Barnstorming Murray visits PNC Park
Damascus junior spends July playing baseball with Potter Bus Tour
by James Peters | Staff Writer
Damascus High junior Lucas Murray patrols the infield of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, as part of the Potter Bus Tour summer baseball showcase. Photo by Deborah Murray.
Like many baseball-playing high school student-athletes in Montgomery County, soon-to-be Damascus High junior Lucas Murray spent the bulk of his summer honing his fielding and hitting skills on the diamond for hours on end.
Murray’s summer of baseball, however, was a lot different than those experienced by his compatriots. It included wood bats, nine-inning games, stops in various minor league stadiums, cooking, car washing, teaching and even some dancing.
And all of that was accomplished in 25 days last month at numerous venues in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The whirlwind tour ended with a game at PNC Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates.
“It was really fun traveling around, playing every night, giving back to the community, going to hotels and really nice stadiums,” Murray said. “It was a real minor league experience.”
The experience was the culmination of a year of work done by Jeff Potter, the founder of the first “Potter Bus Tour” 15-and-under team. The squad consisted of 16 ballplayers from Maryland and Pennsylvania and played nine-inning games against all-star squads at various ballparks, including the home of the Reading (Pa.) Phillies and of the Baltimore Orioles’ Double-A affiliate, the Bowie Baysox, in Prince George’s County.
Potter began the process of securing sites and recruiting players — the selections were based largely on essays written by potential prospects and face-to-face interviews, more than on playing ability — in March of 2009. He started the tour to spread the message of his book, “Whatever Happened to Baseball?”
Potter’s book chronicles the good and the bad of youth baseball over the past four decades and how parents, coaches and players can get back to enjoying the game for itself and how coaches can properly prepare players both physically and emotionally for future play.
“This is the story of youth baseball, and how it has changed in the last 40 years,” said Potter about his book on his website, www.potterbaseball.com. “Many of these changes have been for the worse. Baseball ‘back in the day’ was fun and innocent and filled with great coaches that taught the right life lessons out on the ball fields. …
Murray bats during a game in Reading, PA. Photo by Deborah Murray.
“Today, there are serious problems with the game. Too often, power, ego, and control are the main ingredients in a baseball organization, and do not have the best interest of the kids as their top priority.”
Speaking of baseball organizations, it was the Damascus Sports Association that alerted the Murray family, specifically father Bill, to Potter’s squad. The younger Murray decided to give it a try if for no other reason than to gain the experience of being in an interview.
Potter said he “felt comfortable” with Lucas and his family during the interview process, leading to the player’s inclusion on the team as a utility player, including seeing time on the mound and behind the plate.
Lucas played second base and caught for the Damascus junior varsity squad this past spring. He was also a member of the Damascus Post 171 Junior American Legion team for a month this summer before joining Potter’s team.
“[The experience] was just outstanding,” Bill Murray said. “The baseball part was cool: Playing with wood bats, wearing throw-back jerseys, playing nine-inning games, the home team being decided by the flipping of the bat. [Potter] tried to make it as old school as he could. … He became a better baseball player this summer, but most important was the life experiences that he had.”
While travelling from town to town each day, the Potter Bus Tour squad performed community service. Among the projects were cooking breakfast and line dancing with senior citizens in Kent Island, holding a car wash and hosting free baseball clinics on the basic fundamentals.
“They taught us a lot of dances,” said Lucas Murray, who lodged in a hotel or with a host family each night before traveling to the next stop. “It was a lot of fun.”
His favorite act was working with mentally and physically disabled would-be baseball players. Murray said he enjoyed carting wheel chair-bound participants around the base paths and the passion each one had for the game.
Oh, and finishing at PNC Park wasn’t too shabby either.
“It was perfect,” Murray said. “The grass was like carpet. There were no bad hops or anything. I played third base, catcher and pitcher. Every pitcher got to pitch one inning. A lot of major league pitchers were on the exact same spot [he pitched from].”
