Miracle offer outfield for camping night

By DEREK REDD
Naples Daily News

With the way new buildings pop up like wildflowers in Southwest Florida, greenspace is at a premium. A camper will take any patch of grass he can find.

On Saturday night, the Fort Myers Miracle will offer the Hammond Stadium outfield.

The Miracle, who fell to Daytona, 6-7, on Thursday night, are sponsoring its annual "Great All-Nighter" after Saturday's 7:05 p.m. game against the Daytona Cubs. When the game ends, any family, and several Boy Scout troops, can stake out its spot on the green grass that covers the Hammond Stadium outfield. The night orginally was scheduled for June 30, but had to be rescheduled because of inclement weather.

Miracle assistant general manager Andrew Seymour believes this is the 10th time the Miracle have offered this promotion, which was the product of Miracle CEO Mike Veeck's creative mind.

"They get to pitch a tent on this ball field where people like Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. stood during spring training," Seymour says.

The organization also is working with the local Boy Scout troops. For any Boy Scouts who spend the night, the Miracle are there with special badges in the morning.

But how can the Miracle allow a fleet of tents — Seymour says 32 is the most he's seen — to populate the outfield without damaging it? First, only pop-up tents are allowed, no stake hammering. And the campers usually have their things packed by sunrise.

"By the time that sun rises, the parents are ready to go," he says. "There's never really been a problem of having to go in and wake a bunch of people up."

As they pack up, the Miracle will provide bagels and juice. During the night, the organization will project family movies on a big screen.

"We've never turned anyone away," Seymour says.

PERFECTO: The Gulf Coast Twins, the Miracle's Gulf Coast League affiliate, were the victims of a perfect game Thursday against the Gulf Coast Pirates. Pirates pitcher Landon Jacobsen pitched the gem, striking out 10 over five innings, as the Pirates won 5-0. The game was called in the fifth due to rain and lightning, but was scored an official game.

A STREAK ENDS: When Miracle pitcher Adam Harben allowed four runs over six innings against the Sarasota Reds on July 23, it marked the first time since May 24 that he had allowed more than one earned run against him. During that streak, Harben, a 21-year-old, 6-foot-5 right hander had gone 5-0 with 44 strikeouts and a 0.63 ERA. For the season, he is 7-5 with a 2.57 ERA and 86 strikeouts.