By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – The Port Angeles Lefties baseball team has acquired a new center fielder that is a former high-profile Seattle Seahawk, but Lefties owner Matt Acker tells us he can’t say who it is until he takes the field for his first game on Tuesday, June 14.
“I actually originally was going to have him come in July, and be here for the second half of the season, because we don’t have that many road games in July. And he’s the one that was like, ‘Man, I want to get up there now.’ And I’m like, I’m not ready for you now. So, the League is going to make an official news release on the 14th.“
The fact that a former NFL player wants to transition into professional baseball is not new. Quarterback Tim Tebow played minor league ball with the Mets organization for 5 years after leaving football, and this player’s former teammate Russell Wilson played two seasons for the Rockies organization in the off-season. Even Michael Jordan gave it a shot.
Acker says he’s arranged for his team’s new center fielder to get what we’ll call a “soft start” this month.
“Come out for the six-game series at home, we’ll be ready by then, play for a little bit, get the lay of the land, go home for Father’s Day, and then the team’s going to go on the road and he’ll be back at our home games.”
Acker says his new player’s goal is to be a major leaguer, and he only expects to play at the West Coast League level for one season.
“He can go play pro ball right now. He’s not playing pro ball because they just had a baby and he was like, ‘I just, I want to be around this summer, but I need to see the competition. And I’m going to sign next year, and I know that the league has great competition. We know each other. Can I come play?”
We wish we could tell you now who the former Seahawk is, but it’s sure to be a major sports news story when league officials make the announcement on Tuesday, just before he takes the field at Civic Field in Port Angeles against the Bend Elks from Oregon.