Oneonta tops Tri-City at Doubleday

On the site where baseball is supposed to have been born, the Oneonta Tigers played the game like they invented it.

The Tigers overwhelmed the Tri-City Valley Cats, 11-1, on Saturday at Cooperstown's Doubleday Field in a New York-Penn League game played as part of the annual Hall of Fame induction festivities.

Oneonta, N.Y., is located about 20 miles away from Cooperstown, but the Oneonta Tigers traditionally play one home game each year in Cooperstown on Induction Weekend. With admission free thanks to corporate sponsors Coca-Cola and Key Bank, the game drew about 2,000 enthusiastic fans to historic Doubleday Field.

The victory gave the first-place Tigers (23-13) a three-game lead in the Stedler Division of the New York-Penn League.

Oneonta's Jeff Hahn, making his first professional start, shut down the Valley Cats for six strong innings. Hahn allowed the Cats' lone run in the fifth, an unearned run on an error followed by three seeing-eye singles.

Hahn (4-0) displayed impressive command, striking out one while walking just one. A 35th-round pick this year out of Clemson University, Hahn still has not allowed an earned run in his professional career. (Before Saturday, his previous nine appearances had all been in relief.)

Hahn was supported by Tim Robertson, a 31st-round pick in June who recorded his first professional save with three innings of scoreless relief.

Oneonta pitchers allowed 11 hits, all singles, but were rescued by their infield defense, which turned four timely double plays. Tigers third baseman Chris Middleton was particularly notable, starting two impressive twin killings to thwart Valley Cat rallies.

Though Doubleday Field sports comically cozy dimensions -- the left-field power alley is just 336 feet from home plate -- only one of the game's 12 runs scored on a homer. Oneonta's Leonardo Grullon led off the bottom of the fifth with a towering drive that actually flew over the top of the left-field foul pole and onto Elm Street beyond.

Though the drive appeared foul to many observers, home plate umpire Mike Patterson ruled it a fair ball and a round-tripper. The clout was Grullon's fourth homer of the season, making the score 4-1. For his clout, Grullon received a bounty of prizes from local businesses, including two free sub sandwiches and a pair of silk boxer shorts.

Oneonta broke the game open later in the fifth inning when shortstop Michael Hollimon came through with a hard single up the middle in a bases-loaded, two-out situation. Hollimon's hit made the score 7-1 Tigers and sent Tri-City starting pitcher Ryan McKeller to the showers.

Though Doubleday Field is quaint and historic, it also presented an adventure for the Minor Leaguers playing there. The ballpark has no clubhouses, so players arrived at the field already in uniform, and the 20-foot-long dugouts are not even big enough to accommodate half a roster.

Still, the opportunity to take their swings on the same hallowed ground where Babe Ruth once played was an opportunity few of these Minor Leaguers will ever forget.