Editorial: A team of our own

College-level baseball is coming to Shelter Island this June, thanks to the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League and the Shelter Island School District. The School Board agreed to let the team use its high school diamond in exchange for improvements the league has promised to make to the infield.

Hooray for Little League coaches Mike Dunning and Dave Gurney, who made the initial pitch to the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League to put a team here.

What great summer fun it will be to see baseball played by prospective pros in our own backyard at Fiske Field. There will be no charge for spectators to come watch and root for the Bucks. Islander Corey Cass will be the team general manager. Joe Burke of Somerset, New Jersey, who starred at St. John’s before playing seven seasons professionally, including two in the New York Yankees farm system, will manage the team.

As reported in this week’s Reporter, the league needs host families for the 25 players who will fill the roster of the Shelter Island Bucks. They come from all over the country, seeking to keep their baseball skills sharp over the summer in June and July (and into August if the Bucks make the playoffs) and hoping to attract the attention of big league scouts.

HCBL alumni include former UConn shortstop Nick Ahmed, a 2011 second-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves; former Texas State third baseman Kyle Kubitza, a 2011 third-round draft pick of the Braves; and former Stony Brook right-handed pitcher Nick Tropeano, a 2011 fifth-round draft pick of the Houston Astros. Last season, a dozen HCBL alumni played with the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as in the independent Can-Am League.

Host families aren’t asked for much: some room in the house for the player, some room in the fridge for his food and some time in at the washer and dryer. Transportation will be provided by the league. In exchange, players will mentor Little Leaguers and the league will upgrade the school’s high school diamond.

For a household with the baseball bug, or a school-age player in the family, what a great opportunity for a very personal baseball fix in the height of the season and, no doubt, some fond memories when the embers are glowing in the fireplace. Who knows? Maybe the college kid who spent the summer with a Shelter Island family one day will be playing fungo as the stands fill up pre-game at Yankee Stadium or Fenway.

An informational meeting on the need for team housing will be held by Mr. Cass, Mr. Dunning and Mr. Gurney at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31 in the Shelter Island School auditorium.

For further information, call Dave Gurney at 433-1502.