Baseball's Mullen shines in summer league compteition

How important is summer league baseball for Penn coach Bob Seddon's players? "It's so important," Seddon said, "that if the players don't play in the summer, they probably won't be playing on the team in the spring." Apparently, the members of the team were not deterred by the Quakers' disappointing 9-28 record last season, as Seddon estimated that 80 percent of his players played in strong summer leagues, and the rest were playing baseball in some fashion. But the Penn star this summer was Jim Mullen, who played third base for the Delaware Valley Gulls in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Mullen, who hit .311 for the Quakers as a sophomore in '99, led the league with a .426 average in 115 at-bats. "Overall, the pitching is better in the league because every guy throws in the high 80s, sometimes low 90s," said Penn's Ralph Vasami, who played catcher for the ACBL New York Generals. "In the Ivy League the guys don't have that kind of velocity, but they'll be craftier." Mullen dealt well with the tougher pitching -- as well as with the use of live lumber. Like almost all summer baseball leagues, the ACBL is different from college baseball in that players use wooden, not aluminum, bats in games. Vasami also fared well, hitting .345 with 5 doubles and 18 RBIs for the first-place Generals. "The more you swing wood, the more you become adjusted, and then it's the same game as metal," Seddon said. "When you swing metal all the time and then go to wood, it's a different world because you just break the bat off with your hands on the inside pitch." But Mullen has thrived swinging wood. In 1998, he hit .400 in 35 at-bats for the Gulls; this year he led the Gulls in nine offensive categories, including on-base percentage (.525) and slugging percentage (.583). Most impressively, however, he cut down his strikeouts from a team-leading 27 in 135 at-bats at Penn to only eight in 115 at-bats for the Gulls. Mullen, who was leading the league with a .418 at the all-star break, was selected as the starting third baseman for the Wolff Division in the ACBL All-Star game. Wolff won, 4-3, and Mullen contributed a hit. "There's no pressure for that," Mullen said in July of his chase for the hitting title. "It'll be nice if it happens, but it's not what I'm going after. I'm just trying to improve every day, and if it happens, it's a bonus." In addition to playing in 36 of the Gulls' 40 games, the 6'0'', 190-lb. junior also played for Narberth, Pa., in the Penndel league -- throw in practices and it means Mullen was playing baseball virtually every day this summer. "He's a very dedicated kid," Seddon said. While Mullen and Vasami were the only two Quakers to play in the ACBL this summer, they were certainly not the only members of the Penn squad to play in a summer league. One particular bright spot for Penn this summer was tri-captain Kevin McCabe, who hit .416 with 25 RBIs, two homers and 12 steals in 29 games for the Ambler Rebels of the Perkionen Valley (Pa.) Twilight League. Mullen's Delaware Valley team narrowly missed making the ACBL playoffs, as the N.J. Colts swept the Gulls in a season-ending double-header to steal the final playoff berth. "I think the league is more centered around player development and exposure," Mullen said. "But we're trying to win the league. That's the secondary goal." The ACBL has had its share of future pro baseball players on its teams' rosters -- including Craig Biggio, Walt Weiss, Frank Viola, Eric Young and Pete Harnisch. But the ACBL's level of competition pales in comparison with other summer leagues. "The most prestigious leagues in the country are, No. 1, the Cape Cod League, and, No. 2, the Alaskan League," Seddon said. "To get into the Cape Cod or Alaskan, it's a very difficult invite -- usually by scouts that control it." No Penn players have been invited to either of those leagues this summer, but Doug Glanville and Mark DeRosa are among the Cape Cod League alumni. Members of this year's Quakers squad were playing in leagues around the country, however. Junior Randy Ferrell played in Maryland, while junior Matt Hepler played outside of Chicago. Transfer first baseman Michael Bland played for the San Francisco Seals, while senior Jeremy McDowell played in West Chester, Pa. Although they played in different places this summer, the Quakers will all reap the benefits of having used lumber once it's time to pick up the livelier aluminum bats next spring. "Summer league baseball is very, very important for the collegiate career of an athlete," Seddon said. "It gives him more confidence and prepares him for the next season, particularly if he didn't get a lot of at bats that spring." Mullen certainly did get a lot of at-bats last spring for Penn; he led the Quakers with 135. But his ACBL success will no doubt give him increased confidence for next year.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.