California League--Opening Day 2000

Man, am I glad baseball is back. The crack of a wooden bat, the smell of bratwurst, the dreams of young men trying to make it to the Show. Does it get any better than this?

Opening Night in Lake Elsinore meant a pitching matchup that featured rehabbing Anaheim starter Ramon Ortiz against Rancho Cucamonga lefthander Mike Bynum, one of the Padres first-round picks in the 1999 draft. I expected to see a well-pitched game on both sides, and that's exactly what I got.

After 90 minutes on I-15, I arrived at the ballpark three batters into the game and found myself seated behind home plate, about 15 rows back, next to an attractive (if entirely too young for me) woman who works for the Storm. The fourth batter, Quakes first baseman Graham Koonce, grounded to shortstop, scoring Jeremy Owens and giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead.

Ortiz threw well, scattering eight hits over six innings, and striking out six. He wasn't overpowering but Anaheim skipper Mike Scioscia, sitting about seven or eight rows in front of me behind home plate, didn't appear concerned. Ortiz was getting his innings in, and although the results weren't spectacular, he turned his game up a notch when he needed to. In the top of the fifth, still trailing 1-0, Ortiz allowed a leadoff double to Quakes catcher Sean Campbell. Shorstop Cristian Berroa followed with a single to right. Lake Elsinore's rightfielder charged hard and launched a throw to the plate that sailed over everybody's head, allowing Berroa to move up to second base. Then, with runners on second and third and nobody out, Ortiz proceeded to strike out the first three hitters in the Rancho Cucamonga lineup. He caught Owens looking and got Josh Loggins and Al Benjamin swinging.

Bynum, a supplemental first-rounder out of the University of North Carolina acquired as compensation for the loss of Ken Caminiti, has an unusual delivery. He comes nearly straight over the top and has a slight hesitation just before he releases the ball. His motion reminds me a little of Dennis Rasmussen's (though Bynum isn't that big and has better stuff). The scoreboard radar gun wasn't working but Bynum's pitches appeared to have good life on them. And the slider everyone's been talking about is filthy. It's there and then it disappears.

Bynum sailed through the first four innings, allowing only a first inning single, while striking out four. He got ahead in the count with fastballs, then put hitters away with the slider. Then in the fifth he started falling behind in the count, and the first five batters reached safely. He walked a guy and gave up four singles, at least two of which were of the seeing-eye variety. Overall, Bynum gave up four runs in five innings and took the loss but basically he looked outstanding in four of those innings and just so-so in the fifth (but not as bad as the score would indicate).

Ortiz, meanwhile, turned the game over to the bullpen after the sixth, with a 5-2 lead. That was the final score. I said goodbye to the woman sitting next to me, took a final whiff of the sublime mixture of bratwurst and hope that is Class-A baseball, and headed back home, grateful for the return of the best game on earth.

April 8, 2000