Update 8/29 – 2 New videos from the games. The famous beer can torch and Bobbin for Pigs Feet.

Last weekend I made my first trek (and not last) out to the Lakeland Motorsports Park Mud Hole with my bf and boy was it worth the trip! Plus it really was not that far… I am a city girl at best and sometimes a girly girly who is not big into getting my feet dirty. But I was prepared! I bought boots, like the kind my dad uses to go fishing. My feet were not going to get dirty or wet! I’ll be wearing the boots out again tomorrow (8/29) for the Reality Redneck Games and the Mud Obstacle Course. More info about the games below the mud hole video. (If you read Lakeland Local it’s a different video clip.)

The games start at 1:30 with competition events like the drive shaft javelin, human tug of war, bowling ball shot put, bobbin for pigs feet (wtbeep) tire discus and what is a redneck game with out a toilet seat toss. Games open for the general spectators are beer pong, mud volleyball, mud football, red neck croquet, cornhole and a redneck waterpark with a huge water slide for the kids.

Also at the mud hole (on the other side) will be a mud obstacle course from 12PM to 12AM… Admission if $15 at the gate for all day or $10 after 5pm (but you will miss so much if you wait till after 5pm). The mud hole is located at 8100 SR 33 North. From I-4 exit 38, turn North of Hwy 33 North 1 mile…

For more information call Doug at 863-223-5640

This afternoon, the players at Joker Marchant Stadium looked younger than usual.

More than 150 of the nation’s top high school baseball players have gathered in Lakeland to put their talent on display today through Tuesday at the annual East Coast Pro Showcase.

The Detroit Tigers and five other major league organizations sponsored teams this week. Scouts lead the players through skill testing including batting and infield practice. The six teams also play games each day.

Organized by Major League Baseball scouts, the event is not open to the public. However, you can see a game between the Tigers and the Astros televised live by Bright House Sports Network at 7 p.m. Monday.

Shane Rowland
More than 200 professional scouts and 100 college coaches are on hand to watch players like Shane Rowland, 17, a senior at Tampa Catholic High School. “It’s awesome,” says Rowland, returned this year for his second showcase. He plays on the Tigers, a team of players from throughout Florida. “I know a lot of these guys, so this is a good chance to play with them again and get to know some other kids on the team.”

Entering his senior year, Rowland isn’t sure whether he’ll sign with a major league team or go to college. “I’m open to either college or the [Major league Baseball] draft,” he says. “Whichever comes first.” If he chooses college, he’s looking at Vanderbilt, Georgia tech, Arizona State, Miami or South Carolina.

Dylan Brown from Clayton, N.C., says playing with wooden bats instead of aluminum requires an adjustment. “I try for more of a line-drive swing,” he says. Attending his first showcase, he says, “I love it!”

Nick Castellanos & Family
Along with players and scouts, many family members made their way to Lakeland for the event. Jorge and Michelle Castellanos drove up from Davie, Fla., to cheer for their son Nick. The 17-year-old senior from Archbishop McCarthy High School is playing in his first showcase. Michelle, a Detroit native, found it exciting to see her son play in a Tigers uniform.

Other parents offered advice to their sons. As Jake Foley of Port Charlotte left the field after Saturday’s game, his mother told him, “Eat some vegetables. And stay away from the junk food!”

Yordy Cabrera
Players with ties to Polk County at this year’s showcase include Lakeland High’s Yordy Cabrera, who participated last year; Auburndale pitcher Kyle Ryan; former Lakeland catcher Eric Arce; and former Bartow pitcher Karsten Whitson.

(More East Coast Pro Showcase photos by Tom Hagerty)

photo credit: Tom Hagerty