All-Star selection nostaligic for Bells basestealer Stroosma

Sometime during this year’s West Coast League All-Star Game at Joe Martin Field, Aaron Strooma will take moment to himself. He’ll pause for an instant before basking in the event’s pageantry, knowing his baseball career has come full circle.

Underneath the turf at Joe’s is the ground Stroosma use to walk along after baseball games waiting to get autographs from the summer league players he idolized as a young kid at Columbia Elementary.

Before he moved to Mount Vernon and began attending Sedro-Woolley schools, Stroosma and his mom frequented summer league games at Joe Martin. He even recalled having a birthday party there.

“I can remember after games as a kid asking for autographs,” Stroosma said in a phone interview. “I remember being one of those kids who’d get the souveniers.”

Now Stroosma will be sending kids home with their own.

The Bells standout centerfielder is one of six Bellingham All-Star selections who will be featured as a members of the WCL’s North Team on Monday, July 20. Infielders Dustin Breshears and Andrew Reichenbach and catcher Bronson Larsen will join him, as will pitchers Justin Calomeni and Andrew Kemmerer.

Gates open at 4:30 p.m., the home run derby begins at 5:30 p.m. and first pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. A WCL All-Star Game logo baseball will be given away to the first 1,000 fans, and Larsen, whose five home runs is tied for third in the WCL, will be a derby participant.

For Stroosma, not only does his All-Star selection bring a sense of nostalgia. It’s a symbol of how far he’s come as a ball player.

Stroosma wasn’t on the Bells’ roster when the club won its WCL Championship last summer, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t place his mark on the season.

He was brought on as a 10-day contract player to start the year, performed well, but the club didn’t have the room to keep him on the roster for the remainder of the season. But the small showcase offered Bellingham coach Jeff James a glimpse of what Stroomsa can provide a club.

“He is a tremendous athlete, No. 1,” James said in a phone interview. “It was a no-brainer. He was on the top of our list to make sure we sewed up.”

Stroosma showed his speed on the basepaths, his hitting ability and defense during those 10 games a year ago, and it’s been much of the same this summer.

He’s hitting for a .293 average, and his 20 stolen bases in league play ranks him third in the WCL. Stroosma, who transitioned to outfield from the corner infield in college, has given the Bells a reliable glove in center, too.

What arguably makes him most exciting to watch, though, is his work on the basepaths.

“He’s a threat when he’s running or not,” James said. “(Pitchers) have to watch him and look at him, which makes it a lot better for the hitters up to bat. He’s a real threat, which is huge in our order.”

Stroosma wasn’t always a basestealer. He flashed his ahleticism playing wide receiver for Sedro-Woolley’s football program. He played basketball, too. But at Bellevue College he began adding the baserunning dimenstion to his game.

James quickly recognized Stroosma’s knack for theiving bags, and the coach hasn’t hesitated at all in giving Stroosma the go-ahead this summer.

“First, it’s fun,” Stroosma said. “Anytime you get out there and snag a base it’s fun. It’s really a credit to the coaching staff. When I’m at first, coach James is always giving the green light, and that allows me to develop confidence on the basepaths.”

Stroosma, who now plays at Division I Liberty University in Virginia, has helped the Bells to a 24-12 record and a seven-game lead in the WCL’s West Division at the break.

He’ll undoubtedly be looking to help Bellingham defend it’s WCL title the second half of the season, but for now a WCL All-Star game appearance in his former hometown playing in front of a large contingent of family and friends is about as sweet as it gets.

“I think just not forgeting to look up and enjoy the moment,” said Stroosma when asked what he’s most looking forward to at the All-Star game, “check out the stands and see who all is there and not let the game get too big. Enjoying the moment is what I’m looking forward to.”

This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 11:55 AM with the headline "All-Star selection nostaligic for Bells basestealer Stroosma."