Cramner in ESPN 'Code Games'

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By Chris Miller
Jacksonville Daily News

NEWPORT - Being an athlete at Croatan High School, Ryan Cranmer obviously doesn't live in the Oakland, Calif., area code.

It didn't matter.

Officials for Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics felt the versatile rising senior baseball player was a good fit to represent them next month, which is how he came to be part of the A's organization in the ESPN Area Code Baseball Games August 5-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif.

The Code Games, which use wooden bats, features the best high school underclassmen from geographical areas based on telephone area codes. The Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds will be featured in this year's event, which has produced more than 300 big league players. Each team will play five games over six days.

"I can't wait. I have never been to California. So that makes it even better," Cranmer said. "And it's Long Beach, too."

Despite not living in California, Cranmer earned the right to represent the A's by performing well in tryouts from June 16-17 at Southwest Guilford High School in Greensboro and at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla.

According to the Code Games selection process on www.areacodebaseball.com, players must be invited to a tryout and "invitations are sent based upon recommendations made to those MLB scouts in charge of one of the eight teams."

About 3,000 invitations are mailed out with 200 player selected. Players are not charged a fee to participate.

"When I went to the tryouts, the kids there were huge and I was one of the smallest ones there," the 17-year old Cranmer said. "But after I got comfortable I realized I was as good as anyone else."

Cranmer proved that early in the tryout.

"We first had to run and I am pretty quick, and I ran the fastest time," Cranmer recalled. "I also threw the furthest."

Later, Cranmer received noticed he had made the team.

"One of the coaches from the A's left a message," he said. "It was pretty cool because not many kids get to do this. I am thankful to be doing it."

Perhaps the Athletics' Code Games team will be thankful in getting a player like Cranmer.

After all, he is coming off a strong season for Croatan, which held the No. 1 ranking in the Impact Baseball 2-A poll for several weeks.

Cranmer, a second baseman and designated hitter, led the area with a .569 batting average. He also scored 31 runs and hit nine home runs. As a junior, Cranmer hit .486 with 34 RBIs. The past two seasons he has earned a spot on the first team of The Daily News all-area team.

"My dad (Keith) helps me out a lot. He is one of my biggest supporters," said Cranmer, who added that North Carolina and East Carolina are among the colleges interested him.
"We put in a batting cage in our backyard, and I hit almost every day."

Hitting well will be Cranmer's emphasis once in California.

"The pitching there will be good. So I really just want to play well and hit the ball," he said. "Fielding comes easy to me. But anything I do will help make me a better player."