A pipeline is developing between the Capital District and Major League Baseball, and it runs through Troy with a stop in Saratoga Springs.
Between George Rogers’ South Troy Dodgers and Keith Rogers’ Saratoga Phillies organizations, 16 players have gone on to the professional ranks including Saratoga Springs native Tim Stauffer (San Diego Padres) and Schenectady’s Casper Wells (Detroit Tigers prospect).
Personally, the thing I get the biggest thrill out of is watching my guys having success at the pro level, said George Rogers, who has been running the South Troy Dodgers since 1972. `That’s why we do what we do.`
What George does through his Dodgers program is give area high school-age baseball players a national platform to showcase their skills. The Dodgers have sent 14 teams to World Series at the Connie Mack (17-18), Mickey Mantle (15-16) and Sandy Koufax (13-14) levels, and their elite 18s team is going to New Mexico Wednesday for the Connie Mack World Series to.
`[Our purpose is] just to provide an opportunity to get the kids into college and get them exposed to the right people to achieve that goal,` said George.
When some of the Dodgers graduate from the Connie Mack level, George’s son Keith takes over by inviting them to play for his Saratoga Phillies of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
`We always take the top three or four guys from my father’s team to start our recruiting [for the following season], and we build from there by looking at what’s out there at the national level,` said Keith.
Keith tries to include as many Capital District natives as possible on his Phillies teams. Among those who have worn the blue and white uniforms in years past are Wells and Shenendehowa graduate Jason Downey. There are several Section II graduates on this year’s roster including Shen’s Josh Shippee, Ballston Spa’s Zach Hartman, Shaker’s Paul Burgdorf and CBA’s Greg Holle.
`Any time we can help a local kid, we do so,` said Keith. `Greg Holle was originally going to play in the Cape Cod League, but he didn’t get any playing time. So we invited him to come here, and soon after, he pitched in three games.`
Keeping it local is a theme in the Rogers family. Most of the players in George’s South Troy Dodgers organization are from the Capital District.
`We always felt that if we were able to get the top players in the Capital District, then we could compete with anybody in the nation,` said George.
This year’s elite 18s team is a prime example of George’s philosophy. Most of the 20-man roster is from Section II schools including CBA’s Chris Sand, Bethlehem’s Mike Fish and Randy Bowers, Shen’s Brian Cogswell and Guilderland’s Steven Anderson. Four LaSalle players, two Amsterdam players and a player from Albany High School are also on the team heading to New Mexico.
`For the local players, we do everything we can for them,` said George’s son Kevin, who coaches the elite 18s. `If we have to start up another team, then we do that.`
Starting teams is nothing new to George Rogers. Since he took over the program 37 years ago, George has expanded the number of teams offered from one to six.
George also was the one who decided to accept an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Elite Baseball League when it formed in 1999, which launched the Dodgers into the national level.
`Once they offered us the chance to join the league, we jumped on it,` said George.
Moving into the ACEBL proved to be the Dodgers’ first stepping stone. The next came in 2000 when they finished second at their first-ever Connie Mack World Series appearance.
`After being runner-up in the country, that blew us up. People started contacting us asking to play for us,` said Kevin.
The Dodgers haven’t been able to match that success in subsequent trips to the Connie Mack World Series. The closest they’ve come to reaching the finals was a third-place finish in 2004. But Kevin said this year’s elite 18s team has a shot in a 10-team field that includes several southern programs that play year-round schedules.
`We play just as many games in the summer as they do,` said Kevin. `They do have a small advantage because they play all year long, but I’ll tell you what ` the teams in New York are just as good as they are.`
The Dodgers’ success isn’t limited to the elite 18s. The 13-year-old division team placed third at the Sandy Koufax World Series, while the 16s and the 17s won state titles. The 17s, under the direction of Guilderland High School varsity coach Doug LaValley, went on to place third in the North Atlantic regional at South Troy’s Geer Field, losing to the elite 18s and a team from Brooklyn.
`I was proud of my kids. They improved as the season went on and played their best ball at the end of the season, which is what any coach wants out of his team,` said LaValley, whose roster included four Guilderland players ` Kyle LaValley, Matt Roth, Jason Sherwood and Sean Geisel ` as well as Mohonasen’s Robert Tedesco, Shaker’s Tyler Young and Bethlehem’s John Kellogg and Alex Sobiecki.
Like the South Troy Dodgers, the Saratoga Phillies have enjoyed success. The team has made the New York Collegiate Baseball League playoffs nearly every year since joining the league in 2004, although it took a big rally to make the field this year.
`We won 11 out of our last 14 or 15 games to make the playoffs,` said Keith Rogers. `We started off slow and lost some tough games, and it’s a credit to the players and the coaches that they never gave up.`
And with a pipeline attached to the South Troy Dodgers, Keith’s Saratoga Phillies may be in line to be competitive in the NYCBL for years to come.
`It’s a testament to the local area that these kids come in [to the Phillies] and hold their own,` said Keith.“
