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Claiborne refining his baseball skills in the Cape Cod League
Richard C. White, Special to the Leader
Early into Tulane’s baseball season while sitting in the dugout watching their teammates play, sophomore pitcher Shooter Hunt noticed something surprising about his teammate, freshman pitcher Preston Claiborne.
“Preston really has a mind for baseball,” Hunt said. “He sees things that not every baseball player sees. He can see a situation before it happens, he knows where people are going to be and lots of little things that people leave out whereas he’s ready.”
The ploy worked as the Tulane outfielder caught the pop fly then easily doubled up the runner, who had headed for second. All thanks to Claiborne’s mind for baseball.
Claiborne’s quick thinking immediately impressed Hunt as Claiborne had found a way to turn a routine single out into a creative double play, all while sitting on the bench.
The college teammates Claiborne and Hunt are spending this summer playing together for a different team, the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Located in Massachusetts, the 10-team annual summer league is widely seen as the most prestigious wood bat league in the country. Claiborne, who graduated from Newman Smith in 2006, couldn’t think of a better way to spend his summer.
“With all the hard work I’ve ever put in, it has paid off and this is where I belong,” Claiborne said. “All the stuff I’ve done shouldn’t have gotten me anywhere less.”
Even though he’s excited about playing in the league, Claiborne knows his work is cut out for him since the level of play is traditionally seen as that of Class-A professional baseball.
“Facing the guys up here in the Cape Cod League is like facing an all-star team every day since they’ve taken two or three of the best players from each college team in the country and put them all in one squad. And then you have nine other teams like that,” Claiborne said.
Many of the best Major League players of the last 20 years have played in the CCBL. During the 2006 season, there were 198 CCBL alumni on Major League rosters, including such all-stars as Craig Biggio, Nomar Garciaparra, Todd Helton, Matt Morris, Mark Teixeira, Frank Thomas and Barry Zito.
Claiborne’s dream is to one day add his name to the list, but for now he’s content with sharing the Falmouth closer’s role with Erik Bird. A starting pitcher in high school, Claiborne moved to the bullpen for his freshman season at Tulane. In 28 appearances, he pitched 45 2/3 innings of relief on his way to posting solid numbers that included an 0-2 record, two saves and a 2.36 ERA.
When pitching, Claiborne usually favors his fastball, which has been clocked in the mid-90’s range, but he also relies on his changeup and slider when needed. Although he’s had a successful first season coming out of the bullpen, Claiborne is hoping to return to the role of starting pitcher when he goes back to college this fall.
“I like closing a lot, but at the same time I like being a starter because there’s something about it that keeps me calm and relaxed,” he said.
He knows the invaluable experience he gains this summer will help him reach that goal. By simply playing in the CCBL, Claiborne has already made one of his oldest dreams come true. He’ll never forget the day he received the news.
“I started hearing about it [the Cape Cod Baseball League] when I was younger, probably when I was a sophomore in high school and that became my goal,” Claiborne said. “My assistant coach at Tulane, coach Sutter, pulled me into his office one day and said, ‘I’ve got some stuff for you to fill out for summer ball.’ I looked over at it and it said Falmouth Commodores and it got me where I am.”
Falmouth manager Jeff Trundy views Claiborne as an efficient two-way player who can pitch and hit. Trundy sees promise in Claiborne’s offensive skills so much that he works him into the lineup as a designated hitter or first baseman on days when he’s not pitching.
League-wise, Trundy said the inherent preferences of the CCBL are no secret. It’s always been a league that has favored pitchers, not hitters, due in part to the wooden bats the league uses in place of the aluminum ones found in all Division-I college dugouts. For Claiborne that means a summer full of highs and lows.
“Preston is probably going to have a smile on his face a lot of the times when he’s on the mound and at times be frustrated at the plate,” Trundy said.
Having known him longer than any of his new Falmouth teammates, Hunt believes Claiborne’s biggest strength can at times be a mixed blessing.
“His top thing is he’s fearless out there. It doesn’t matter who we play, he doesn’t care, he’s going after him,” Hunt said. “It can also be his weakness, too, at times because he can get a little too amped up instead of just sitting back and seeing that the situation isn’t as bad as it seems.”
Some CCBL players who aren’t from the Northeast have trouble adjusting to the unfamiliar climate in addition to the higher level of competition. Claiborne, who’s lived his entire life in the South, doesn’t matter what set of circumstances come about be it weather or competition or location. All he wants is to play the game that he loves, always improving along the way.
“I can’t be complaining,” Claiborne said. “I don’t care where the Cape Cod League is, if it was up there in Canada I’d still be happy to be playing as long as I’m playing baseball.”
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