Relief
PO Box 2001
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

June 18, 2008 — This week, all eyes are on Cedar Rapids, IA. That is what I wish, however it seems not to be the case. FutureAngels.com has been posting news of the catastrophic floods prior to evacuation of the city. Today’s update noted that after making a scan of Angels’ fansites, not a single one of them made any mention of the worst flooding in Iowa history. Hardest hit of all was Cedar Rapids, home to the Cedar Rapids Kernels Single-A affiliate of the LA Angels, where the crest of the floodwaters exceeded the previous high by 12 feet (recorded in 1929).

Likewise at MiLB.com, Jonathan Mayo expressed disappointment over the apparent lack of interest by minor-league baseball in general. The worst of the flooding occurred right in the midst of the Midwest League Double-A All-Star break, and yet he noted:

. . .there wasn’t at least a moment taken over the course of the All-Star Game celebration here to reflect on what’s befallen some of the Midwest League’s communities. That would have been, of course, simply a gesture. What happens going forward, as the waters recede and the 25,000 people in Cedar Rapids who’ve been homeless since Friday try to reclaim their lives, will be more important. [source: "Perspective: Iowa floods hit close to home," Jonathan Mayo, www.MiLB.com, 18JUN08]

Perhaps this is one of those sad cases of people being bombarded by too much bad news on a daily basis to care about a town located thousands of miles away. Or perhaps it’s a case of secretly thinking, “I’ve got my own problems too.” Or even, “Thank goodness it didn’t happen here.”

Who knows? All I know is what rattles around in my cranium as I read the latest update on our baseball brethren in the Corn/Beef/Bible Belt. I’ll readily admit that the Kernels don’t come to mind much during the good times (sorry fellas!). I don’t read draft picks or scouting reports. I don’t keep on the lookout for the next Garrett Anderson, Howie Kendrick or John Lackey. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to any of our younger farm-system guys until they magically appear at Franklin Covey Field as nearly-Major Leaguers. I’m Triple-A spoiled that way.

When I think of the disaster that has befallen Cedar Rapids, I’m not really thinking of Veteran’s Stadium, Manager Keith Johnson or any particular Kernels ballplayer. (Well, except for my favorite backstop. How’s the skull, BTW?) Rather, my heart goes out to the Cedar Rapids Kernels’ host families who make up the “community of baseball.”

Just as it takes a village to raise a child, so too does it take many helping hands to foster a young athlete from Rookie Ball to The Show. Host families are among the first to join the barn-raising efforts that go towards building a young ballplayer’s career. The Cedar Rapids Kernels is the next-to-lowest rung on the player development ladder for the Angels organization. (The only lower-level team is the Rookie-A/Short-Season-A Orem Owlz.) So we’re talking about a lot of high-school draft picks, teenagers, being sent out on their own for the first time in their lives. Moving to a strange town with no friends or family, figuring out how to budget your per diem, AND learning to hit .300 (or throw 85mph strikes) is asking a lot of a kid who was only licensed to drive two or three years ago. If they’ve been recruited from another country, such as the Dominican Republic, Latin America or Australia, the change in scenery can be even more disconcerting.

Photo credit | FutureAngels.com Used with permission.

These host families (follow link and scroll down to May 16, 2008) provide a homebase-away-from-home for many of these kids, helping them ease into their new profession/language/lifestyle. Host families volunteer to house ballplayers in something like a foreign student exchange program—they house, feed and transport one or more ballplayers for the entire season, absorbing all costs of their stay. Although this financial aid is a big part of the host family’s contribution, their spiritual and emotional support is even more valuable. Year after year, host families welcome these young ballplayers with open arms and warm hearts.

As the players progress up the ladder (hopefully), most of them will never return to these Single-A towns ever again. While not exactly forgotten, it would be naïve to think that every Major Leaguer still remembers to send a Christmas card to their host parents. And yet, many, many everyday MLB players got their start in organized baseball under the nurturing wings of one of these incredible families.

There’s no September call-up for minor-league host families. They are the ones left waving in the rearview mirror every year. They do it for the love of the game and out of compassion for their boys. A few lucky parents manage to stay in touch with a favorite or two, and perhaps even watch their MLB debut in person. More likely though, the demands of time and distance slowly replace the old “family ties” with new ones. Experienced host families understand how the system works, and most are content with a precious collection of photos, memories and keepsakes from the good times spent together.

Except now, the families in Cedar Rapids have lost everything but the memories. As I read the latest report in The Gazette, I imagine dozens of photos, letters and cards floating down the Cedar River and washed out to sea. These are the visions that swirl and dance before my mind’s eye. And these are the baseball people who occupy my thoughts. Bye for now!

Donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund
or
Donate to the United Way of East Central Iowa

Entry Filed under: Cedar Rapids Kernels, Game of Life, Minor Leagues