A walk down memory lane

Waterloo isn't in the Midwest League anymore. But, this story about Alan Willis tells what it was like back in 1980.

As Willis honed his pitching talents in college, the coaching staff indicated that he would get his own shot at pro ball. Alan’s dream came true when he was selected in the secondary phase of the June 1980 Amateur Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Indians.

“It was a real happy time as I remember,” said Alan when he got the call from the Indians. “It was just a special time and I will never forget that moment.”

Cleveland assigned Alan to their Rookie Class A affiliate, the Waterloo (Iowa) Indians of the Midwest League. He vividly recalled his first impressions of life in pro baseball.

“Snow on the ground. I’ll never forget it. Waterloo wasn’t the best place to play baseball,” said Alan with a chuckle.

Despite the less than ideal conditions, Willis went on to have a very good rookie campaign. Alan started 21 games for the Waterloo squad, posting an 8-5 record along with a 3.63 ERA and four complete games. The Waterloo franchise went on to win the Midwest League championship, with future major-leaguer Von Hayes capturing the MVP award.

“Von was a hell of a player. We became good friends and you could tell then he was on his way,” said Alan of Hayes

Nice story. But you know what I wish. No, not that. I wish that when these stories bring up that there was snow on the ground when a player first arrives in the Midwest League, they would later point out the fact that the snow melts at some point and the players do not play in the snow all year long.

That's what I wish.