By Matt Hickman
Herald/Review
BISBEE — It was for an opportunity like this that Will Campbell left his stable, if not riveting, life on his family’s ranch outside Flagstaff to take one more stab at a career in professional baseball.
Sunday afternoon, on the 101st birthday celebration of historic Warren Ballpark, he made the most of it, going 2 for 4 including an RBI single in a five-run second inning that paced the amateur Bisbee Copper Kings to a somewhat surprising 7-1 win over the professional Tucson Toros.
Sunday afternoon, on the 101st birthday celebration of historic Warren Ballpark, he made the most of it, going 2 for 4 including an RBI single in a five-run second inning that paced the amateur Bisbee Copper Kings to a somewhat surprising 7-1 win over the professional Tucson Toros.
“I had some good hacks, didn’t really get a chance to show my speed on the bases,” said Campbell, a center fielder who starred for Cochise College three years ago. “I wasn’t worried about playing the Toros, I was worried about playing the game of baseball. No matter who you play, it’s hard to hit a round ball with the round stick.”
The Toros, who play in the independent Golden Baseball League were missing their starting shortstop, left fielder and didn’t have their full allotment of pitchers, but other than that, were giving the Copper Kings, who play in the Pacific Southwest Baseball League, an outfit for collegiate summer ball, their best.
“We played just as hard as the Copper Kings did, they were just better today,” said Toros hitting coach Stan Cliburn, who was acting manager Sunday. “This could be a feeding ground for future Tucson Toros players. It’s a good avenue, a good connection, we might have built something here today that will last for years to come.”
Going into Sunday’s game, Zucker thought there might need to be some competitive adjustments made so the Kings could compete safely and evenly with his squad, which, he said, played at about a double-A level. Instead, the Bisbee pitching staff of Ryan Canak, Cody Downing, Evan Carter, Tyler Johnston and Taylor Stone shut down the Toros to finish the season at 32-8.
After the Toros jumped on top 1-0 in the top of the second, the Kings responded with five in the bottom of the inning against Toros starter Jesse Orosco Jr., son of the legendary Major League pitcher.
Campbell and Dominic Gamboa, another post-collegiate player looking to start a pro career, had RBI singles in the inning, and in the fifth, Omar Villar blew the game wide-open with a two-run home run to make it 7-1.
“I think we proved we can play a little bit,” Bisbee manager Bill Moore said. “I think it says we’re a good ballclub. We’ve been kind of proving that all summer long. We had a little slump last week, but I still think we’re a good club and I think if we’d made it to Wichita, we’d have competed to some extent.”
Villar joined Campbell and Bisbee native Sterling Schuller with two hits apiece for the Copper Kings.
Gamboa, the player Moore was most actively trying to pitch to the Toros, had a hit and scored a run.
“If they didn’t notice Gamboa, they weren’t paying attention ‚ he was the best player on the field,” Moore said of his 5-foot-6 right fielder and second baseman. “If he’s 5-10 (rather than 5-6) with the same tools, he’s not in Bisbee; somebody’s signed him already.”
Moore said that even if the three players — Campbell, Gamboa and Tyler Berg — he thinks are most ready to jump to pro ball don’t make it, he’ll welcome them back next summer whether the Kings remain an amateur team or make the jump to independent pro ball. Moore has every intention of returning to the dugout as well.
“The Good Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise,” the 71-year-old Moore said. “This is the place I want to finish up my coaching career. Bisbee, Arizona, Warren Ballpark. When I walked in here, I knew this was the place.”
For Campbell, it’s back to the family ranch and back to school.
“I’m back home, back at NAU finishing my bachelor’s degree in business management,” Campbell said. “We had a great year. It would have been nice to go to Wichita, but that didn’t work out. We won a lot of games, had a lot of fun and I think the fans had a lot of fun watching us play and do our dances between innings.”
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