JOPLIN, Mo. -- Mickey Mantle played here. So did Satchel Paige. And more recently, so have dozens of current major leaguers when they were young stars.
"Here" is Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin, Mo., although it was called Miners Park when Mantle played here in the Class C League with the Joplin Miners in 1950, a switch-hitting shortstop with immense power and potential. Yes, "The Mick" played shortstop in the minor leagues before beginning his Hall of Fame career as an outfielder with the New York Yankees in 1951.
According to local legend, there was an orphanage beyond the right-field fence at Miners Park when Mantle spent the 1950 campaign here. The orphans would hold up a sign that said, "Mick, Hit It Here," and he often obliged. People still talk about it, nearly 60 years later.
Old Miners Park burned down -- twice, in fact, according to local authorities -- but Joe Becker Stadium sits on the original site. It's a nice ballpark, with three rows of box seats as well as covered bleachers. It's a spacious park for high school kids, requiring a 415-foot poke for a homer to dead-center.
Paige, a legendary star of the old Negro Leagues, played here on barmstorner tours with all-star teams. And in recent years, current major leaguers played at Joe Becker Stadium in premier youth baseball tournaments, honing their skills against top-notch competition in front of college and pro scouts.
That's why everyone is here this week. The Premier Baseball Junior Championship began Wednesday at Joe Becker Stadium and seven other fields in the area, featuring 36 teams from around the country and Canada. There was a two-hour delay Wednesday morning at three fields, due to heavy rains Monday and Tuesday, but the sun was shining Wednesday morning and the tournament was off and running.
The Junior Championship features players who are entering their junior year in high school (or younger). All of the teams will play three pool games Wednesday and Thursday, after which the tournament will be seeded for the playoffs. Twenty-four teams will advance to the championship round that begins Friday, and 12 teams will advance to the consolation round. Everyone is guaranteed six games, and the two finalists will play nine games before the tournament ends on Sunday.
Games also are being played at the Joplin Athletic Complex, Joplin High School, Seneca High School in Seneca, Mo., Crowder College in Neosha, Mo., Carl Junction High School in Carl Junction, Mo., the Baxter Springs Field of Dreams in Baxter Springs, Kan., and the Jaycee Ballpark in Pittsburg, Kan.