Brewers hold Pitch, Hit and Run contest at Miller Park
MILWAUKEE -- Every day, Jean Segura digs his cleats into the batter's box dirt next to home plate at Miller Park. Aramis Ramirez waits for his turn to hit at the top step of the Brewers' first base dugout. Norichika Aoki and Carlos Gomez roam the outfield grass.
On Sunday morning, so did Macayla Lang.
Lang was one of 24 participants in Major League Baseball's Pitch, Hit and Run Competition at Miller Park. The participants -- broken down into boys' and girls' age groups of 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-14 -- competed in skills competitions vying for a spot in the final round at the All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York on July 16.
"It's a great experience for all of them, regardless if they have their absolute best day on the field or absolute worst," Pitch, Hit and Run event coordinator Bennett Mayfield said. "It's us and only us on the field, so it's kind of V.I.P. treatment, if you will. It's a very unique experience for the kids."
The competition consists of three rounds of running, hitting and pitching, broken down into a scoring system to reveal the winners.
The first event timed the participants running from near second base and around third base to home plate. The second event was held in left field, where the competitors hit off a tee -- softballs for the girls and baseballs for the boys -- toward center field, where they were scored on distance and accuracy.
The final event was the pitching portion, held just in front of the third-base dugout. Participants threw six pitches at a 17-by-30-inch target to test accuracy.
After the scores were added up, each participant was presented a home-plate plaque and the boys and girls winner from each age group became eligible to advance to the final round at the All-Star Game to represent Wisconsin.
Lang won the girls' 7-8 age group as her father, Matt, and mother, Valerie, watched proudly a few rows up from the dugout.
"It's exciting. We had to get up a little early to get here, so there was a lot of sleeping in the car," said Matt Lang, noting it was an hour-and-a-half drive from Broadhead, Wis. "But she's really excited about it. The event is impressive. It's exciting to be here."
The Pitch, Hit and Run Competition has four levels, with the first round starting in March and April.
"There are four levels of competition," Mayfield said. "The first is local, rec departments, YMCA's, basically any youth organization or volunteer group can host a free competition. Winners from first round advance to one of six sectionals across the state of Wisconsin. If they are the top three scores in each age group there, then they are eligible to come [to Miller Park].
"Basically every corner of the state was represented today. All the kids did well, the families had a good time and the Brewers were great. It was definitely a successful day."