Red Sox are back and ready to restore glory to Cadott

Warren Bowe was ready at first base July 29, for his Cadott Red Sox team, as they hosted the Bloomer Woodticks. The win over the visitors notched the first Wisconsin Baseball Association playoff spot for the Sox since 1985. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

Play ball!

Cadott is seeing red this year – well, Red Sox. The men’s amateur baseball team has seen its most successful season since it began anew in 2011, thanks to manager/player Rick Danielson at the helm.

The 20-man Red Sox team has a compliment of three players who are 36 and older, while everyone else is under the age of 25, which includes a few high school kids.

“It’s a very young team and hopefully, they’ll stick around for a lot of years here,” said Danielson.

As part of the 11-team Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL), Cadott plays competition from throughout the Chippewa Valley.

“It’s actually a pretty good league,” said Danielson.

In fact, there are 200-300 pages of league records, dating back to 1908.

“We’ve been around a long time,” said Danielson. “The Red Sox are one of the oldest teams in the league.”

Despite their storied history, the team folded up in 1995, and was restarted in 2011, by father/son duo Ken and Ben Poppe.

“Those two kind of spearheaded the operation to get the team going again in Cadott,” said Danielson, who is now the only active original player left from the 2011 squad.

K. Poppe managed the team for six years, and Danielson has led the Sox for the last seven seasons. This year, thanks to their 1010 league record and 17-11 overall record, Danielson was honored as the CRBL Manager of the Year.

“It’s a credit to all the guys who played this year, they’ve been awesome,” said Danielson, who said it’s been great to have the excitement of the fans behind them. “I hope they enjoy baseball as much as we do and that they’ll continue to come to our games.”

In addition, veteran Zac Merritt won a league Gold Glove at third base, with his “slick fielding.” Merritt played for the Hallie Eagles for a number of years, then came to play for Cadott. Right-handed pitcher Henry Wilkinson, Eau Claire native and freshman in college, was also named Rookie of the Year, with 63 strikeouts in 55 innings on the mound, along with an ERA of 1.77.

The awards didn’t stop there, as rookie Cole Bakkum earned an All-CRBL Honorable Mention, batting 345 while playing left field, third base, first base and serving as an occasional pitcher.

About 30 businesses donate money to keep the team going, many of whom have sponsored them since the team’s re-inception. Other teams have to charge player fees, something the Red Sox don’t have to, because they have enough sponsorships to pay for uniforms, equipment and umpire services.

“We have great local sponsorship,” said Danielson. “We have as much community support as any team in the league.”

Playing each CRBL team twice and nine non-league games, takes up the summer. Many of the Red Sox games are home affairs, but for non-league matches, they’re mostly away, since the there are no field lights in Cadott, and teams from out of the Chippewa Valley can’t start until later in the day.

Danielson says the Sox struggled in the previous years, despite having a great group of guys, who are dedicated and hardworking. That has all paid off for them, as they’re set to play in their first Wisconsin Baseball Association (WBA) playoff berth since 1985.

The playoff consists of six different leagues and 36 teams out of those leagues make the playoffs. The teams are seeded and grouped into a pool of three. For their first game, No. 19 Cadott will face the No. 1 seeded River Falls Fighting Fish Friday, Aug. 11, on the road, at River Falls.

The Fighting Fish are last year’s WBA State champs, but Danielson is confident that the Red Sox can pull out a win. The Sox then face the Glidden Orioles. If Cadott wins both those games, the Red Sox advance to the State playoffs (the final 12 teams) the next week.

“Only one in the three can move on,” said Danielson.

Cadott won the State championship in the early 1980s, which gives the current team something to live up to.

“We’re hoping to get back to the glory days of the Cadott Red Sox,” said Danielson.