RIDGEFIELD — To understand how quick the turnaround is from college baseball to the West Coast League summer season, consider the schedule of Ridgefield Raptors head coach Chris Cota.
Cota, who leads the College of the Canyons baseball program in Santa Clarita, Calif., during the spring, touched down in the Pacific Northwest early Wednesday afternoon several hours before the Raptors opened their 2022 season with a 21-7 win in an exhibition game against the Cowlitz Black Bears.
“I went right to my host family house, they had a car for me and I drove straight here,” said Cota, standing near the Raptors’ dugout an hour before first pitch at the RORC.
“I haven’t even talked to three-quarters of these guys. It’s ‘go.’ ”
For the Raptors and their counterparts in the collegiate, wood-bat summer league, which has grown from 12 to 16 teams this season, it’s a process of getting a team to jell while also managing a group of players at different stages of their careers with different goals in mind.
The Raptors have some familiarity with the return of players like Will Chambers (Dixie State), Isaac Lovings (Pacific), Jett Lodes (Oklahoma), and brothers Doyle Kane and Mikey Kane, both of whom play for Cota at Canyons, with the latter currently committed to USC.
Then, there’s more than 30 newcomers, some of whom may arrive late due to college commitments, and perhaps even some late scratches.
“You just try to figure things out. I don’t think you can ever figure out summer ball out because it’s always different,” Cota said. “This year, we might have 12 guys show up later. Some years we might have four guys show up later. It just matters where you’re getting your players from and when your semester ends. You have to adjust every year.”
For a player and fan favorite like Chambers, returning to Ridgefield was a no-brainer. One, to reunite with his host family and a supportive fan base, who Chambers said are “kind of are what make us go. It’s easy to play for this team.”
Also, it was an opportunity to play again under Cota, who coached Chambers at Canyons before Chambers moved on to NCAA Division I baseball at Dixie State this year.
Last season, the Raptors went 26-22 and clinched their first WCL postseason berth in team history. A lot of that success, Chambers said, started with the culture the team has fostered.
“I think for us, it works so well because with the environment we had last year, (and) I’d imagine with the culture we create again this year, it’s a culture where we’re rooting for everybody,” said Chambers. “I think in a lot of places, it’s competitive in the wrong ways. Our competitive is, if you hit .500 I hope I hit .600. I’m trying to beat you in that sense … We want to see everyone succeed and thrive.”
Chambers speaks from experience. In 2021, he hit a WCL-leading eight home runs and then made the transition this year to Dixie State, where he hit .247 with two home runs and 15 RBI.
“I’ve got a lot to prove,” he said. “I came here as the guy last year who, everybody was going, I don’t know why he’s here. And then, (I) proved it. Now it’s my second year and I’ve really got to prove it. Because once is cool, twice is when you know you’re going good.”
Summer ball goes well beyond wins and losses, however.
Although Cota and his staff are ultimately trying to help players improve before returning to their college programs, they also want players to enjoy the experience off the field and possibly return for another season if it’s a good fit.
“There’s some guys that have never been to the Pacific Northwest,” Cota said. “It’s a different climate. This is a smaller town. I live in Southern California; you don’t drive by cows every day.
“Just enjoy everything, not only the baseball, but on your off days in the mornings, go out and see the place. Go downtown, go to the (Columbia) River … I try to tell them, go and experience it a little bit, and (you) bring back more memories then.”
Following Wednesday’s exhibition, the Raptors will host the Walla Walla Sweets in a Friday-Sunday series, then hit the road to play the Kelowna Falcons June 7-9, which will mark the Raptors’ first trip to Canada since their inaugural season of 2019.
The 2021 schedule did not include Kelowna or Victoria. Plus, with the addition of teams in Springfield, Ore., Nanaimo, B.C., Kamloops, B.C., and Edmonton, the WCL has grown to 16 teams this season.
