Andy Buckley surveyed the view from the batter’s box at American Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, and quickly deduced it was practically a whole new world compared to his typical perspective at the Stateline Family YMCA Youth Sports Complex.
“It was totally different,” the Beloit Turner graduate said. “Just looking around and seeing the scoreboard and billboards, it was honestly a surreal feeling. Elly de la Cruz played where I played right before the game, so it was just a super cool experience.”
Buckley played in the Wisconsin American Legion All-Star Game this past Sunday in Milwaukee after being selected from the Beloit Senior Legion Bandits.
Legion players are nominated by the program’s official, in Beloit’s case Scott Huffman, and then a separate entity picks which athletes participate in the game.
It was Buckley’s final game representing Beloit, after many seasons within the Beloit Bombers and Bandits’ organization along with a prep career as a Trojan.
And he walked off a winner as the Stripes, coached by Ryan Bishop, Chris Harmon and Mark Vrieze all of River Falls Post 121, defeated the Stars 9-3.
“The competition was tough,” Buckley said. “Seeing all the guys with all the success they’ve had over the years in Legion and through their high school careers — I know some of them too, so it was super cool to play with them one last time.”
In addition to playing in the game, Buckley attended a banquet at the Brookfield Ballroom, feasting with other players and listening to a guest speaker on Saturday. He also took the field before Sunday’s Brewers’ game for a ceremony.
“When we first got up there, meeting all the other All-Stars, I didn’t know many of them, it was a super cool experience,” Buckley said. “Playing like a major league team, it’s so different than high school, but it was just a super cool experience.”
Buckley had a two-run triple, drew a pair of walks and scored twice in the game, which was held following the Brewers’ 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
“Going out there I was shaking,” he said. “It was a 1-1 count, (the pitch) was a slider outside. I took it to the right-center gap. I was running to first base, and I saw them running back to the right field wall. I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I might get a few extra bases on this.’ I actually almost tripped rounding second because we weren’t allowed to wear spikes or anything. I was wearing some turf shoes, so it was pretty slippery. The dirt is harder than you would think. Then, I slid into third and was like ‘Oh, crap, I just did that.’”
Buckley also made a defensive putout at third.
“Right after I hit that triple, it felt like the world just got lifted off my shoulders,” he added. “I wasn’t nervous anymore or scared to play. I just played my game and played how I usually play. It was a great way to end my high school/Legion career.”
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