The Bethesda Big Train is a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team based in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL), and derives its name from the nickname of

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

pitcher

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

, who was a Bethesda resident for ten years. The Big Train plays its home games at

Shirley Povich Field Shirley Povich Field is a baseball stadium in Rockville, Maryland. It is the home field of the Bethesda Big Train of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, and the home field of the Georgetown Hoyas of the Big East Conference. The stadium ...

. As of August 2021, more than 195 Big Train alumni have played professional baseball, including 17 in the major leagues.

History

The Bethesda Community Baseball Club, Inc. was founded in 1998 "to raise funds to improve the quality of youth baseball and softball fields in Montgomery County and the District of Columbia." Proceeds from the operations of the Bethesda Big Train are used to further this mission. The Big Train commenced play in 1999 as part of the

Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League The Clark C. Griffith Collegiate Baseball League (CGL) was a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league, with teams located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. All league players had to be enrolled at a National Collegia ...

(CGL). In 2004, they won the CGL championship. In 2005, the Big Train joined the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL). That first year, the team won the regular season championship and shared the league championship with the

Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical co ...

. In 2006 the Big Train were the regular season champions. In 2009, the Big Train won both the regular season and league championships. In 2010, the Big Train captured their 2nd straight league championship after placing 3rd in the regular season, and in 2011 rolled to their 3rd consecutive league championship with a 36–9 overall record and were ranked the #1 summer collegiate baseball league team in the nation by Perfect Game USA. In early 2012, the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club announced that Big Train operations would come under the control of one of its longtime partners, BCC Baseball. In 2020, BCC Baseball decided to focus its business efforts on other aspects and the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club was reconstituted with a community-based Board of Directors to re-establish the management of Big Train operations. The goal remained to support community-based activities in Montgomery County, Maryland and, to the extent that funds could be generated in excess of operating costs, to provide financial support for fixing up ballfields in Montgomery County In 2016, after a four-year title drought, Big Train captured the Cal Ripken League championship with a victory over the Baltimore Redbirds. The next year, Big Train again defeated the Redbirds in the finals to win back-to-back league championships. That season, Big Train outfielder James Outman was named the 2017 National Summer Collegiate Player of the Year by Perfect Game after hitting .341 with 18 stolen bases and a league-best nine homers and 36 RBIs. The Big Train and Redbirds were named co-champions in 2018 due to inclement weather, and Big Train won their fourth straight league title in 2019 after defeating the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts in a three-game League Championship Series. Bethesda's 2020 season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2021, the Big Train won their fourth straight regular season title, seven games ahead of the number two seed Alexandria Aces. In the playoffs, the Big Train swept the DC Grays in two games of the Semifinal Series, and then won their fifth straight league title by sweeping the Alexandria Aces in two games during the League Championship Series. In 2022, the Big Train tied the Alexandria Aces for first place in the regular season. However, the Aces won the head-to-head tiebreaker with a record of 4-2 against the Big Train, which stripped the Big Train of the regular season title for the first time since 2016. In the playoffs, the Big Train swept the Gaithersburg Giants in two games of the Semifinal Series, however the Aces then swept the Big Train in the League Championship Series for the Aces' first ever Ripken League Championship title. This was the first time the Big Train lost the League Championship Series since 2015. In addition to on-field efforts, Big Train runs a summer camp for children ages 5–12.

Team records

Individual (single-season)

* Batting average: .441, Kobe Kato (2019) * Hits: 67, Adam Barry (2011) * Doubles: 17, Brendan Hendriks (2012) * Triples: 6, Ryan Collins (2010) * Home runs: 16, Hunter Renfroe (2012) * Total bases: 116, Hunter Renfroe (2012) * Runs batted in: 53, Hunter Renfroe (2012) * Runs scored: 47, Hunter Renfroe (2012) * Stolen bases: 39, Gio Diaz (2019) * Walks: 48, Kobe Kato (2019) * Hit by pitch: 21, Jarrod Parks (2009) * On-base percentage: .612, Kobe Kato (2019) * Slugging percentage: .866, Hunter Renfroe (2012) * OPS: 1.397, Hunter Renfroe (2012) * ERA: 0.00, Matt Hiserman (2008) * Batting average against: 0.148, Matt Hiserman (2008) * Innings pitched: 58.0, Dustin Pease (2005) * Strikeouts: 69, Dirk Hayhurst (2001) * Wins: 6, Scott Schneider (2008) and Cameron Love (2009) * Saves: 10, Justin Davis (2000) and Matt Hiserman (2008)

Notable alumni

Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League

Alec Burleson Alec Michael Burleson (born November 25, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Burleson attended East Lincoln High School in Denver, Nor ...

, 2018 Big Train - outfielder for

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

* Hunter Brown, 2018 Big Train - right-handed pitcher for

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Ken Waldichuk Kenneth Dieter Waldichuk (born January 21, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Waldichuk attended University City High School in San Diego, California. He ...

, 2017 Big Train - left-handed pitcher for

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Logan Gilbert Logan Keith Gilbert (born May 5, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Gilbert attended Wekiva High School in Apopka, Florida. He was not drafted out of high sch ...

, 2016 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

; 14th overall pick in

2018 MLB Draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

* David McKay, 2015 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for the

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Brandon Lowe Brandon Norman Lowe ( ; born July 6, 1994) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Lowe attended Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Virginia, where he played ...

, 2014 Big Train –

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

second baseman; 2017

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

MVP *

Ty France Tyler Lawrence France (born July 13, 1994) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the San Diego Padres. Amateur career France attended South Hills Hig ...

, 2013 Big Train – infielder for

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and

; 2022 American League All-Star. *

Hunter Renfroe Dustin Hunter Renfroe (born January 28, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, an ...

, 2011–12 Big Train – right fielder for

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

; 13th overall pick in

2013 MLB Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

; first player to have his number retired by Big Train in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League; owns several single-season franchise records, including home runs, RBI and slugging percentage *

Ryan Garton Ryan Patrick Garton (born December 5, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 and 2017 and the Seattle Mariners in 2017 and 2019. Career Tampa Bay Rays Ga ...

, 2011 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for the

and

Matt Bowman Matthew Chou Bowman (born May 31, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Yankees organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. High school and co ...

, 2010-12 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Cody Allen Cody Edward Allen (born November 20, 1988) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians from 2012 to 2018 and the Los Angeles Angels in 2019. Amateur career Allen ...

, 2008, 2010 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

; all-time Indians saves leader *

Joe Mantiply Joseph Newman Mantiply ( ; born March 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees. Career Amateur Mantiply wa ...

, 2010 Big Train – left-handed pitcher for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

; 2022 National League All-Star. *

Brian Dozier James Brian Dozier (;born May 15, 1987) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. The Minnesota Twins selected Dozier in the eighth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2012 and he played in ...

, 2006 Big Train – second baseman for

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

; 2015 American League All-Star; 2017 AL Gold Glove

Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League

Michael McKenry Michael Charles McKenry (born March 4, 1985), nicknamed "The Fort", is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. High school ...

, 2004 Big Train –

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

and

catcher. *

Mike Costanzo Michael A. Costanzo (born September 9, 1983) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds. Amateur career Costanzo played college baseball for Coastal Carolina Univers ...

, 2003 Big Train –

first baseman * Bobby Livingston, 2001 Big Train – left-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners. *

Dirk Hayhurst Dirk Von Hayhurst (born March 24, 1981) is an American author and broadcaster, and formerly a professional baseball pitcher. Hayhurst played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres in 2008 and for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009. Followi ...

, 2001 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for the San Diego Padres and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. *

Steve Schmoll Stephen John Schmoll (born February 4, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He bats and throws right-handed. Schmoll graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park. In , he played for the Bethesda Big Train. He pitched for ...

, 2000 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. *

John Maine John Kevin Maine (born May 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. Early life and co ...

, 2000 Big Train – right-handed pitcher for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. * Charlton Jimerson, 1999 Big Train, outfielder for the

and Seattle Mariners.

Additional Background

In 2006, ''Washington Post'' columnist Marc Fisher called Big Train games at Shirley Povich Field "the ultimate small-town fantasy." In 2018, on the occasion of the 20th Big Train season, the Big Train Souvenir Program contained an article with the title "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Big Train." The article was written in the format of 20 questions and answers. Those questions and answers are on display on the Big Train website.

References

External links

Bethesda Big Train Official WebsiteCal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League Official WebsiteClark Griffith League Official Website
{{CRSCBL 1998 establishments in Maryland Baseball teams established in 1998 Amateur baseball teams in Maryland Fan-owned baseball teams Bethesda, Maryland