Amos Ramon smiles at a fan

On a gloomy, winter’s evening the Lake County Fielders lit up In-Laws #10 in Gurnee, reminding us that spring is on the way. Fielders’ manager Fran Riordan, hitting coach Pete Pirman, third basemen Amos Ramon and center fielder Brandon Anderson signed mini bats and caps, posed for pictures for young fans (and older journalists) and talked Fielders’ baseball.

The newest member of the independent Northern League, the Lake County Fielders are co-owned by Rich Ehrenreich and Kevin Costner. Costner helped to popularize minor league baseball with his portrayal of Crash Davis, the philosophic catcher in the 1988 release Bull Durham. Costner’s 1989 film, Field of Dreams, popularized the Shoeless Joe Jackson, “having a catch” and Iowa.

Continue reading “Lake County Fielders-Think Baseball, Think Spring” »