Ban Johnson All-Stars soak up the fun at Kauffman. ‘You can’t help but smile’
The Kauffman Stadium lights kicked on early in the Ban Johnson All-Star game to the cheers of everyone in attendance.
The All-Star teams, both comprised almost entirely of players who play their high school and college baseball in the Kansas City area, got the rare opportunity to showcase their talents on the city’s biggest and brightest baseball stage.
The Johnson All-Stars utilized a four-run second inning as the catalyst for their 5-1 victory over the Ban All-Stars.
Anthony Hansen got the Johnson All-Stars on the board with an RBI double. Andrew Dougan and Sam Derks added RBI singles.
The Ban Johnson league dates to 1927. The Kansas City Royals have hosted the annual Ban Johnson All-Star game since the club’s inception in 1969, and this year’s All-Stars were thrilled to play in one of the country’s 32 largest baseball stadiums.
William Jewell’s Ben Pautler, who was co-MVP of the Ban Johnson Championship Series for the title-winning Milgram Mustangs, was an All-Star for the second time this season, and he made sure to steal some moments away for the memory banks when he could.
“Besides winning a championship, being an All-Star comes in second place. When you start playing Ban Johnson, you want to win a championship, you want to improve your game individually, and you want a chance to play at Kauffman Stadium,” Pautler said.
As far as that goes, Pautler crossed all three items off his list. He hit .333 during the regular season, with four home runs and 17 RBIs. Then he stepped up his game in the championship series to earn co-MVP honors.
“After a less than satisfactory spring season I got to come back, play some Ban Johnson baseball, clear my head and get school off my mind,” Pautler said. “I really kind of figured some things out, and ended up getting to win a championship and play here.”
The struggles continued early on, but it wasn’t long until Pautler heated up along with the weather.
“It took continuing to trust that I had the tools and get right between the ears. I moved from right field to second base by necessity, and the way things worked out, it coincided with me taking off at the plate. I’ll be sad to move back to the outfield, but second base was fun. It was good to get hitting again.”
The All-Stars took their time in pregame, soaking in the warmup and the chance to play the game they love in a venue they’ve always dreamed of playing in.
“I did it two years ago, and it didn’t lose anything. It’s just as incredible, and I think it would be the first, fourth, 50th time I did it. It’s kind of torture,” Pautler said with a laugh.
“They like to take care of their grass, and I get down here, and all I want to do is run around in the grass. It’s squishy, and some of the best grass and dirt I’ve ever played on … It’s incredible just to look around. You can’t help but smile when you get on the field.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2019 at 10:07 PM.