Above:
Chuck and Bradley Conk Could that
be Cecil's rookie card?
Right
Chad and Jason Mahakian "Window-
shop" for baseball cards.
10
hen the mercury climbed slightly above the
32-degree freezing mark on Sunday, it vali-
dated what baseball fans already know —
spring is right around the corner.
Or at least spring training.
To get baseball enthusiasts geared up for
the upcoming baseball season, and hyped for
next month — when big-league pitchers and
catchers report for spring training -- the Jew-
ish Community Center and Sports Around
Town hosted a clinic and trade show.
More than 20 vendors brought their base-
ball cards and sports wares to the Maple-
Drake JCC lobby on Sunday. And while
parents looked at cards or sipped cappuccino
in the JCC coffee shop, their children and
teens brought bats and gloves to participate
in one of three one-hour clinics.
Tiger minor-leaguers Bruce Fields, Tony
Mitchell and Jeff Jones, along with former
Detroit Tigers bullpen catcher Mark Avery,
helped clinic participants with pitching,
throwing, hitting and fielding.
"It's a fun thing to do," said Brandon Ryan,
12, of Walled Lake, who was checking out the
tables of baseball cards in the JCC lobby be-
A hint o summer during winter
at e JCC baseball clinic
and card show
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER