The boys of 15 summers

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: July 21, 2008

Danville loves the Braves, and with good reason. Over the past 15 years, the D-Braves have fielded eager, young baseball talent before them — including future major leagurers such as Kevin Millwood, Jermaine Dye and Andruw Jones.

Most Danville Braves will never make it to the big leagues, but while they’re here, they’re our team. That’s what makes these boys of summer so special.

This season, the team is marking 15 years in Danville. It’s a milestone worth remembering, because we can’t forget what it was like to be without a team. After the Danville Leafs left town in 1958, Danville didn’t have a pro baseball team for 35 years.

Teams like the Atlanta Braves use their farm league teams — like the Danville Braves — to develop promising young talent. For some, the D-Braves will be their first and last stop. Others will move up as they progress or as the teams above the D-Braves need to fill roster spots. Still other D-Braves will be traded to other teams’ farm systems.

It’s a tough meritocracy that’s played out in front of fans, the media and the whole baseball world.

But while they’re here, the players become the personification of Major League Baseball. Every time a local kids sees a Brave hit, run, throw or catch, they can imagine themselves doing the same thing.

Even though most of the Braves aren’t that much older than local high school players, they’re still professionals, and they still become, for a lot of kids, something to look up to. The Danville Braves offer something reassuring in an often difficult and scary world.

We’d like to think that most, if not all, of the Danville Braves players who have come through here over the past 15 years have fond memories of their time playing before Legion Field’s fans, that they came away with an appreciation of the city and its unique history and culture and that they’re proud to have worn the uniform representing Danville.

After 15 years with the Braves in Danville, we can’t imagine what life would be like without them.

We congratulate the Danville Braves on their 15 years in Danville and thank their many players for memories that will last a lifetime.