RUMFORD – Steve LaPointe is looking for anyone with a hankering for playing longball.
Young, old, male or female, it doesn’t matter to LaPointe, who is conducting Rumford’s premiere Home-Run Derby Saturday, May 31, at Hosmer Field.
The derby, which begins at 9 a.m., will be held in conjunction with the Relay for Life and will be sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Money raised from the $5 cost per person to enter will benefit the society.
“I can give up home runs to the best of them,” said LaPointe, who has coached boys’ baseball for 24 years at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford.
Both LaPointe and his assistant coach, Ryan Palmer, will provide pitching, but he did encourage longball hitters to bring their own pitchers.
Classes include adult and high school combined, Babe Ruth for ages 13-15, Little League and softball.
“Adults can even enter the softball event. It will be slow pitch and you can just crank it,” LaPointe said.
The Little League and softball competition will move across the street to the Old Ball Grounds. The event is open to anyone.
Each hitter will get 10 outs, similar to the contest at the annual Major League All-Star Game.
Any strike, where the batter swings and misses, counts as an out as do foul balls. If the ball is thrown in the strike zone but the batter doesn’t swing at the pitch, it won’t count as an out, LaPointe said.
“We’ll ask hitters how they want the pitches and try to get them there. Most people want the ball inside and high,” he said.
Hitting homers out of Hosmer Field’s baseball diamond entails distances of 320 feet down the right field line, 290 feet in left center field – “where most everyone hits them” – and 400 feet in center field, LaPointe added.
For younger sluggers, he may move home plate up.
Interest has been high so far, LaPointe said, noting that one former player of his has been “salivating” over the opportunity to whack baseballs out of the park.
“Let’s have a great turnout and support a worthy cause,” he added.
For more information, contact LaPointe at 364-3003.
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