He's won a batting title, been an All-Star choice and a trail blazer. The framework Yakima once was the place to play in the summer. Its American Legion offering, the Beetles, won national championships, provided prospect after prospect. Communities such as Vancouver, Moses Lake and Redmond followed this lead and turned out similar programs. Kennewick, under the leadership of former WSU baseball coach Steve Farrington, is the latest hotbed.
Select teams are another rage, another outlet.
They've been around four years. Travel is more widespread. Sixty-game summer seasons are the norm. The home base is no longer a telltale sign. Community college teams are being restored, as well as revised.