A delight on the Delaware

On a good day, the remains of Veterans Stadium and Camden's Campbell's Field are 15 minutes apart.

You can bet that to Kevin Jordan, it feels like a lot longer.

A player on the Philadelphia Phillies from 1995-2001, Jordan hit .285 in 1999 and was rewarded with a $1 million contract the next season. Now, as a member of the Camden Riversharks, he is playing in an independent league with a maximum salary of $3,000 per month.

Welcome to the Atlantic League, Kevin. You're not alone.

Riversharks catcher Chris Widger's favorite memory from his nine-year stint in the Major Leagues was helping deliver Seattle its first American League West title. Sunday, his two-run triple was the key hit to defeat the Nashua Pride, 6-2, and bring the Riversharks closer to the Atlantic League playoffs.

Leave it to a couple of ballplayers to see the good in this transition.

Both Jordan and Widger see Campbell's Field as a stepping stone rather than a destination.

"My dream was to be still playing major league baseball. ... It hasn't worked out, but I still have a chance to get back," said Widger, who came to Camden after an unfortunate trade.

Widger's Saint Louis Cardinals sent him, along with infielder Wilson Delgado, to the Mets for Roger Cede--o last year, and the Mets were going to send Widger to Triple-A Tidewater. This didn't appeal to him, and he sought a better option closer to his home of Pennsville, N.J.

For the first time, Widger, a former Mariner, Expo, Yankee and Cardinal, is able to live at home and play professional baseball.

That idea is more routine than novelty to Jordan.

"I really enjoy the Philadelphia area so much, my family and I, that we decided to stick around, and it's worked out well being able to play for the Riversharks," Jordan said.

With players coming out of the majors and others trying to get there for the first time, age and experience differences are not uncommon in the Atlantic League.

Take Nashua designated hitter and four-time National League All-Star Dante Bichette, who will be 41 this year and has played with Bill Buckner, Bob Boone and Robin Yount. Bichette is 18 years older than his teammate and starting second baseman Ricardo Cordova.

Camden general manager John Brandt said that Widger and Jordan are great players to have around his team's young talent.

"They're quiet guys," Brandt said. "They're "lead by example' type of guys. But [their teammates] respect where they've been, what they've done and what they can do here for us."

And that example has put Camden in first place in the Southern Division heading into the last week of the regular season. But according to Brandt, most of the 5,254 in attendance didn't know that.

"This happens to be a first place team against a first place team," Brandt said of Camden and Nashua. "Does anybody know? No ... half the fans or better here have no idea that we're in first place."

Nobody may know the third baseman's name either, but the turnstiles are still spinning.

"We're about entertainment," Brandt said. "It's an inexpensive way to spend four hours. ... You can come here, and if you're over 21, you can have a few beers, a hot dog and not feel like you've been taken to the cleaners."

Lying in the shadows of the Ben Franklin Bridge and boasting an extraordinary skyline view from the first base seats, Campbell's Field is an absolute jewel along the Delaware River.

So if the team is not the draw, it must be the atmosphere, the ballpark and the experience that just gave the Riversharks their best series attendance of the year this past weekend.

Now, as the season concludes, Widger will try to lead the Riversharks to next week's Atlantic League semifinals, while Jordan will have to undergo wrist surgery. Both have thoughts of a return to the majors in their heads.

A beautiful ballpark, fans in the seats and a September pennant race, does it get any better?

I guess it depends on who you ask.

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