A real second chance

The ton of fertilizer was yet another ploy to draw fans to a Yuma Scorpions baseball game on a scorching Saturday night.

Welcome to independent baseball — home of wacky marketing gimmicks, high scoring games and players who may never see major-league action. Observers, coaches and players compare the level of competition to Double-A or Single-A.

And in May, it's coming to a ballpark near you. Tucson will field an independent team in the Golden Baseball League.

About 250 miles west in Yuma, the Scorpions play in the eight-team GBL. They serve as an example of the type of baseball and promotions Tucson fans will see. The new Toros will play 40 or more games at Hi Corbett Field through the summer.

During a late August weeknight game in Yuma, misters showered 1,065 fans during the first three innings in the 100-degree swelter. On the field, tempers heated up — the benches cleared three times after two players got into a yelling match and two batters got plunked. The Scorpions rallied for six runs in the eighth inning and won 9-7 over Chico.

"There are a lot of games like this. It is kind of free-wheeling," said Yuma manager and president Mike Marshall, who was one of four ejected from the game. "Big innings happen. You're only going to have a couple fights a year."

The roster includes players 22 to 33 who have experience ranging from college ball to Triple-A. Starting right-hander Mike Esposito, an Arizona State product who doubles as the team's pitching coach, threw 14 2/3 innings for the Colorado Rockies in 2005. All cling to hope a major-league organization will sign them.

Gimmicks in the mist

For some fans, the promotions are the lure to games. Gimmicks in Yuma have included a race to catch a greased-up, pink pig in center field; a hunt for a quarter-carat diamond in the dirt between first and second base; and chicken bingo, in which participants buy bingo squares and wherever the chicken poops, the owner of the square wins half the pot. The other half goes to a local 4-H Club.

As for the manure, fans took however much they wanted — for free.

"We have dunk tanks so the high school students can dunk their teachers and principals," said Marshall, a former 11-year major-league outfielder. "We try everything. That would be a difference from Triple-A. You get a little more creative."

Drawn by the $1 hot dogs, goat milking or the baseball, an average of 1,632 fans flocked to Scorpions games this season, the league's third-highest attendance. The team has 300 season ticket-holders. Chico, Calif., led the league with an average of 2,175.

Fans said they enjoy the players' lack of egos and the teams' community involvement and potent offense. The Scorpions (47-40) hit .321 and posted a 7.15 ERA.

"These guys aren't prima donnas like major-leaguers," said Eloy Romero, a 49-year-old retired miner who attends every homestand. "I got burnt out by the whole steroid scandal."

But even indy ball doesn't lack drama. On this particular night, the benches emptied in the third inning when Chico's Casey Garrison and Yuma shortstop Dionys Cesar jawed with each other at second base. When Garrison later scored, he took out catcher Pete Farina with a hard slide.

In the fifth inning, Yuma starter Evan White hit Garrison with a pitch. Garrison charged the mound, tackling White. Players raced onto the field to separate the two.

The benches cleared for a third time in the fifth when a pitch hit a Chico batter's helmet. No punches were thrown.

Glenn Orlin, 57, drove from Los Angeles with his wife and a friend to see Desert Sun Stadium, one of 320 ballparks he has visited.

"This is the first place I've been with such an elaborate misting system," Orlin said. "We couldn't see the game for the first three innings."

Harold Albon, a 72-year-old retiree, bought an autographed banner and a pack of cards for $3 apiece from two players roaming the stands.

"They play for the enjoyment," Albon said.

Defections and rejections

Some fans might prefer an affiliated team so they can follow prospects and major-leaguers on rehab assignments. Many Scorpions players were released by big-league organizations after they struggled. They come from various tribulations.

Outfielder Maikel Jova said he fled his native Cuba in 1998 on a boat in shark-infested waters. The engine broke and he wound up in Costa Rica. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999 and reached their Triple-A team before they cut him in 2006.

"They wanted me to hit more home runs," he said.

The Milwaukee Brewers released infielder Ryan Barba in 2007 after he hit .220 in 85 career games. The previous year, he said, he suffered a broken left leg when a base runner slid hard into him trying to break up a double play.

"You don't know what to expect," Barba said of the chance to rejoin affiliated ball. "We get enough exposure to where if you're dominating or if you're someone who has a chance as a prospect, you're going to get your shot."

After he pitched for Pima College and Park University in Missouri, left-hander Chris Luera was not drafted. He wound up in Yuma after Marshall, in need of pitching, called the Boston Red Sox, who directed him to Luera. The 22-year-old Tucson native is the third-youngest Scorpion.

"Everybody's main dream is to get paid to play baseball and not worry about anything else, and I'm doing it," Luera said. "It's a step down from what I really wanted, but there's always that goal (of affiliated ball)."

Unlike some other independent leagues, the GBL lacks a limit on veterans.

Marshall said he used to sign five or six players a year to affiliated organizations. This season, Yuma signed one — middle infielder Darrick Hale to the Cincinnati Reds.

"It's gotten harder and harder because of the number of independents," Marshall said. "We've gotten a little older, so there are not as many guys who are sign-able."

The Scorpions' young players flock to Esposito, the former Rockies player, to ask him about life in the majors, everything from which hitters he's faced — Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones — to the food and swanky hotels.

The settings here are humble. Yuma pays its players $500 to $2,500 a month and covers housing. In the off-season, Esposito plans to become a personal trainer. He and his wife, Vicki, are expecting a child.

"It's not ideal for making money," said Esposito, who wore a black Rockies top with the sleeves cut off. "But it's enough to get you by."

LIVESTOCK TO LIVE BATS

An independent team named the Tucson Toros will begin play in May at Hi Corbett Field. The new team will compete in the Golden Baseball League. Three reasons fans might enjoy this kind of baseball.

• 1. Promotions: The giveaways and contests might be more popular than the games. Some of the more interesting promotions at Yuma Scorpions games have been goat milking, chicken bingo and a manure giveaway. (Hey, it is a big farming community.)

• 2. Big names: Some former major-leaguers have played independent ball. The most famous names in the GBL have been Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco.

• 3. Big offense: The hitting is believed to be better than the pitching. Take a look at the 2008 league leaders: St. George hit .326 and Edmonton posted a 5.18 ERA. Yes, that last statistic led the eight-team league.