There will be a column about Clyde Williams and a story about Eric Ackerman in Thursday’s New Era.
Williams talked about his interesting winter playing baseball in Nicaragua. The fans are intense there and they hold foreign players to an impossible standard. When Williams struggled at the beginning of the season, he was encouraged to go home.
“Even when I was going good I didn’t read the papers too much,” he said. “They weren’t friendly at first. It wasn’t to the point where I felt in danger, but if you’re not producing and you’re supposed to — they let you know.”
Williams eventually won over the fans and became the league’s MVP. His team, Managua, won the championship. Along the way he was involved in a bench-clearing brawl that made him a hero in one town and a villain in another.
“I didn’t want to fight,” Williams said. “I’m in Nicaragua. This is the last place you want to get into trouble.”
For the complete story, check out the New Era.
Meanwhile, Ackerman arrived at camp with a new toy: a slider. The lefthander used it to strike out four of the six batters he faced Wednesday — including playoff MVP Jeremy Todd twice.
Ackerman, who just earned a degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, said this will be his final season — unless he gets picked up by an affiliated team.
Pitching in Lancaster has been a dream come true for the Cocalico grad.
“A couple of those games when I started I was leaving 60 or 70 tickets for people,” Ackerman said. “I never got that at any other point in my career. It was great to have all my relatives and friends there and I’m looking forward to it again.”
