Door County, Wisconsin, is one of those vacation destinations that people flock to. Often called the Cape Cod of the Midwest, there’s plenty to do — feasting a fish boil, enjoying a boat ride or visiting a lighthouse.
For locals, though, the county’s baseball league is a highlight of the region. WUWM’s Susan Bence attended a final game in the regular season and sends this postcard:
The Door County Baseball League has been around for more than a century. There are eight teams — two of the biggest rivals are the Washington Islanders and the Sister Bay Bays.
On this day, a dozen Bays are out on the field tossing balls, getting ready for the end of the season.
Griffin Cole covers second base.
“We kind of focus just on ourselves more than anything — just hitting. It’s fun, and we’re winning,” Cole says.
There’s some basis for Cole’s confidence. Sister Bay has come out on top seven of the last 10 seasons.
Getting to the stadium for the game today means taking the ferry to Washington Island, so the players drive their trucks full of bats, balls and equipment on board.
The Bays’ youngest member is excited. Hobbs Emerson is about to start his sophomore year in high school. His dad recently retired from the team.
Emerson says, “Yeah, I mean, it’s fun because they’ve all known me since I was a baby and all that. But yeah, kind of being the next upcoming guy, it’s just fun to be with all of them and learn how to actually play good ball.”
At the ballpark, lifelong Islanders fan Shannon Young is waiting. She always sits in the same spot behind first base.
“My dad started playing in 1967. He was a sophomore in high school," Young says. "I’ve been coming to games since my mom’s womb. He was a coach for a while, so coming up to practice and games was just my thing.”
Troy Jorgenson has been with the Islanders for 22 seasons. He says half the players on the team are his cousins, and the entire island has been looking forward to this game for weeks.
“It’s just a great atmosphere. We’ve got really great fans. People up here live for baseball. It’s the one thing they look forward to in the summertime,” Jorgenson says.
The game's announcer: “Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the ballgame. We’ve got a big match for you today between the Sister Bay Bays and your Washington Island Islanders…”
The Bays are up first.
“Up for the Bays, Tom Sawyer — go Tommy!”
Tom Sawyer is one of Sister Bay’s top players.
Sawyer hit a single, but the Islanders’ Ryan Jorgenson — Troy Jorgenson’s 21-year-old cousin — was the star of the game.
“You can do it, Ryan!," the crowd shouted.
A plumber when not playing baseball, Jorgenson threw an astounding 150 pitches.
The crowd roared.
And the final score — the Islanders 2, the Bays 1.
Islander fan Peter Kordon was practically speechless. He coached Ryan Jorgenson when he was a teenager.
“This is one of the most natural players I have ever seen. He just has all of this great natural ability. And he comes from a great line of greats," Kordon says. "I’m sure in the history of this league there has probably never not been a Jorgenson in the lineup. So this is great for him.”
And although Sister Bay lost the game, their fun isn’t over. Their season record means they made it into the playoffs. So for the team and Door County locals who love the game, there’s still more baseball to come.
