MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- Of the 18 participants who entered a Home Run Derby at Annex Field here July 22, as part of Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s Summer Slam Invitational Softball Tournament, two stood out more than the rest.
The biggest and the smallest of the 18 men, in terms of size, wielding bats seemed to have little or no connection with each other until the very end of the contest.
The biggest man was Jaime Cain, or as everyone else, including his wife, calls him, “Big Swoll.” His massive frame, forged from 225 pounds of pure muscle, dominated the field during most of the contest. He belted eight homers over the tall fences at Annex with ease before he retired to the dugout. In this case, size had everything to do with it. Big Swoll said he has never played baseball before.
Cain’s eight smackers seemed to be an unreachable number for the other contestants. Of the 18 hitters, totaling 35 home runs between all of them, only three hit more than five home runs before their turn was up.
About an hour and a half after the contest kicked off, 17 of the 18 batters had already taken their turns swinging the bat, and all signs pointed to Cain as the victor.
To most, the contest was over. Spectators were beginning to disappear from the stands to get some lunch before the rest of the tournament continued later that day. Even Cain was nowhere to be found.
In fact, hardly anybody was paying attention to the contest that was still going on when 160-pound Cecil Hale walked up to the plate. He nailed the first pitch thrown to him deep over the center field fence. Still, nobody really watched what was occurring on the field. Then he hit his second and third home runs. The fourth and fifth homers came back-to-back. He was definitely heating up now.
Now there was a certain aura blanketing Annex Field. People were starting to notice this batter, who stood half the size of Cain, holding his bat. The spectator’s eyes quietly checked the fences, making sure they had not picked up and inched closer to the plate, but the distances had not changed. It was still 275 feet in left field, and 289 in right and center fields.
After Hale’s seventh home run, all eyes were now on home plate. That’s when he hit his eighth and final home run. The crowd erupted in whistles and applause. Hale had tied Cain for first place. And since Cain was nowhere to be found for a tie-breaking round, Hale was declared the winner.
David had defeated Goliath. Hale proved that swing mechanics were more important that just muscling the bat.
Stacy Barkdull, varsity sports coordinator, Marine Corps Community Services, here, presented Hale with a prize, the choice of a bat bag or a backpack, after the contest was over. He chose the backpack.
Barkdull said that this tournament was the first time she hosted a Home Run Derby, but said she was impressed with how it turned out.
“I definitely didn’t think 18 people were going to sign up,” said Barkdull, who had to teach herself the rules of a Home Run Derby by researching it on the Internet.
Hale stated he didn’t expect to win when he first entered the event.
“I just came out for batting practice,” said Hale, who spends plenty of time playing softball on his free time. “I’m usually a base hitter, not a power hitter.”
Hale added his strategy coming into the contest was a simple. “You got to hit strikes.”