Bears’ Carter wins derby

The first known All-Star game in the 50-year history of the Northwest League started 20 minutes late at Avista Stadium on Tuesday night, and if it wasn’t for Chris Carter and his walkoff home run, it could have started much later.

Carter, a first baseman for the Yakima Bears out of Stanford, won the Home Run Derby sponsored by The Spokesman-Review without using his full complement of swings.

“I came here thinking I had a chance to win,” said Carter, a 17th-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks who has six dingers at the break. “I didn’t know what it would take. I came out trying to get 10 in the first round to get to the second round.”

Carter, the first hitter, opened the competition with eight round-trippers, and no representative from the other seven teams came close.

Carter beat league-leader Colt Morton in the finals. Morton, the catcher for Eugene who has 13 homers, had two clouts before registering his 10 outs (an out being any pitch he swings at that isn’t a home run). Carter belted his third of the finals with just five outs.

In the semifinals, Carter got his eighth with one out to spare, although he could have advanced with six because he had the tiebreaker. Morton went deep seven times in the semis, Brandon Green of Everett had six and Matt Miller of Tri-City hit two. The tie-breaker was most fence-busters in the first round.

After Carter opened the first round, Green and Miller followed with five. After Javier Herrera of Vancouver hit two, Ryan Harvey of Boise knocked four. Then Simon Klink of Salem-Keizer and Travis Metcalf of Spokane had two. Morton was the last to hit and he hit four, winning the tie-breaker with Harvey because he had more home runs in the regular season.

Morton had to come back and start the second round.

“I’m not used to taking that many swings, especially with maximum effort,” the third-round pick of the San Diego Padres said. “I was a little winded but I was having a great time. I usually don’t try to hit home runs in battling practice. I’m more of a line drive guy.”

Carter earned $500 for winning and $1,000 was donated to the charity of his choice in Yakima, which was the Wishing Star Foundation.

“I came out thinking baseball is an entertainment sport so I came out trying to give back to the fans,” he said. “I’m not going to worry about (hurting his swing trying to hit home runs).”

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Travis Metcalf was all smiles despite his first-round exit in the Home Run Derby.

“Before you get real nervous but after you get out there it goes away,” the Indians’ third baseman said. “I was hitting the ball but they weren’t going anywhere.”

Still, he enjoyed every minute of it.

“Chris Carter hit some up there on that mountain,” Metcalf said pointing toward Brown’s Mountain. “I appreciate being here. We’re out here to have fun, even if we don’t win.”

Metcalf is third in the league with 10 home runs.

Rarity

Short-season baseball leagues don’t have All-Star games for obvious reasons.

No. 1, according to Northwest League president Bob Richmond, is because Major League farm directors don’t want them. The league is about developing first- and second-year players with a lot of games in a short time frame. The NWL generally has three days off, getting 76 games into 79 days.

The second reason is fans don’t really know all the players in the league by the time the game rolls around. Tri-City and Everett have not made their trips to Spokane.

Still, the 50th anniversary of the league deserves a special event.

“It’s wonderful,” Richmond said. “They’ve done a good job here. They basically sold it out. Maybe we’ll have another one in 25 years.”

Richmond said only one farm director was opposed to the game and the extra day off it created.

Family support

Just because Vancouver pitcher Steven Sharpe didn’t get into the All-Star game, don’t call the family trip from Stillwater, Kan., a waste.

“It doesn’t matter because he reached a dream of his and we just want to be part of it,” his mother Sue said. “It would have been fun to see him pitch, but it doesn’t matter.”

Sharpe didn’t pitch because his regular turn in the Canadians’ rotation was Monday. His parents knew that before they flew to Spokane on Tuesday morning.

“Steven called us (a week ago last Saturday),” Sue said.

“(We decided) during the phone call we’d be here. A moment like this you don’t miss.”

Sue and Steve Sharpe have not seen their son since the 11th-round draft choice out of Central Missouri State left home on June 11.