Amateur baseball: Ready for hot time in Oklahoma

Mad Dogs set to play in regional tournament

James Barron | The New Mexican

7/2/2008 - 7/3/08

Sean Leatham knows two things about Tulsa, Okla.

It's going to be hot there.

And he gets to play baseball.

The 8-year-old is one of 12 players on the Santa Fe Mad Dogs, the state champion of the American Amateur Baseball Congress, that will play in the AABC South Plains Regional tournament on Monday.

The Mad Dogs are the first state champion in the Under-9 Roberto Clemente Division for Santa Fe AABC, which is how they qualified for the regional.

For Leatham, who plays several positions, he doesn't know much about Tulsa, and what he does know comes from his coaches.

"They tell me it's going to be hot," Leatham says.

The Mad Dogs dominated thier division throughout the season, going 14-0 and winning the city championship before beating the Moriarty Shockers 15-6 on Saturday for the state title.

They were so strong that AABC president Tommy Martinez asked the team to play in the Under-11 Willie Mays Division, where it finsihed at about .500 against that group, says head coach Joe Martinez.

The move also had a lingering effect.

"I think that's what helped us win a state title," Joe Martinez says.

Joe Martinez says the Mad Dogs — all but three — have been together since they started in the T-ball league. But that's the design of the league.

"In AABC, we try to recognize that teams are only going to gel together if they stay together," Tommy Martinez says. "What we do is allow it to grow into a team at an early age, and Joe has definitely done that."

The team grew enough to win a Clemente Division last year that was mostly 6-year-olds, an age when the players hit off a tee or against a coach who pitches. The growth continued, and Joe Martinez credited constant practice.

"I try to be an 8-year-old," coach Martinez says. "They don't even know they're practicing because they're having so much fun."

And nothing is more fun than winning, which is something Leatham already understands.

"I'm looking forward to winning the (regional) championship and going to the World Series (in McDonough, Ga.)," Leatham says.

Contact James Barron at 986-3045 or jbarron@sfnewmexican.com.